Japanese
"Honejima Island" along the Kumano-gawa River（Kumano-gawa-no Honejima）
熊野川の骨嶋
Along the river sits a gigantic rock that resembles a backbone
If you take a boat ride down the Kumano-gawa River, which has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for serving as a river pilgrimage route, numerous scenic spots and odd-shaped rocks appear one after another on both sides of the river. A rock resembling a pure white vertebral column that lies on the shore of the river is so-called “Honejima Island” (literally, “Bone Island”). Legend has it that it is a bone of Kishin (a demon deity) severed by Kumano Gongen (the major deity of Kumano).
Information
Access
Get on the Kumano Kotsu Bus at a stop near JR Shingu Station or Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine, and get off at “Michi-no-Eki Kumano-gawa”[道の駅熊野川] stop. Then, board a river boat (kawabune) from the Kumano-gawa River Traditional Boat Tour Center (Kawabune Center).
