Kisen Onsen Shugendo

Kisen Onsen Shugendo (紀泉温泉修験道) is a pilgrimage-style onsen stamp rally founded in 2015 by Nishiguchi Masatoshi (西口正敏), who worked at Hanayama Onsen Yakushi-no-yu (花山温泉 薬師の湯) in Wakayama City and chairs the program's executive committee. It was modelled on two existing rallies, the Beppu Hatto Onsen-do (別府八湯温泉道) and the Suzu Onsen Sento-do (珠洲温泉銭湯道) in Ishikawa, and follows Beppu's rules. The program overlays a bathing circuit on the Kii Peninsula's pilgrimage routes (Kumano Kodo, Koyasan, Ise), so that each stamp doubles as a small act of pilgrimage.

It launched with eight founding facilities, reached 46 in 2019 and 49 by the 5th anniversary in 2020, and the official roster now lists 68. Member facilities span three prefectures: Wakayama, Osaka and Nara. Back in 2020 the committee told the press it was aiming for 88 facilities, echoing Shikoku's 88-temple pilgrimage; the site no longer states that target, and today the 88 that matters is the 88 stamps needed for the Sendatsu rank.

What's in a name

• 紀 (Kii): the old province of Kii (present-day Wakayama and southern Mie).
• 泉 (Izumi): the old province of Izumi (present-day southern Osaka).
• 修験道 (Shugendo): the Japanese tradition of mountain asceticism whose practitioners (山伏 / yamabushi) walk sacred ranges as spiritual training. The name frames the program as a yu-shugyo (湯修行), bathing as discipline.

The program was founded at Hanayama Onsen Yakushi-no-yu in Wakayama City, a 26°C cold spring re-heated into one of the most mineral-dense waters in the country, a fitting starting point for a pilgrim's journey. Certification and applications are handled by the Kisen Onsen Shugendo Executive Committee (紀泉温泉修験道実行委員会), based in Wakayama City.

The Sendatsu-cho (先達帳)

Your stamp book.

• What it is: a small paper booklet, the 先達帳 ("pilgrim's book"). Each book holds 8 stamp slots.
• Where to buy: any active participating facility (see the Places tab), or the program's own online shop.
• Cost: ¥200 per book.

You can buy a new book at any participating onsen as soon as the previous one is filled; the program allows (and encourages) collecting multiple completed books on the way to the higher ranks. Joining is called nyubu (入峯), "entering the mountains", and filling a book is manyu joju (満湯成就).

Stamping rules

1. One stamp per bath. Bathe at a participating facility, then ask the front desk to stamp your Sendatsu-cho.
2. Eight different facilities per book. A single book needs eight distinct stamps, so you cannot fill one by visiting the same bath twice.
3. Across books is fine. The same facility can stamp every one of your books on the way to Sendatsu (施設の重複は可); that's the intended way to reach 88 stamps.

The program doesn't publish a deadline, an expiry, or a required order, so in practice you collect at your own pace. What it does ask for is restraint: the participants' code (kokoroe, 心得) warns against racing for numbers and forgetting to actually enjoy the water.

The certification ladder

Each rank needs one more filled book than the last. The certification fee (nintei-ryo, 認定料) is ¥2,000 per rank, payable every time, and all certifications are issued by the Kisen Onsen Shugendo Executive Committee.

• 名人 (Meijin), "Master": 1 filled book (8 stamps). The entry rank, marking manyu joju.
• 2度位 to 10度位名人 (Nidoi to Judoi Meijin): one rank per additional filled book, from the second circuit through the tenth.
• 先達 (Sendatsu), "Pilgrim Leader": 11 filled books (88 total stamps). Named after the Shugendo term for a guide who leads other practitioners through the mountains.
• 大先達 (Dai-Sendatsu), "Great Pilgrim Leader": 88 filled books (704 stamps), equivalent to eight times over Sendatsu. Exactly one person currently holds it.

Meijin certificates come with an embroidered long towel; Sendatsu adds a branded handmade wooden bath bucket (kioke, 木桶) made in Wakayama. At the 5th-anniversary milestone in June 2020, around twenty people held the Sendatsu rank; the program now counts 62 Sendatsu and over 1,150 Meijin.

How to apply

When a book is full, apply to the Kisen Onsen Shugendo Executive Committee.

1. By post. Mail the completed Sendatsu-cho together with a postal money order (yubin kogawase, 郵便小為替) for ¥2,000.
2. Online. You can instead pay the ¥2,000 fee through the program's website, and still post the book.
3. You'll receive the certificate from the committee.

Applying in person is currently suspended. The secretariat used to sit at Hanayama Onsen; since it closed no replacement counter has been named, so everything goes by post. Certificates are numbered in the order the books arrive in the mail.

Send to

• 紀泉温泉修験道実行委員会 (Kisen Onsen Shugendo Executive Committee)
• 〒640-8402 Wakayama-shi, Nozaki 238-6
• Phone: 050-3503-2047

Tips

• Hanayama Onsen is unmissable. The founder's facility is itself one of the prefecture's most distinctive baths: high mineral concentration, characteristic orange-brown coating on every surface. Plan to bathe there at least once during your circuit.
• Pair with Kumano Kodo or Koyasan. Most facilities cluster around the Kii Peninsula's pilgrimage routes; a single trip can easily yield 3 to 4 stamps if you plan your bathing along the route.
• Watch for closures. The roster is long and the official site updates it slowly, so some listed facilities have shut or paused; the Places tab below marks each clearly. Don't plan a long detour without phoning ahead.
• Check whether day use is offered. A few members stamp only for overnight guests (柳屋 in Shirahama, for instance, joined in 2025 on that basis), and at some inns the bath is guests-only even though the facility is open.
• Bring your book everywhere. Some smaller facilities only stamp on request, so having the booklet visible at the front desk speeds things along.

Earning the Onsen Oni badge

The Kisen Onsen Shugendo Meijin badge is awarded by Onsen Oni moderators to users who have filled a Sendatsu-cho and received the Meijin certification from the Executive Committee. Send evidence of completion (the filled Sendatsu-cho or Meijin certificate) through the feedback channel and moderators will grant the badge.

Because the program continues toward the higher Sendatsu rank, this badge is repeatable: the number on your tile shows how many Sendatsu-cho you've completed. Reach eleven to match the Sendatsu rank and trigger the separate Kisen Onsen Shugendo Sendatsu badge.