Kyoto Ise Kii Peninsula Self Tour
The Inner Spirit of Japan

Today, after your depart from Osaka you will be arriving at Mount Koya, one of the sacred places in Japan, center of Shingon Buddhism founded by one of the most significant religious figures in Japan’s Buddhism, Kobo Daishi. Even being a small area, there is a full concentration of sacred places such as the Kongobuji temple, head temple of Shingon Buddhism and the Okunoin a 2 km walk to Kobo Daishi’s mausoleum. We will then ride our way through the mountains to arrive at our hotel in Shirahama, one of the most ancient hot spring locations in Japan, its name means “white beach”, referring to a 500 meter long bright white sand beach, main attractions of this resort area. 

On this day you wil first arrive to peninsula's cape Shionomisaki, historical location of several encounters between Japan and foreign countries. One of them is a touching episode about a Turkish ship crushing on this area’s coast and the survivors being saved by local population, episode symbolized by the Turkish Memorial Museum. We will then move to Kumano, city full of nature, center spot of the Kumano prefecture and popular power spot, part of the ancient Iseji pilgrimage route. We will then ride to the coast to arrive on our beautiful resort in Owase to relax while enjoying the sea view.

This day will be a whole coast riding day. You will depart from Owase, all the way to the north, enjoying the beautiful north-east coast of the peninsula. After a luxurious lunch on the sea, we will continue all the way to the north to arrive at the Ise Shrine, a massive shrines group consisting in 2 main complexes, the Naiku (Inner Shrine), dedicated to Amaterasu Omikami, one of the most important deities of japanese shinto and Geku (Outer Shrine), dedicated to Toyouke, the deity of house keeping and nurture. We then arrive at our hotel in Ise area.

Today we will return on the mountains, departing from Ise and riding through Mie region, all the way to Nara, to go one more time to the north on some curly mountain roads with destination Iga, the land of ninjas. Here we will arrive at an authentic ninja museum, built into an original ninja house, full of surprises, hidden escpe routes, hidden doors and much more. We will be also able to attend ninja shows and to learn about the ancient ninja culture. We will then continue all the way to Kyoto, to rest and prepare for the next day.

On this last day you will wake up in Kyoto, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Here you can choose between some iconic places like the Kyomizudera Temple, the Fushiminari Shrine or the beautiful Gyon area. On the evening you can also visit Nara. First capital of Japan before Kyoto and Tokyo. Nara is famous for the Todaiji temple and its Daibutsu, a large Buddha bronze statue. Another main features of this magic city is the presence of free deers walking absolutely fearless along the place. We will then return to Osaka to return our vehicles. See you on your next ride!