Kansai in Summer

A night at one of around 52 shukubo (宿坊) temple lodgings on Koyasan (高野山) in northern Wakayama gives visitors the chance to share a temple with Buddhist monks for around ¥10,000 to ¥20,000 per night with two shojin ryori vegetarian meals, with attendance at the 5am morning prayer service in the temple's hondo and some temples adding optional meditation or sutra copying sessions. The wider Koyasan town sits on a small highland plateau between eight surrounding peaks of the Kii Mountain Range and was founded by the monk Kukai in 816 as the centre of the Shingon Buddhist sect, registered in 2004 as part of the UNESCO "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range" with around 117 temples now spread across the town. Okunoin at the eastern end of the town is the most sacred area, with a cedar forested approach past over 200,000 memorial stones and the graves of daimyo lords including Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Oda Nobunaga leading to Kukai's mausoleum where he is believed by the Shingon tradition to remain in eternal meditation. The cool highland air runs several degrees lower than the lowlands through the hot Kansai summer. From Osaka Namba Station the Nankai Koya Line runs to Gokurakubashi Station in around 1 hour 20 minutes followed by a cable car and bus up the mountain.

The Nakahechi (中辺路) route of the Kumano Kodo (熊野古道) ancient pilgrimage network in the mountains of the Kii Peninsula in southern Wakayama runs from the Takijiri-oji trailhead through the mountain villages of Takahara and Tsugizakura over three days of walking to Kumano Hongu Taisha (熊野本宮大社), the head of the three Kumano Sanzan grand shrines, with a further two days continuing to Kumano Nachi Taisha (熊野那智大社) and the option of bus or train to Kumano Hayatama Taisha (熊野速玉大社) at the coast in Shingu. The wider network was registered in 2004 as part of the UNESCO "Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range" and is one of only two UNESCO listed pilgrimage routes in the world along with the Camino de Santiago in Spain, with the Nakahechi the most popular and accessible section walked for over 1,000 years by emperors, samurai, monks and ordinary pilgrims. The stone paved Daimon-zaka approach to Nachi Taisha climbs through moss covered towering cedar trees and the Nachi Waterfall behind the shrine drops in a single sheer fall that ranks as Japan's tallest single drop waterfall and one of the country's Three Great Waterfalls. The route is shaded by dense cedar forest through summer with pilgrim hot springs at Yunomine, Kawayu and Watarase offering bath stops. From Shin-Osaka Station the JR Limited Express Kuroshio runs to Kii-Tanabe Station in around 2 hours 15 minutes, with a 40 minute bus from there to the Takijiri trailhead.

竹野浜 (Takenohama) is the beach of 竹野町 (Takeno-cho) in Toyooka City, on the Japan Sea coast of northern Hyogo, and about a kilometre of fine white sand backed by the old fishing town. The water is clear enough that it has been chosen for both the 快水浴場百選 (100 best swimming beaches) and the 日本の渚百選 (100 best shores of Japan), and the coast around it is a geosite of the 山陰海岸ジオパーク (San'in Kaigan UNESCO Global Geopark), with sea caves and rock formations along the shore on either side. At the eastern end the 猫崎半島 (Nekozaki Peninsula) shelters the bay, which is why Takeno served as a port where the 北前船 (Kitamae-bune) trading ships of the Edo period waited out bad weather. The swimming season ran from 1 July to 23 August in 2026, with lifeguards on duty from 8am to 5pm and 6 beach houses along the sand, where changing and showers cost about ¥1,000 for adults. The Takeno sea fireworks, held since 1970, are launched over the bay in late July. Takeno is one stop west of Kinosaki Onsen on the JR San'in Line, and the beach is about 15 minutes on foot from Takeno Station. Pairing a day on the sand here with a night in the bathhouse town of Kinosaki is the easiest way to see the Japan Sea side of Kansai in summer.

A speciality of Osaka, particularly in the Senshu region. Mizu nasu is unusually soft and juicy, to the point where it can be eaten raw. It is most commonly prepared as a light pickle, where its natural sweetness and high water content create a refreshing, almost crisp texture that fits perfectly with summer.

