What is there to see at Nachi?

Nachi Falls drops 133 metres, Japan's tallest single-drop waterfall, and is itself worshipped as a Shinto deity at Kumano Nachi Taisha, one of the three Kumano grand shrines. Beside the shrine stands Seiganto-ji, a Buddhist temple whose three-storey pagoda framed against the falls is one of the most photographed views in Japan. TIME named Kumano Nachi Taisha one of the World's Greatest Places of 2025. The fishing port of Katsuura, Japan's largest tuna landing port, and its hot-spring town are about 15 minutes away by car.

Can you visit Nachi Falls as a day trip?

Yes, and most people do. Nachi has very little accommodation of its own, so the typical pattern is a day trip from Katsuura, Shirahama, or even Osaka on a long day, seeing the falls, shrine, pagoda and Daimon-zaka in a few hours before returning to a hotel elsewhere for the night.

The vermilion three-storey pagoda of Seiganto-ji with Nachi Falls behind it

Wakayama · Japan

Nachi & the Coast

Japan's tallest single-drop waterfall, beside a vermilion pagoda that TIME named one of the World's Greatest Places of 2025 — with a tuna-fishing port and hot-spring town a few minutes away.

Zairon · CC BY 4.0

A shrine, a temple and a waterfall, together

Nachi is unusual among the Kumano Sanzan (the three grand shrines) in that its object of worship is the waterfall itself rather than a building. Kumano Nachi Taisha and Seiganto-ji share the same hillside, a rare example in Japan of Shinto and Buddhist sites standing directly side by side — a legacy of the syncretic practice that defined Kumano worship before the Meiji era separated the two religions elsewhere.

Most visitors reach the falls via the Daimon-zaka, a stone-paved approach through old-growth cedar that is itself a short, well-preserved section of the Kumano Kodo — worth walking even if you have no plans to do the longer Nakahechi route.

Where to stay: Katsuura onsen

Most visitors base themselves in Katsuura's hot-spring town rather than at Nachi itself, which has little accommodation of its own.

Nachikatsuura hotels: price, what makes each one different, and where to book
Hotel	From (per night)	What makes it different	Book
Hotel Urashima	$166	A sprawling 393-room resort built into the cliffs, with a natural sea-cave hot-spring bath (Bokido) reachable only by boat within the hotel.	Booking.com →
Kumano-bettei Nakanoshima	$693	A private island reached by a 5-minute hotel ferry, with rooms that have their own open-air bath and kaiseki dining.	Booking.com →

Prices are per-night starting rates in USD, seen on listings shortly before publication. Both hotels are on the water and run their own shuttle boats from central Katsuura.

Before you go

A bus runs from Kii-Katsuura Station to Nachi-san (near the falls and shrine); a taxi is faster if there are two or more of you splitting the fare.

The classic photo of the pagoda framed against the falls is taken from a specific spot beside Seiganto-ji's three-storey pagoda — arrive early to get it without a crowd of other photographers in frame.

Getting to Katsuura from Osaka

Take the JR Kuroshio limited express from Shin-Osaka or Tennoji to Kii-Katsuura Station — about 4 hours, the longest rail journey covered on this site, reflecting how far south this coast runs.

From Kii-Katsuura Station, a local bus or hotel shuttle covers the final stretch to Nachi or to the Katsuura hotels themselves.

Primary sources

Last updated: 2026-09-14