The Koyasan Choishimichi.
The original approach to Koyasan on foot, and the right way to arrive if the client has the legs for it.
What is the Koyasan Choishimichi?
The original approach to Koyasan on foot, and the right way to arrive if the client has the legs for it. About 24 km · 180 stone markers · one long day. Where: Wakayama — Kudoyama up to Koyasan.
Last updated: 18 October 2026
What it actually is.
Before the cable car there was this: a 24 km climb from Jison-in at Kudoyama to the Danjo Garan at the top, marked by 180 stone pillars set one chō apart — roughly every 109 metres — so a pilgrim always knew how far remained. The markers have stood since the 13th century. Walking in, rather than riding up, is the difference between visiting Koyasan and arriving at it.
What an agent needs to know first.
- Inscribed with the Kumano routes in the Kii Mountain Range World Heritage listing.
- One long day: six to eight hours with about 800 m of ascent. It is not technical, but it is a full day and there is nothing to eat along it.
- It pairs naturally with a night in a Koyasan shukubo and Okunoin by lantern the same evening — the walk earns the arrival.
- Clients who cannot walk it lose nothing essential: the cable car takes twenty minutes and Koyasan itself is the point.
One party, one itinerary.
- The full Choishimichi with a guide, luggage sent ahead to the temple lodging
- Shukubo booked at a temple that suits the party, with shojin ryori and the morning goma fire ritual
- Okunoin walked at night, which is when it should be seen
- A shortened variant from Amano or Rokurō-tōge for parties who want the path without the full day
- Osaka or Kansai airport transfers at both ends
When to start.
Six months, driven by the shukubo rather than the path. The best temple lodgings on Koyasan are held a year ahead in the colour season.
SeasonApril to June and October to November. Koyasan sits at 800 m and is genuinely cold from December.
What the walking actually is.
- Jison-in to Rokurō-tōge — the opening climb out of Kudoyama through persimmon orchards onto the ridge, the steepest sustained hour of the day and the stretch that sorts a party
- Rokurō-tōge to Futatsu-torii — undulating ridge walking past the stone markers to the great twin torii above Amano, moderate, with Niutsuhime-jinja a short detour below
- Yatate to the Daimon — the final approach and last climb to Koyasan's great gate, a couple of hours, and the point at which the shortened variants rejoin the path
- Okunoin, Ichi-no-hashi to the Gobyō — the lantern-lit avenue through the cemetery to Kōbō Daishi's mausoleum, level and unhurried, walkable by any client and best after dark
What the route asks of a walker.
Okunoin is a mausoleum and the last stretch beyond the Gobyōbashi bridge is its most sacred part: bow at the bridge, no photography past it, no food or drink, and no walking down the centre of the approach. The stone markers along the Chōishimichi are religious objects, not milestones to sit on. In the shukubo, shoes off, bathe before dinner, take no meat or alcohol into shojin ryori, and rise for the morning ritual if you have said you will. Temple households keep early hours and a late party keeps everyone waiting.
The Koyasan Choishimichi — what agents ask.
Which clients should be sold the full walk?
Regular hill walkers, and only them. It is one continuous day with the ascent front-loaded, no village to stop in and nothing to buy along the route, so everything eaten and drunk is carried from Kudoyama. A party that walks in the Alps or the Lake District will find it long rather than hard. A party whose walking is done on city pavements will finish it in the dark and enjoy none of it, and should be given the shortened variant instead.
What happens if someone has to stop partway?
This is the route's real limitation and it should be priced in. The path runs along a wooded ridge with few road crossings, so an exit means walking to one of the handful of points a vehicle can reach and waiting there. We set those points before departure and the guide carries the plan and the contact. The practical mitigation is to start early: a party that leaves Jison-in at first light has the hours to slow down, which a late start does not.
Does the luggage go up separately?
Yes — bags are sent ahead to the temple lodging on Koyasan and the party climbs with a day pack. It matters more here than elsewhere because the ascent is long and there is nowhere to shed weight en route. The temple will hold the bags until the rooms are ready, so a party arriving on foot in the late afternoon walks straight into a bath rather than a reception queue.
Is a non-Buddhist client welcome in a shukubo and at the morning ritual?
Yes. Koyasan's temple lodgings have taken travellers for centuries and the morning goma fire ritual is open to guests of the temple regardless of belief. Attendance is invited rather than required, and a client who would rather sleep is not judged for it. What is expected is that anyone who does attend sits quietly for its full length and does not leave partway, which is the thing worth briefing.
What is the Koyasan Choishimichi?
Before the cable car there was this: a 24 km climb from Jison-in at Kudoyama to the Danjo Garan at the top, marked by 180 stone pillars set one chō apart — roughly every 109 metres — so a pilgrim always knew how far remained. The markers have stood since the 13th century. Walking in, rather than riding up, is the difference between visiting Koyasan and arriving at it.
How long does the Koyasan Choishimichi take?
About 24 km · 180 stone markers · one long day. Six months, driven by the shukubo rather than the path. The best temple lodgings on Koyasan are held a year ahead in the colour season.
When is the best time to walk it?
April to June and October to November. Koyasan sits at 800 m and is genuinely cold from December.
Does Explera sell this to travellers directly?
No. Explera is a B2B ground operator: we build and run the journey at net rates for a travel agent or tour operator, who keeps the client and the margin. We never market to your client.
The other routes.
The Shikoku 88-Temple Pilgrimage
Around 1,200 km · 88 temples · 40–50 days on foot
The Kumano Kodo
Nakahechi route: about 38 km, 2–4 days walking
Dewa Sanzan
Three mountains · 2,446 stone steps to Haguro's summit
The Nakasendo
69 post towns Edo to Kyoto · the walked section is about 8 km
The Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage
33 temples · the oldest circuit in Japan
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