Wakayama (prefecture)

Wakayama prefecture (和歌山県 Wakayama-ken) is located in the southwestern part of Kansai region.

Cities

Wakayama - the prefectural capital
Hongu - a little mountain town surrounded by three great onsen
Kainan
Kinokawa
Kushimoto - town on the southernmost point of Honshu
Nachikatsuura - Mt. Nachi and Katsuura onsen
Shirahama - Shirahama Onsen and Nanki-Shirahama Airport
Shingu
Tanabe

Other destinations

Engetsu Island in Shirahama

Mount Koya - mountaintop monastery town, the stronghold of mystical Shingon Buddhism and the site of Japan's strangest graveyard

Get in

By train

The main train hub is Wakayama, about one hour south of Osaka, or two hours to Kyoto on the Ocean Arrows limited express.

Get around

By train

A train line runs around the southern coastline. Other train services are sparse.

See

Kumano Hongu Shrine

Shirahama beach is crowded with tourists every summer. The water is clear and there are lots of hotels near the beach.

The three shrines of Kumanokodo, namely Kumanohayatama, Kumanonachi and Kumanonimasu, have been named as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Do

Scuba posting

An underwater mailbox (すさみ海中郵便ポスト Susami Kaichu Yubin-Posto) can be found at a depth of 10 meters off the coast of Susami, Wakayama, and is certified as the "World's deepest mailbox" in the Guinness Book of World Records 2002. Special plastic postcards (¥150 domestic, ¥350 international) are available, and divers mail nearly 200 items daily in the summer peak season. The mailbox is open from April to September.

Go next

Ise - small town in Mie prefecture with its famous shrines, can be reached by train.

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