Like the well-known Spanish Camino de Santiago, the Kumano Kodo is an ancient pilgrim route that offers walkers opportunities to walk historic trails – in scenically stunning surrounds – at their own pace.

Adventure travel specialist, World Expeditions, reports surging interest in its range of Japanese pilgrim trail walks, such as the World Heritage listed Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route.

World Expeditions CEO, Sue Badyari, said the Japanese trails are rapidly gaining in popularity, with confident trekkers attracted by the historical and cultural significance of the trails, the delicious food, polite and friendly locals as well as opportunities to stay in traditional ryokans along the way.

“We’ve seen a 20% growth in bookings for our Japan walks already in 2019,” Ms Badyari said. “The combination of historic trails, organized accommodation and luggage transfers that has long been popular in Europe is definitely catching on in Japan.”

World Expeditions’ active European brand, UTracks, is a leading operator of self-guided walks throughout Europe, including numerous Camino de Santiago walks in Spain, France and Portugal, so the company is experienced with the model.

“The popularity of the European Camino has educated the market about the attractions of these historic trails and the market has embraced the Japanese offering,” Ms Badyari said.

The connection between the Camino and the Kumano has been recognized through the Dual Pilgrim program, which was set up to recognize the achievements of people who have walked both Japan’s Kumano Kodo and Spain’s Way of St. James (Camino de Santiago).

The Dual Pilgrim certificate can be collected in either Santiago de Compostela, Spain or in Kumano Hongu Heritage Centre, Japan after both the UNESCO World Heritage pilgrimage routes are completed.

For further information or to book visit  www.worldexpeditions.com

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