7 Must Do Activities in Wakayama Prefecture

1. Queuing up at a Wakayama Ramen shop

Wakayama Ramen is one of the most popular styles of Ramen in Japan. It is a bowl of thin noodles with a pork bone broth mixed with soy sauce. The Wakayama Ramen boom seems to have passed, but there are still people who come from outside of Wakayama to visit some of the Ramen shops. You will need to queue up in line to enter the shops, especially on the weekend.

2. Climbing up Wakayama Castle

Wakayama has a beautiful castle in the centre of the town. The Castle Tower, standing on the stone walls, is well-preserved and open as a museum where you can see samurai armour, swords and other weapons. The castle is also a famous spot for cherry blossom viewing.

3. Watching a whole big tuna preparation show

In the Kuroshio Market, the freshly-caught tuna is prepared in front of guests three times every day. After the show finishes, you can buy the fresh tuna prepared in the show. They also have other seafood such as sea urchin and salmon roe in this market.

4. Experience the Buddhist life in Koyasan

Koyasan is a complex of temples, situated on a small plaine at the top of Mount Koya. It contains halls, pagodas and Buddhist statuary. Visitors can stay in the temples and experience the Buddhist life. But don't worry too much - some of the accommodation has western style toilets.

5. Forest Bathing along with the Komano Kodo

The Komano Kodo is the pilgrimage routes that lead to Kumano Sanzan, three major shrines in the Komano area. It is a part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range”.

6. Relaxing in a Hot Spring

Wakayama has good hot springs. It is very easy to reach the hot spring spots in the suburbs of Wakayama City, but you can also visit some public baths with hot spring water even in centre of the City. You can enjoy a wide variety of hot spring baths, such as a silky white hot water bath, a mineral-rich hot water bath and a hot spring bath in a large wooden tub, and you can also take a hot spring bath sitting on a stone-chair.

7. Surfing during Typhoon season

Isonoura beach is the nearest surf spot from Osaka. You can do surfing throughout the year, but most of the surfers love to go surfing during the Typhoon time (August and September), when they can get great waves.