Grilled eel is eaten in high summer, particularly around 土用の丑の日 (Doyo no Ushi no Hi), on a long standing custom held to help combat fatigue caused by the heat. In Kansai, the preparation style differs slightly from Kanto, with the eel often grilled directly without steaming first, resulting in a firmer texture. It is rich, but intentionally eaten as a way to maintain energy through the season.

Ayu run the clear upland rivers of Kansai through the summer, and the season is set by the river rather than the calendar. On the 上桂川 (Kamigatsuragawa) at Keihoku in the northern hills of Kyoto, 友釣り (tomozuri), the decoy method in which a live ayu on a line provokes a territorial fish into striking, opened at 5am on June 20 in 2026. Fish caught on that stretch were sent to the imperial court from the founding of the Heian capital until the end of the Edo period and are still sold under the name 献上鮎 (kenjo ayu / tribute ayu). The other name for the fish, 香魚 (koyo / fragrant fish), comes from a melon like scent in the flesh that fades within hours of the catch. The standard treatment is 塩焼き (shioyaki), skewered whole in a curve, salted heavily on the fins and tail so they survive the fire, grilled over charcoal and eaten head to tail with the bitter gut left in. Small early season fish are eaten whole in a couple of bites, while later fish are fattier and often served as part of a kaiseki course. It is the fish that anchors the summer menus on the kawadoko platforms at Kibune and along the Kamogawa.

Somen is eaten across Japan in summer, but the trade is centred on 三輪 (Miwa) in Sakurai City, Nara, at the foot of Mount Miwa. The tradition holds that more than 1,200 years ago the son of a priest at 大神神社 (Omiwa Shrine) sowed wheat in the district and made the first somen from it, and the shrine still holds a 卜定祭 (Bokujosai) each February at which the coming year's somen price is divined. The noodles are made only from December to the end of March, when the cold dry air suits a process that runs over two days. The dough is repeatedly stretched, twisted and rested in a stage called ウマシ (umashi) that drives off moisture, which is what gives the finished noodle its thinness, its firmness and its resistance to going soft in the pot. 三輪素麺 was registered as a protected geographical indication in March 2016. In summer it is boiled, shocked in ice water and served with a cold dipping sauce, and in winter the same noodles go into にゅうめん (nyumen), a hot broth version that is the everyday Nara way of eating them.

The peach orchards of 桃山町 (Momoyama) in Kinokawa City in northern Wakayama supply あら川の桃 (Arakawa no Momo), which reach the stands as a relay of varieties rather than a single crop. Picking starts in the second half of June with 日川白鳳 (Hikawa Hakuho) and runs through 八幡白鳳 (Hachiman Hakuho), 白鳳 (Hakuho), なつっこ (Natsukko) and 清水白桃 (Shimizu Hakuto) to the late, large, firmer 川中島白桃 (Kawanakajima Hakuto) in early August, so the fruit on sale in mid July is a different peach from the fruit on sale three weeks later. The name was registered as a trademark in 1994 and as a protected geographical indication in July 2023. Most of the crop is sold locally rather than shipped. The JA Kinosato farm shop めっけもん広場 (Mekkemon Hiroba) opens at 9am in season and the peaches are generally gone soon after, which is why the roadside stands along the valley are the practical way to buy them. They are eaten plain and cold, and are at their best within a day or two of picking.

Of the three pickles Kyoto is known for, 千枚漬 (senmaizuke) and すぐき漬 (sugukizuke) are both made from late autumn onwards, and しば漬 (shibazuke) is the summer one. It is made in 大原 (Ohara), the mountain basin north east of the city, from summer aubergine, salt and the local 赤紫蘇 (akashiso / red shiso), left to sour through lactic fermentation over roughly two months with no vinegar added. The red shiso is the point. Ohara has grown it for around 800 years from seed saved locally, and the basin geography keeps the strain from crossing with outside varieties, while the day to night temperature swing and the summer mountain mist are credited with the colour and scent that make it worth the journey. The harvest peaks in July, and 寂光院 (Jakkoin) holds a 赤しそ法要 (Akashiso Hoyo), a service of thanks for the crop, on July 1. The name is written 紫葉漬, purple leaf pickle, and tradition has it that 建礼門院 (Kenreimon in), living out her retirement at Jakkoin, was given a jar of the villagers' pickled summer vegetables and named it herself.