National Natural Monument Onigajō Cliff, also known as Onigajo Cliffside 鬼ヶ城 or Demon’s Castle, is a unique attraction to visit in Japan’s Kumano City, Mie Prefecture.
Onigajo Cliffside is a 1-kilometer walk along the southern Kii Peninsula of endless rocks and beautiful cliffsides with sea erosions.
There are holes in the liparite bedrock and rocks, so this site may trigger those with trypophobia (people who do not like seeing clusters of holes). Even though sea erosions are naturally occurring, they look like something out of this world, almost alien-like.
This place is not on the typical Japan itinerary as it’s an off-the-beaten-path spot, yet Justin and I highly recommend visiting if you’re in the area.
I found out about this place by zooming in on Google Maps. I wanted to find attractions to visit after exploring Kii Katsuura and Shinga, and on the way to Matsusaka (where we stayed overnight for a few days).
Since there isn’t much discussed about this place, we wanted to share our adventurous experience at Onigajo Cliffside and what to expect on your visit.
*Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, we receive a small commission. There is no additional cost to you. Appreciate the support.
Things to Know Before Your Visit to Onigajo Cliffside
- This place is free to visit! WooHoo! It’s great for those who want to travel to Japan on a budget.
- This place is a UNESCO World Heritage site. For those who like to visit UNESCO sites, Onigajo received a World Heritage recognition in 2004. Since this place is located within the Yoshino-Kumano National Park, it’s part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range. Read more about the recognition here.
- There are two entrances to start the walk – either from the East or West side.
TIP: We recommend starting at the East side (where the Onigajo Tourist Center is located and it’s closer to the Odomari train station.) This is considered the main entrance.
- You can either go one way or make an out-and-back loop for the walk. Depending on the amount of time that you have, you can either go one-way from the East to West entrance (or vice versa) and then walk along the main road to get back to your starting location, or start at either the East or West Entrance and make an out-and-back loop. We started at the East entrance and didn’t want to backtrack, so we did the out-and-back loop.
- Wear comfortable walking shoes. Do not wear sandals or high heels. The walking path is mostly flat with some inclines and uneven rocks, so safety first!
- This place isn’t wheelchair friendly. If visiting from the East entrance, there is a paved walkway from the parking lot to the first viewpoint, Senjojiki. Afterward, the path becomes narrow, slightly technical, and is only accessible by foot. So, once you reach Senjojiki, you can turn around and hang out at the Onigajo Center.
This is the only paved section
- Toilets and snacks are at the Onigajo Tourist Center at the East and West Entrances. At the East entrance, you can also stop to buy souvenirs at the Tourist Center. There are no toilets along the walking route.
- Be careful with any incoming waves on the shore. You’re allowed to walk onto the rocks near the ocean. But watch out for any large waves that may come in!
You can walk to the edge of the ocean and a cliffside. Be careful if there are high waves.
- Wear sunscreen and bring a hat. Most of the path is not shaded so it gets very hot. There are shallow caves that provide some reprieve from the heat. We visited at the beginning of September and used an umbrella for coverage but our hands still burned from the sun exposure.
Wear a hat or bring an umbrella to protect your face and body from the sun
What We Loved About This Place
The Demon Statues
When we entered the East entrance, we saw two life-size demon statues. One was red and the other was blue. Both held a spiked bat. They were menacing, which made the name of Onigajo/“Demon’s Castle” very fitting.
Justin is not afraid of the demons at the Onigajo Cliffside entrance
There is a Pokemon Lid here!
We’ve been visiting many places in Japan with Pokémon manhole covers, also known as Poké Lids. Most Poké Lids are in off-the-beaten-path places to encourage tourism.
Read our post on how to find Poke Lids in Japan.
The one at Onigajo is easy to find as it’s at the start of the East entrance.
Here is the Pokemon manhole cover near the entrance
This manhole cover has two adorable characters – Oshawott and Stufful. Oshawott is a sea otter with a yellow shell on its belly. It’s the mascot of Mie Prefecture. Stufful is a bear with a pink and white body and brown legs.
Very few crowds on a weekday.
We went on a weekday in the early afternoon and didn’t see anyone on the trail. It was very hot and humid for a September afternoon, so that could have been why we didn’t see anyone. But we enjoyed having the trail to ourselves and taking plenty of photos along the way.
Unique formations and beautiful coastline
We loved walking through the trail and soaking in the gorgeous Vitamin Sea and coastline.
Many of the formations are different – some look like they’ve been carved out with a flat gelato scoop while others look like sponges with tiny holes in them. We have slight tryptophobia, yet we just shiver and can’t look away from the holes!
One of the unique sea erosions that we saw at Onigajo Cliffside
Other erosions had giant holes in the rocks. There are a few shallow caves that you can climb into.
You can’t go wrong with your adventure here. There are so many formations to take creative landscape photography.
TIP: Water drips from the caves and rocks, so be careful around any puddles.
Super friendly workers at the Onigajo Center.
We took the local train from JR Shingu Station to Odomari Station. We didn’t realize that Odomari Station was very small and didn’t have any coin lockers, so we brought our luggage to the Onigajo Center.
Justin pulled our rolling luggage from the Odomari train station to Onijago Cliffside entrance
We thought there would be lockers there, but didn’t see any. We saw an open lounge area with a sofa and asked the workers if we could store our luggage in a corner. They went above and beyond and brought our luggage to a storage room.
Many thanks to the workers for keeping our luggage safe during our exploration!
Visiting the Observation Deck (Optional).
You can walk along a part of the Kumano Kodo Pilgrimage Trail via the Matsumoto-toge Pass and visit the Observation Deck on the top of a hill. It’s supposed to be a pretty hiking route to see cherry blossoms during the springtime.
We didn’t have a chance to visit, but saw the Matsumoto-toge Pass entrance along the main road from Odomari Station to the East Entrance. There is also a trail near the Onigajo Center.
How Much Time Is Needed to Visit
As mentioned earlier, it’ll depend on your starting and ending location, and whether you’ll do an out-and-back loop or only 1 kilometer in one direction.
If you’re a fast walker, you’ll need at least 1 hour to go through the out-and-back path.
For a leisurely pace and with more photo breaks, you can easily spend 1.5 hours round trip.
How to Get to Onigajo Cliffside
By Train
The nearest train station to Onigajo Cliffside is JR Odomari Station (大泊駅).
It’s a tiny, unmanned station along the JR Kisei Line. From there, you’ll need to walk 10 to 15 minutes to the Onigajo entrance (East entrance).
Note: The train arrives 1-2 times per hour, so you’ll need to monitor the schedule to catch the next train. The station has a train schedule, but you can also use Google Maps for scheduling.
We used the Japan Railway (JR) Ise-Kumano-Wakayama Area Tourist Pass for 5 days. The pass included this station, yet there wasn’t anyone to show the pass when we exited and entered the station.
If you want to take a taxi or bus, you’re out of luck. We did not see any taxis or a bus stop parked in front of the station.
By Car
If you have a car, there is a parking lot next to the Onigajo Center. It’s free to park here.
Final Thoughts
This place was one of the top highlights of our trip. It was well worth visiting the National Natural Monument Onigajo Cliff to see unusual rock formations by natural sea erosions. The short walking path, beautiful views, and little to no crowds made the experience enjoyable.
On a return trip, we would love to visit the Observatory Deck and see the views from the top of the mountain. Plus, it would be another opportunity to view a different part of the Kumano Kodo walking route.
Like this post? Save it to your Japan Travel Board on Pinterest.
