Wakayama Day Trip

From the mountain pilgrimage routes of Koyasan, to the dramatic coastlines and picturesque beaches of Shirahama and the dramatic red pagoda at Nachi Waterfalls, Wakayama prefecture has several of Japan’s most iconic destinations. Somehow Wakayama City, the prefecture’s capital, has remained relatively off the radar for most foreign tourists. A pleasant break from the crowds of tourists in Kyoto and Osaka, Wakayama City is an easy day trip.

On a recent trip with my mother, we stopped by Wakayama’s Marina City, an eclectic collection of attractions with ocean views. We started at Kuroshio Market for breakfast. The market is smaller and less intimidating than a lot of the wholesale markets that are popular around Japan.

The market offers tuna preparation demonstrations three times a day.

The demonstration is in Japanese, but I’m guessing that it would still be interesting with a language barrier.

Pay your respects to the great tuna before checking out the offerings in the market.

The market has a variety of stalls offering prepared sushi and sashimi.

There are also plenty of grilled items.

And fresh seafood that you can grill on the great outdoor deck with views of the sea.

We enjoyed and assortment of lean, medium, and fatty tuna.

And excellent scallops grilled with soy butter.

Next we stopped at the Fruits Village. The market offered every kind of citrus fruit imaginable, as well as citrus cakes, cookies, and other prepared products. Wakayama is famous for citrus fruit, particularly mikans.

We couldn’t resist the fresh mikan juice.

The most unusual stop is Porto Europe, a European themed amusement park.

It is free to get into the Park, and you pay separately for the rides.

Walking around the park on a quiet weekday is a surreal experience.

It feels like wandering around the set of a Disney movie.

There are pretty little details everywhere.

And it’s fun to find little squares around each corner.

Back to the real world, Wakayama Castle is an easy bus ride away.

The most unusual feature of the castle is the O-hashi-roka, a covered bridge that allowed private entry onto the grounds.

It’s a beautiful walk around the castle grounds.

A day trip to Wakayama is not complete without a stop by one of their famous ramen shops. The tourist office has a ramen map with all the current hot spots.

Details

From Osaka, take the Limited Express Kuroshio from Shin-Osaka or Tennoji station to Kainan Station (approximately 60-70 minutes). At Kainan Station, there are several buses that go to Marina City – #116/117/121/146/47  (approx 10 minutes). From Marina City, there are multiple buses that go to Wakayama Station – # 42/43/121/122 (approximately 30 minutes). To visit the castle, get off at Koen-mae. Take the same bus numbers to get to the station, or walk (approximately 20 min).

Find a Hotel in Wakayama.

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