An Australian woman has died in Japan, reportedly after a cliff fall.

The 66-year-old woman from Melbourne died on Friday while walking the Kumano Kodo in the Wakayama Prefecture, according to Japan’s NHK news outlet.

The UNESCO-listed Kumano Kodo is made up of several pilgrimage trails.

NHK reported the woman fell about 40 metres from a cliff before dying in hospital.

Japanese media reports that passers-by called the fire department to the Kumano Kodo trail near Tanabe, on the island of Honshu, about midday on Friday, reporting that a person had slipped off a cliff.

The woman was found unconscious about 40 metres below.

In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed it was providing assistance to the family of a woman who died in Japan.

“Due to privacy reasons we are unable to provide further information,” DFAT said.

Kumano Kodo is a 1000-year-old network of trails in Japan’s southern Kansai region. They are the only pilgrimage routes, besides the Camino de Santiago in Spain, to be designated a world heritage site.

-with AAP