'''Kumano''' (熊野市 : ''Kumano-shi'') is a small city in southern-most Mie with a population of about 21,000  

'''Kumano''' (熊野市 : ''Kumano-shi'') is a small city in the [[Deep South]] of Mie with an estimated population of about 21,000.

==Name==

==Name==

[[Image:Busy Kumanoshi Station.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Kumanoshi Station on the night of the fireworks]]

[[Image:Busy Kumanoshi Station.jpg|350px|right|thumb|Kumanoshi Station on the night of the fireworks]]

From Matsusaka or Taki, take the train south (heading towards Shingu or Kii-Katsuura), but make sure it's not going to Ise (a different line). It takes about two hours on the Limited Express from Matsusaka Station (you have to pay extra but you get a much more comfortable journey). It is about 3-4 hours on the local train. Warning: the trains to Kumano are not very frequent and the last ones in and out are pretty early. Check your times before you attempt to make the journey, especially if you need to be somewhere - like school!

From Matsusaka or Taki, take the train south (heading towards [[Shingū]] or Kii-Katsuura), but make sure it's not going to Ise (a different line). It takes about two hours on the Limited Express from Matsusaka Station (you have to pay extra but you get a much more comfortable journey). It is about 3-4 hours on the local train. Warning: the trains to Kumano are not very frequent and the last ones in and out are pretty early. Check your times before you attempt to make the journey, especially if you need to be somewhere - like school!

If you're thinking of visiting Wakayama-ken or the southern Kii Peninsula, the tokkyu (Limited Express) that runs through Kumano goes down to Shingū and Kii-Katsuura in Wakayama and is fairly fast.

If you're thinking of visiting Wakayama-ken or the southern Kii Peninsula, the tokkyu (Limited Express) that runs through Kumano goes down to Shingū and Kii-Katsuura in Wakayama and is fairly fast.

*:Literally translated as "a thousand rice fields", these are some of the most well preserved terraced rice fields in Japan. The hundreds of small rice fields climbing up a mountain are beautiful in every season. Accessed most easily by car (35 minutes inland from Kumano near Kiwa-cho), Senmaida is also reachable by bus from Kumano Station. Rice planting is usually done around the last Sunday in May, and harvesting is done in early September.

*:Literally translated as "a thousand rice fields", these are some of the most well preserved terraced rice fields in Japan. The hundreds of small rice fields climbing up a mountain are beautiful in every season. Accessed most easily by car (35 minutes inland from Kumano near Kiwa-cho), Senmaida is also reachable by bus from Kumano Station. Rice planting is usually done around the last Sunday in May, and harvesting is done in early September.