Onigajo

Onigajosea cliffsKumanoWorld HeritageShishiiwa

Mie · Kumano

33.8916°N, 136.1133°E

Onigajo is a kilometre and a half of sea cliff on the Kumano coast where volcanic rock laid down about fourteen million years ago has been lifted by earthquakes and then hollowed out by the Pacific into caves, terraces and honeycombed overhangs. The name means demon's castle, from a legend of a pirate who used the caves.

It is a national Place of Scenic Beauty and Natural Monument and part of the UNESCO listing for the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. A walkway runs along the cliff face for about 1.2 kilometres, in and out of the hollows with the sea directly below, taking around thirty minutes one way. Parking is free. Two kilometres away stands Shishiiwa, a rock formation shaped like a roaring lion, designated with it.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Open access | Daylight only

Closed: Open year-round | Walkway closes in rough weather

Entrance Fee

Free | Free parking

Best Season

Year-round | Spring for cherry blossom on the headland

Visit Duration

60–90 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

Kinomoto-cho, Kumano, on the coast. About 10 minutes on foot from JR Kumanoshi Station to the east entrance, or by car. Free to visit, with a free car park at the east entrance for 70 cars, 10 coaches and 2 accessible spaces, and a second free car park about 7 minutes on foot at the Onigajo Center. The cliff walkway runs about 1.2 km and takes around 30 minutes one way from the west entrance to the east. Shishiiwa, the lion rock, is about 2 km away and covered by the same designation.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Walk it one way.** West entrance to east takes about thirty minutes and the two car parks make that practical without doubling back. **It is part of the Kumano World Heritage listing.** Not for the rock but as part of the pilgrimage landscape. The Kumano Kodo Iseji route passes here. **The path closes in rough weather.** It is a walkway on a sea cliff with waves breaking under it. Check conditions after storms. **Shishiiwa is two kilometres away.** The lion-shaped rock is part of the same designation and is best around sunrise, when the sun comes up through the arrangement. **Ten minutes from the station.** Kumanoshi is on the JR Kisei Line, which makes this one of the few Kumano coast sites reachable without a car.

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