While the Kumano Kodo is well recognised, it was found that 85% of people have never visited it [survey report].

Nihon Unist, which operates SEN.RETREAT, conducted a survey of 550 people on their awareness, image and experience of visiting the Kumano Kodo, and found that 79% of the respondents were aware of the Kumano Kodo and 85% had never actually visited the area.
Although the Kumano Kodo has a certain level of name recognition due to its registration as a World Heritage site, the survey revealed that there is still room for marketing and motivating people to actually visit the site, and the results of this survey will be utilised in the future management of the facility.

[Digest].

• 80% of people know about the Kumano Kodo
• 10% of people have been to the Kumano Kodo
• The most common image associated with the Kumano Kodo is ‘World Heritage’.

• [Survey results.]
• Around 80% of people in the country are aware of the Kumano Kodo.In the Kansai region only, the level of awareness rose to over 90%.

The word ‘Kumano Kodo’ is thought to have been heard of by a majority of the population, as it has become better known throughout the country, for example due to its registration as a World Heritage Site in 2004.

Only 20% of the respondents know more than one prefecture through which the Kumano Kodo passes.

The Kumano Kodo include not only the Nakaheji and Oheji routes through Wakayama Prefecture and the Iseji route through Mie Prefecture, but also the Kobeji route through Nara Prefecture and the Kii route through Osaka and Kyoto Prefectures. 20% of all respondents could identify more than one prefecture, while 25% could identify only one prefecture, indicating that the image is strongly linked to Wakayama or Mie Prefecture.

25% of respondents in Nara Prefecture, 16.7% in Wakayama Prefecture and 16.7% in Mie Prefecture knew all the prefectures through which the Kumano Kodo passes, suggesting that locals have a better understanding of the Kumano Kodo.

Only 10% of respondents have visited the Kumano Kodo

Only 3.8% of respondents had visited and stayed overnight in Kumano Kodo, while 85% had never visited. The smallest percentages of respondents who had never been were from Nara, Wakayama and Mie prefectures, at 25%, 33% and 50% respectively.
On the other hand, 79% of respondents in Osaka, 88% in Kyoto and 67% in Hyogo prefectures showed a wide gap even within the same Kansai region.

The most common image associated with the Kumano Kodo is ‘World Heritage’. The other most common image associated with the Kumano Kodo is ‘beautiful natural scenery’.

The image of the Kumano Kodo as a ‘World Heritage Site’ was the most common (41%), and 19 years after it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2004, it is thought that this has helped to build up the image of the area. As a place rich in natural beauty, 34% of respondents chose ‘beautiful natural scenery’, while 23% chose ‘Nachi Falls and other natural features’.

While the proportion of those in their 60s and older was high for ‘Kumano faith’ (37%) and ‘pilgrimage routes’ (31%), only 3% of those aged 20-24 selected ‘Kumano faith’ and 16% ‘pilgrimage routes’, indicating age differences in cultural and religious images.

• The most common thing respondents want to do when reflecting on their lives is to visit shrines and temples.

We hypothesised that the purpose of visiting the Kumano Kodo would be to face oneself and deepen one’s thoughts by making a pilgrimage, so we set up a question item asking what one would like to do when rethinking and reflecting on one’s life.

The results showed that 41% of respondents wanted to ‘visit shrines and temples’ and 34% wanted to ‘visit historical places in Japan’.The Kumano Kodo, including Nakaheji where SEN.RETREAT is located, offers visitors the experience of walking in the mountains over two to five nights on a variety of routes.
Along the way, the Kumano Kodo offers a combination of nature, history and culture, including the Kumano Hongu Taisha shrine and the Nachi waterfalls, making it a suitable environment for reflection. Japan Unisto sees the Kumano Kodo as a path for contemplating life, and aims to build a culture in which Japanese people walk the Kumano Kodo as a path to walk at milestones in their lives.

• Survey overview

Survey period: 08/08/2023 – 09/08/2023
Method of survey: internet survey (survey organisation: Macromill Inc.)
Survey area: 47 prefectures
Sample size: 520 persons