Tomogashima Islands in Wakayama, 2022 Autumn
New Tama Cat Train in Kishi, Wakayama
Wakayama Electric Railway‘s Kishigawa Line connects Wakayama Station to Kishi Station, a distance of 14.3 km. The line offers residential areas, historic shrines, scenic parks, and peaceful scenery, but the trains that run on this line are another attraction.
As of August 2022, there are five types of trains on the Kishikawa Line, and one of the most popular is the Tama Train Museum-go, which was introduced in December 2021.
The "Never-before-seen cat train" was made possible through crowdfunding.
The Tama Train Museum is a train that was realized in 2021 as a crowdfunding project. The purpose of the project is to revitalize the local community through railroad infrastructure, and the design was created by Eiji Mitooka, a leading railroad design expert. With the addition of approximately 10 million yen raised through the support of 959 crowdfunding supporters, the train has been in operation since December 4 of the same year.
The concept is that the first Tama Station Chief is surrounded by Nitama Station Chief, Yontama Station Chief, fans and children.
From the interior to the exterior, this gorgeous train is filled with the charm of the cat stationmasters.
Each car, including the Tama Train Museum runs at intervals of about one per hour.
A cool looking chozuya at a city shrine
Taga Shrine is located near Wakayama Castle. Although the shrine grounds are not large, it is nationally known as a shrine for naming babies, with Izanagi no Mikoto and Izanami no Mikoto as the main deities.
As the temperature rises in June, the chozuya (also called temizuya, place for ritual cleansing of hands and mouth with water) at Taga Shrine is decorated with a windmill and wind chimes to create a cool appearance.
Beautiful Hydrangea in Wakayama Castle, Japan
As the rainy season approaches in June, hydrangeas can be seen everywhere in Wakayama City. They can be found in private gardens, in potted plants, in flower beds along the streets, and inside the castle…
Wakayama Castle has many faces in each of the four seasons, and in the castle’s Tsuru-no-Kei area, hydrangeas of various types and colors are planted, all blooming at the same time during this season.
The name comes from the fact that cranes were kept in this section of the castle when the Asano family was the lord of the castle.
The hydrangea surrounded by mossy stone walls is very emotional.
The Momijogei Garden right next door was also a quiet place where only the sound of rain could be heard.
Hachiman Shrine in Wakayama City
Wakamatsuri 400th Anniversary Festival
Spring at Wakayama Botanical Park Ryokka Center
The park covers a vast area of 10.23 hectares with many varieties and plants that can be enjoyed in all four seasons.
The 3,500 ㎡ flowerbeds contain approximately 20,000 plants and new varieties of flowers, a greenhouse with giant cacti, a rose garden, a hydrangea garden, and a “lotus pond.
In April and May, the flower beds are filled with Livingston daisies and other flowers, and azaleas can also be seen throughout the park.
The Four Devas at Chumon Gate of Koyasan, Wakayama
The Danjo Garan is the center of Koyasan, and is lined with various halls such as Kondo (Main Hall) and Konpon-daito Pagoda. The entrance to the temple is the Chumon Gate, which was reconstructed and inaugurated on April 2, 2015 as part of the project to commemorate the 1200th anniversary of the founding of Koyasan (the year 2015 is the 1200th anniversary of the founding of Koyasan).
The Four Devas, Jikokuten (Dhrtarastra, east), Zochoten (Virudhaka, south), Komokuten (Virupaksa, west), and Tamonten (Vaisravana, north) are enshrined at this gate.
Koyasan, World Heritage Site, in Wakayama
Koya, a sacred site of Shingon esoteric Buddhism, stretches over a mountainous upper basin surrounded by peaks about 1,000 meters above sea level, and was founded 1,200 years ago by Kobo Daishi, Kukai (774-835).
On July 7, 2004, the Koyasan pilgrimage routes, including the Choishimichi and Kongobuji Temple precincts (6 districts) and 12 structures, were registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site along with Kumano, Yoshino, and Omine as “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range”.
Furthermore, on October 24, 2016, Kurokawa-do, Nyonin-do, Kyodaisaka-do Fudosaka, and Mitasaka (including Niu Shuden Shrine) were additionally registered as World Heritage sites as Koya Pilgrimage Routes (including Choishimichi and renamed).
