JAPAN – Seiganto-ji in Nachikatsuura // You Only Live Twice (1967)
Seiganto-ji is a remote Buddhist temple – surrounded by a spiritual forest. In “You Only Live Twice” it plays an important role. And you should take your time when visiting.
Why Bond was here
Normally, James Bond (Sean Connery) travels the world. This time, he mostly stays in Japan – and totally commits to its heritage. To be undercover, Bond turns himself into a Japanese fisher (well, almost) with the help of the Japanese secret service. The disguise even goes so far, that Bond marries a local woman, the ama diver girl Kissy Suzuki (Mie Hama). Both stay at the remote fisher village Akime in southern Kyushu – but the wedding is celebrated at the famous Buddhist shrine Seiganto in the Wakayama prefecture.
How you gonna get there
Wakayama prefecture isn’t really off the beaten track – but definitely not on your usual Japan route between Toyko, Kyoto and Osaka. Still, it is not that far off. Your best option is to rent a car and start from either Osaka or Kyotoand drive to Nachikatsuura. From both cities the tour is about three hours via the famous Nara. The train to Nachikatsuura takes roughly four hours.
From Nachikatsuura – or Nachisan – a car rides takes another ten minutes, the bus needs roughly 30 minutes. It is No. 31 from the Nachisan Line. From the bus stop you walk another 15 to 20 minutes up moos-covered stairs towards the temple complex.
Good to know
The Nachi area is one of Japan’s most treasured heritage sites. Seiganto-ji is famous for the brilliant red three-story pagoda – that rises in a picture-perfect spot in front of the Nachi Falls. The Nachi Falls are Japan’s tallest waterfalls, surrounded by a sacred primeval forest. The bus stop before Nachisan is Nachi-no-Taki-mae – from there you may head to the waterfall first.
The movie location itself is not at the pagoda, but further up the hill at the old shrine. The wedding ceremony was filmed at the shrine, the big bell is at the right side of the entry – in perfect view towards the red pagoda.
The temple is actually the oldest structure in the Kumano area and houses many important cultural properties. And right next to Seiganto-ji is the famous Shinto shrine Kumano Nachi Taisha. Both religions, Buddhism and Shintosm, coexist in this holy forest.
We planned our visit to Seiganto-ji within our van trip through Japan, and that was absolutely perfect. We stayed overnight at the Pacific Coast, then went up the mountains. So we had enough time to wander the whimsical forest and visit the waterfall and pagoda and temple areas. If you need just one advise: Don’t rush it.
© 2025 Huntingbond (1,3), © 1967 Danjaq S.A. (2)