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| Wakayama | Tanabe City
| Wakayama Tastes| |
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| Wakayama Castle | |||||||||
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In your wanderings, you will encounter the capital of Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama City, at the source of the Kinokawa River. The city dates its origins to 1585, when Toyotomi Hideyoshi had the castle built. Today, Wakayama City is the cultural and economic hub of a prefecture whose geographic location is ideal - situated at the northern end of the breathtaking Kii Peninsula and at the mouth of the Seto Naikai Inland Sea. You can reach Kansai International Airport in 30 minutes, Osaka by train in an hour, and both of the ancient cities of Nara and Kyoto within two hours. |
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Historic Wakayama Castle It was Toyotomi Hideyoshi's brother Hidenaga who undertook the Wakayama Castle construction in 1585, but he never saw the completed fortress because he left the city. The first long-term occupant of the castle was Kuwayama Shigeharu, Hideyoshi's retainer, who arrived bringing with him 30,000 goku of rice (one goku is the equivalent of how much rice a person consumes over a year). During his 14-year residency, Shigeharu fortified the castle as the compound's centerpiece. Switching loyalties from Hideyoshi to Tokugawa Ieyasu after the latter's victory at the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Asano Yoshinaga became the new lord of the castle, bringing with him 376,000 goku of rice and developing the castle grounds, especially Ichinohashi Bridge, over his nearly 20-year residence.
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| Waka-no-Ura | |||||||||
 Recognized
by Emperor Shomu in 724, the beauty of this location earned it a place in
the Manyoshu Collection as a place of exquisite beauty. |
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| Wakayama Marina City | |||||||||
Wakayama Marina City Tel: 073-448-0011 |
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| Kuroshio Market | |||||||||
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| Kishu Kuroshio Hot Springs | |||||||||
 Natural
hot springs that emerged from a stratum formed some 100 million years ago
and at an ocean depth of 1,500 meters are used here. This hot springs facility
has an expansive main bath, outdoor hot spring and sauna. |
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| Wakayama | Tanabe City
| Wakayama Tastes| |
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This
was the daimyo's main residence and base of operations. The inner
palace was separated into three sections and three turrets connected
by a mud retaining wall enclosed the area. 
The
Ichinohashi Gate, built at the order of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was
the castle's main entryway and was renamed Otemon by the Tokogawa
feudal lord in 1796. This impressive gate (along with the Ichinohashi
Bridge) was rebuilt in 1983, long after its collapse in 1909. 
The
Okaguchimon still stands in its original form. The castle's back
entrance was constructed by Tokugawa Yorinobu and was designated
an Important Cultural Property in 1957. 
This
area includes "Porto Europa", a theme park with a multicultural flavor,
"Wakayama-kan" offers visitors a chance to experience Wakayama's vast
natural environment, and fresh seafood can be had at the "Kuroshio Market".
For more fun, try your luck at fishing sea bream and yellowtail. Fish
all you want and then you can enjoy your catch right there on the premises,
or have the cooks do your fish up for you to take home with you. And for
the pleasure of young and old, men and women, why not take a dip in the
"Kishu Kuroshio Hot Springs"?
