From summer through autumn in Japan, nearly every prefecture and city takes turns hosting fireworks festivals large and small, and the night sky is constantly being painted with brilliant color. Today, a gentle early-autumn breeze drifted across Shirahama Beach in Wakayama, as crowds lay on the soft white sand watching fireworks bloom across the night sky like peacocks spreading their tails.

For this adventure, our coordinates were set right next to the ancient Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route—a trail steeped in thousands of years of spiritual history. Our destination? Sam’s Camp. What followed was an incredible Wakayama road trip blending wild mountain camping, fresh Kuroshio ocean delicacies, and Japan's most dramatic coastal geology.