Japan
Kii-Katsuura
A tuna port where the morning auction rivals Tsukiji and cave baths hide inside cliffs.
The tuna arrive before dawn. Katsuura's harbour auction starts in the pre-light hours, and by the time the fishing boats are hosed down, the restaurants along the waterfront are already serving maguro donburi — fresh tuna over rice, sliced from fish that were in the ocean hours ago. Kii-Katsuura in Japan's Wakayama Prefecture exists at the intersection of two obsessions: the Kumano pilgrimage and the Pacific tuna run.
Kii-Katsuura lands more fresh tuna than almost any other port in Japan, supplying markets as far away as Tokyo's Toyosu. The harbour's morning auction is open to public viewing, with whole bluefin and bigeye tuna laid out on the concrete floor. Hotel Urashima, reached only by shuttle boat across the harbour, is built into coastal sea caves where onsen baths overlook the Pacific from inside the cliff face. Nachi Falls, at 133 metres Japan's tallest single-drop waterfall, is visible from the Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine at its base — one of the three grand shrines of the Kumano pilgrimage network.
Couple
A sea-cave onsen overlooking the Pacific, tuna so fresh it still tastes of the ocean, and a waterfall shrine — Kii-Katsuura layers spectacle on spectacle.
Friends
The tuna auction at dawn, a Kumano shrine visit, and the sea-cave baths give groups a packed day that mixes food, culture, and natural drama.
- Tuna auctions at the harbour start before dawn — Katsuura lands more fresh tuna than almost any port in Japan.
- Hotel Urashima is reached only by boat and built into sea caves where onsen baths overlook the Pacific from inside the cliff.
- Nachisan temple sits at the base of Nachi Falls, Japan's tallest single-drop waterfall at 133 metres.
- The fishing port serves maguro donburi — raw tuna over rice — at prices a fraction of Tokyo's.
Maguro tuna sashimi at 6am from the harbour auction — still stiffening, impossibly fresh.
Mehari-zushi rice balls wrapped in takana leaves, the Kumano pilgrim's trail snack.
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