Sacred Shinto rope changed at Nachi Falls, Wakayama

Twice a year, the priests of Kumano Nachi Taisha Grand Shrine replace a sacred rope that hangs above a 133-meter-high waterfall. Just before the new year, five priests dressed in white climbed the mountain path and, with safety harnesses attached, stepped into the cold river water to tie the new 25-meter rope between the trees on each bank. That rope is said to demarcate the sacred shrine grounds from the outside world.