Yamaguchi Laboratory of Biodiversity Science, School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Search for more papers by this author K-I. Hiraoka Laboratory of Biodiversity Science, School of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Search for more papers by this author K.

As many sacred sites are also tourist attractions of international fame, the difference between tourism and a traditional pilgrimage is fading: both require spatial movement and involve an emotional desire to visit a meaningful site (Collins-Kreiner, 2010). Historically, a pilgrimage has been defined as “a journey resulting from religious causes to an external holy site for spiritual purposes and internal understanding” (Gatrell & Collins-Kreiner, 2006). Today, the world “pilgrimage” is widely used in various contexts, including visitation of rural areas (Sharpley & Jepson, 2011), battlefields (Hyde & Harman, 2011), or the graves and residences of celebrities (Alderman, 2002). The formalization of pilgrimage routes, a recent phenomenon that has increased the popularity of visits, has made movement between sacred sites a significant part of the visitor experience (Shackley, 2001: 105). International examples include the revival of interest in the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela using the ancient route of El Camino or St. Since its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2004, the Nakahechi Route is managed as a “heritage route” together with other pilgrimage routes and sacred sites, collectively known as “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.” The pilgrimage routes, which connect sacred sites with other parts of Japan, are considered essential components of the “cultural landscape” of the Kii Mountains, and represent “a unique fusion between Shintoism and Buddhism that illustrates the interchange and development of religious cultures in East Asia” (Criterion ii, ICOMOS, 2004). It was not only the “unique forms of shrine and temple buildings which have had a profound influence on the building temples and shrines elsewhere in Japan” (Criterion iv, ICOMOS, 2004), but also the sites and forest landscape of the Kii Mountains together that “reflect a persistent and extraordinarily well-documented tradition of sacred mountains over the past 1200 years” (Criterion vi, ICOMOS, 2004). Thus, it could be said that, to a certain extent, the physical setting on the way to the pilgrimage shrine is, if not more important, as important as the destinations themselves in terms of heritage value for the vast area of the Kii Mountains.

Since most of the radiocesium from the FDNPP was released into the western North Pacific Ocean and carried eastward from the Japan coast, there was little radiocesium contamination in the seawater around Hokkaido. Hokkaido is surrounded by the North Pacific Ocean, the Japan Sea, and the Okhotsk Sea, but radiocesium was predominantly detected in the cetaceans stranded along the North Pacific coast between June and October 2011.