Hi! My wife and I are traveling to Japan in November and want to do something a little less touristy than our first visit. We decided we want to visit Wakayama prefecture and see the iconic Nachi Falls, since we love nature and hiking. I previously posted and have since refined the itinerary a bit. It was highly recommended to us to rent a car.

We're open to staying longer in the area. Please let us know if there are any day hikes (3-4 hours) that might be worth adding and if it would be worth spending more time in the area. We were also curious how crowded any of these areas may be at this time of year and if we should prioritize doing less each day if so.

Day 1: Osaka to Nara

Morning

1. Breakfast
2. Retrieve rental car
3. Travel from Osaka to Katsuoji Temple (30 min)

Early Afternoon

1. Lunch
2. Travel to Tsubosaka Dera Temple (1 hour)
3. Stay at Amami Onsen Nanten-en (45 min)
   1. Curious if anyone has any thoughts on this place. We found it by chance and are open to alternatives.
4. Dinner and Onsen

~Day 2: Travel from Amami Onsen Nanten-en to Kumano Hongu Taisha~

Morning & Early Afternoon

1. 8am: Breakfast
2. 10am: Stop at Seno Falls (2 hours)
3. 11:30am: Travel to Doro Kyo Gorge (1 hour)
   1. Eat lunch at Doro Hotel
   2. ~Boat tour at 1pm~? 2 hours long, ending at ~3pm

Late Afternoon

1. 3:30pm: Travel to Kumano Hongu Taisha (25m)
   • Oyu no hara
   • Hongu Taisha
2. 5;30pm: Stay at Yunomine Onsen. Having trouble finding availability. Any alternatives?

Questions:

• Is this day a bit too packed? Should we break this up a bit?
• Between Kawayu Onsen and Doro Kyo Gorge, which should we do? We are leaning towards boat tour/gorge

~Day 3: Travel from Yunomine to Nachi~

Morning

1. Breakfast
2. Daimonzaka Walking Trail
   • Start your hike at Daimonzaka, a beautiful cobblestone staircase surrounded by ancient cedar trees. ~This trail is part of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route and takes about 1 hour to reach the top~.
3. Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine
   • Visit this grand shrine, which is one of the three Kumano Sanzan shrines. ~It’s a significant spiritual site with stunning architectur~e
   • Nachi waterfall is the highest waterfall in Japan

Early Afternoon

1. Seigantoji Temple*
   • ~Adjacent to the shrine, this temple is famous for its three-story pagoda, which offers a picturesque view with Nachi Falls in the background~
   • This is the main thing I want to see
2. Nachi Falls
   • Head to Nachi Falls, the tallest waterfall in Japan with a single drop of 133 meters. ~The view of the waterfall with the pagoda in the foreground is iconi~c
   • The two best viewpoints for the falls are from Hiro Jinja and Seiganto-ji
     1. Hiro Jinja is located at the bottom of the waterfall
3. Visit shopping street and have lunch

Late Afternoon

1. Stay at Hotel Urashima

~Day 4: Travel from Nachi to Osaka~

Morning

1. Breakfast
2. Travel to Osaka (3h 45m)
3. Return car

Afternoon

1. Osaka Castle & Blue Birds Rooftop Terrace

Questions

1. Stay the night in Osaka or Kyoto?
2. My wife and I aren’t big fans of big cities and prefer things like hiking and visiting temples. We’ve been to Dotonbori, but are not sure what to do upon our return to Osaka. 
3. After this, we’re also a bit at a loss of where to go next. Roughly, we were thinking of the following areas: Naoshima, Hiroshima, Yamaguichi, Miyajima Island, Fukuoka, Miyazaki. Short on time, we’re not sure which of these areas to prioritize.