Local residents and boatmen in this area have lived with Kumano river and protected it.
We, Kumano River Experience, consists of these people and were organized to pass down the clear stream of the river and landscape, history, and culture of the area to posterity.
We hope you think about the connection between nature and people again, touching the history and culture connected to river.
2025.1.20Prices have been revised.
2024.4.01Our website has been renewed!
2023.12.08Master Tanigami was featured on the special video which celebrates 25 years aniversary of Kumano Kodo's partnership with Route of Santiago de Compostela.
MICHI, 25 ANOS CAMINANDO JUNTOS
2023.03.26 Kumano River Experience was featured on the "UDO-CHAN'S TRIP" by Nagoya Broadcasting Network Co.,Ltd.
This is a leisurely tour of the Kumano River on a "Sandanbo" boat that moves along the river breeze.
*All passengers get accident insurance. (boarding fee includes)
*The service can be cancelled due to heavy rain or any other bad conditions.
*Life Vest is required. (free rental)
*You may be guided with other customers (there will be no change in the fee).
*You can charter our boats.
*We will try to accommodate your requests regarding departure time, duration, boarding and landing locations. Please feel free to consult us.
We accept reservations by web, phone, and fax.
Feel free to contact us!
There are many routes for pilgrimage to the Kumano Sanzan, but since Kumano Hongu Taisha and Kumano Hayatama Taisha were traveled back and forth by river boat, the Kumano River is known as the “river pilgrimage route,” and it was registered as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site for the first time.
The retired emperors and aristocrats who visited the main shrine took boats down the Kumano River to Shingu, but the majority of ordinary people crossed to the Mie Prefecture side at the "Yo-ji Ferry" near the main shrine, and went to the shrine in front of Shingu. People walked along the cliffs on the left bank of the Kumano River until we reached the “Otomo Ferry”. Most of the ancient path has been lost due to road construction, but there are many places such as the “Senji Gaeri” and the “Bikuni Korobi,” there are still some rugged roads that remind us of the past.
There is a rock shaped like a hanging bell, and if you approach it by river boat, it will be very impressive!!
It is also the deepest part of the Kumano River, at over 20 meters, with a sparkling emerald green water surface.
This is a majestic waterfall located next to the campsite with a height of 30m and a width of 12m. In the summer, the area around the waterfall basin is also a place for children to play in the water. Yorinobu Tokugawa, the lord of the Kishu domain, named it because the droplets falling from the water of the falls looked like snow.
Introducing riverboats, which have flowed leisurely down the Kumano River since ancient times as a means of transportation of wood and people, and the staff at the experience school who inherite the culture of riverboats into the present day.
Shingu(新宮)-Hongu(本宮) route, the area of mid-down stream of Kumano river, was called “Kuri-hatcho” (nine-ri eight-tcho ≒ 37km) and people mainly used river-boat through the route as “pilgrimage of river” to Kumano-Sanzan in Heian-Kamakura era (around 900-1300).
After the era, people like travelers and local residents continued to use boat as ferry to cross the river to get to Shingu, the opposite bank.
Besides, boat was used for transportation of goods like wood, charcoal, coal, and daily necessities for local residents. Kumano river was bustling so much, but the role of the boat came to an end when the way of transportation shifted to ground around 1960.
Now, a big type of boat (=Danbei) which was specifically for goods transportation don’t exist . However, the unique type of boat which has been used on Kumano river as daily vehicle or fishing is handed over to next generation.
The shape of the boat differs from river to river. In terms of the boat of Kumano river, the bow warps up a lot, both sides of bottom are slanted while the center of bottom is flat, which makes the boat stable against strong current in Kumano river.
It’s well designed not only the form of the boat overall,cross-section, and hollow on the bottom, but also plates or nails that constitute body of the boat. This boat can go in severe conditions like a few centimeters of water depth, to say nothing of strong current and wind.
The boat is made of 4 kinds of wood; cedar, cypress, keyaki, and oak, and all of the Materials come from forest in watershed of Kumano river. Materials for boat need properties like light, hard to rot, or resilient, and heart wood of cedar is the best for these properties, so boat builder make 80% of the boat with cedar, like hull and deck board. Other part of the boat like gunnel are made of cypress or keyaki, and oak is for bottom, which protects from crash with riverbed or rocks.
In particular, cedar need to be so big that reach more than 100 years old, so boat builder go to forest and choose wood by himself. After lumbering low wood, it takes more than 1 year to dry.
谷上 嘉一
Yoshikazu Tanigami
莊司 健
Takeshi Shoji
東 浩志
Koshi Higashi
柿白 実
Minoru Kakishiro
北原 潤希
Junki Kitahara
10mins by car/taxi from Shingu Station
From Nagoya
3.5hrs by JR the Limited Express Nanki for Shingu & Kii-Katsuura
From Shirahama
2hrs by JR the Limited Express Kuroshio for Shingu
2hrs by car