Kushimoto (串本町, Kushimoto-chō) is a coastal town located in Higashimuro District, Wakayama Prefecture, Japan.

It is located at the southernmost tip of Kii Peninsula, with the urban area on the isthmus connecting Cape Shionomisaki with the mainland.

The island of Kii Oshima is located on the east side of the city, and is connected by the Kushimoto Ohashi Bridge, which was completed in September 1999.

Wakayama Prefecture Kushimoto has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall.

During the Edo period it was part of the holdings of Kishū Domain, under a cadet branch of the Tokugawa clan, headquartered at Wakayama Castle.

In 1791 the US captains John Kendrick of the Lady Washington and William Douglas of the Grace visited Kushimoto, hoping to open a trading relationship with Japan.

On September 16, 1890, the Ertuğrul incident occurred, in which an Imperial Ottoman Navy frigate on a goodwill visit to Japan floundered in a typhoon off of Kushimoto with great loss of life.

Over the next decades, the town grew as a result of numerous mergers with the surrounding village, annexing Fujihashi in 1924, Arita, Shiono-Misaki, Tanami, and Wabuka in 1955 and Oshima in 1958.

Due to its strong ties with the city of Shingū both for political and economic reasons, Kushimoto became part of Higashimuro District upon this merger.

Both bases were attacked by the United States Navy and Air Force in 1945, including a naval bombardment on the night of 24/25 July.

The first is explained by a strange tree growing in a shrine in Cape Shionomisaki, whose seedling is thought to have floated from a far off island to its current resting place.

JR West – Kisei Main Line Kushimoto is famous for its many coastal rock formations, including Hashigui-Iwa and Umikongo.

Cape Shionomisaki, located in the southern tip of the town, has a park and tower marking the southernmost point of Honshū.

Though waves are relatively tame compared with worldwide standards, Kushimoto is a popular surfing spot for locals and people from the bigger cities in the Kansai area.