Kumano Kodo / Shikoku 88 temple pilgrimage

Has anyone visited one or either of these slightly more unusual Japanese travel locations?

I've been before and have done some of the main tourist sites, so wanted to do something a bit more off the beaten track.    Was interested in Ise Jingu and walking part of one of the Kumano Kodo paths (not sure which yet!), but someone on facebook suggested Shikoku as less touristy.

What level of Japanese do you think I would need for something like this?    This is a future plan, probably not until 2018, so I will have some time to prepare.

No idea!  What I would say though is that if you have basic conversational Japanese, and be able to read a good amount of kanji then you should be ok.  When in doubt, you could also have a list of questions to ask for specific situations.  You could also take a JLPT as those usually give you an idea of how far you are.  I'm planning on taking one this December.

I just came from there last month. I see this is 10 months old and you plan to go in 2018 so if you are still watching this thread you will need an intermediate to advanced level of Japanese to get to that area. Almost no one on the peninsula speaks any English, there are no English announcements on the local buses and trains and anyone who does not know any Japanese will find it somewhat difficult.

The Kumano Kondo relates to a few shrines and there is a particular area called Nachi Falls which is world heritage listed and happens to be the tallest waterfall in Japan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDFBBu_jOC8&t=5s This is where I went as well as to some other areas nearby.

Hopefully in the 10 months since this was posted you may have studied enough to get by.