The route from Ise to Kumano Sanzan was a path that followers of Kannon, the Goddess of Mercy, took in search of salvation.
People with incurable dise
ases, or family troubles, or those who had been driven out of their country—many types of people would make the pilgrimage, believing that Kannon would save them.

As it was said in the Owase-Bushi folk song, “If I could, I would flatten Yakiyama-goe with a hoe.” This route is said to be the most difficult to traverse in western Japan, and is a little less than 6 kilometers from the Yakiyama-goe trailhead to the Mikisato trailhead. Between Kuki-toge Pass, which is 522 meters high, and Miki-toge Pass, which is 627 meters high, so the difference in elevation is more than 600 meters. This is about where you can see the 1/63 marker, which shows the trailhead of the route. Each marker is placed about a hundred meters apart, with Kuki-toge Pass having 21 out of the 63 and Miki-toge Pass having 37. It’s easy to measure the distance this way and to mark your position if you ever need to call for help.