This is a hamlet with expansive views of tranquil countryside. A rare natural phenomenon known as Fuden oroshi occurs here from spring to late autumn, with huge swathes of morning mist flowing down the mountains like a river.

Oroshi is about 14 km from Hana-noIwaya so this is a place to aim for when walking the Hongudo in one day.

Maruyama Senmaida is one of the top 100 terraced rice field spots in Japan, with 1,340 large and small paddies lying on top of each other on the mountainside. There were more than 2,000 paddies here in 1601, but that number had declined to 530 in 1992 due to depopulation. Consequently, local people started conservation activities and restored the rice paddies to the current number.

There is a unique ownership system that allows people who donate 30,000 yen a year to have their own rice paddy for that year, and it is also possible to participate in planting and harvesting.

In addition, there is an event known as mushiokuri that takes place in June each year to drive away crop-eating insects. Farmers walk through the rice terraces carrying torches, drums and bells to drive away insects and because those lights are so fantastical, it has become a seasonal summer tradition, with many people coming to visit.

599 m above sea level, Mt. Binshiyama can be accessed in about 1.5 hours one-way to the west of Magose-toge Pass along the ridge line.

There is a rock shaped like the back of an elephant, and if you stand on top of this monolith, you feel like you are standing on top of the world.

Another dramatic rock formation is located south along the coast called Shishiiwa. It is 25 m high and looks like a lion or beast with its mouth open in a roar. This is said to be the guardian deity of the Oma-jinja shrine located inland near the mouth of the river.

Onigajo is unique landform of hardened volcanic ash that has been eroded by the sea and wind. The name Onigajo is appropriate and means demon castle. There is a walking trail around the coast in and amongst these dramatic formations.

At 415 m above sea level, this is the last path that pilgrims cross who have walked from Ise Jingu to Kumano Hongu Taisha. A long slope up continues from Shiko and after 5.8 km, the trail joins the Kogumotori-goe section of the Nakahechi route.

This is a pass on the Kitasando, which splits with the Hongudo at the hamlet of Ushiroji at the foot of Fuden-toge Pass and heads for Yoshino. The trail with cobblestones continues to Maruyama Senmaida. From the lookout point a little up from the pass, which is 390 m above sea level, you can get a bird’s eye view of Maruyama Senmaida.

At 257 m above sea level, Fuden-toge Pass goes through the mountains from Oroshi to Yanokawa. It is lined with cobblestones from the eastern side. It is the only place on the Iseji where a tea shop is operated at the pass.

From this pass at 305 m above sea level, you can have a panoramic view of the Kumanonada Sea. There is a legend that when Kukai, founder of the Shingon esoteric school of Buddhism, made a hole in the ground with his cane where the Mizutsubo Jizo statue stands on the way to the pass, water sprang up. The Oriyama Jizo statue stands at the western trailhead and mossy cobblestones remain in that area.

Hongudo is the mountain trail shortcut from Hana-no-Iwaya to Kumano Hongu Taisha, that joins up with the Nakahechi route after passing the Yokogaki-toge Pass, Fuden-toge Pass and Banzetoge pass.