New Tama Cat Train in Kishi, Wakayama

たま電車ミュージアム号

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

和歌山城、鶴の渓のアジサイ

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.

和歌山城 紫陽花

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

It is said the origin of the Hachiman Shrine is in 902. There is the Kora Myojin Shrine in the the precincts.

Torii Gate of Hachiman Shrine
A pound in the precinct 
Kora Myojin Shrine
Hachiman Shrine
Takydromus tachydromoides in the precinct

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.

Livingston daisies
Livingston daisies




Azaleas and mountains of Kinokawa City



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).

Chumon Gate, Koyasan

The Four Devas,  Jikokuten (Dhrtarastra, east),  Zochoten (Virudhaka, south), Komokuten (Virupaksa, west), and Tamonten (Vaisravana, north) are enshrined at this gate. 

Jikokuten
Zochoten




Komokuten
Tamonten

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).

Daimon Gate in Mt. Koya



Kongobuji Temple, Koyasan
Kondo (Main Hall, left) and Konpon-daito Pagoda (right)
Shops on Koya-Tenkawa Line
Shops on Koya-Tenkawa Line
Shops on Koya-Tenkawa Line