History / Culture / Tour Spots in Wakayama Area
Area
-
-
Wakayama
-
-
Wakayama
Category
-
- Hinokuma Jingu Shrine and Kunikakasu Jingu Shrine (Hinokuma Jingu Shrine Office)
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Wakayamashi Akiduki 365
- "These shrines are about one minute on foot from Nichizengu Station, and about five minutes by car from Wakayama Interchange. Founded more than 2,600 years ago, they honor the Shinto gods Hinokuma-no-Okami and Kunikakasu-no-Okami. Worshiping there is thought to be helpful for matchmaking and household security. They hold a ceremony called ""Nichizengu Ebisu Mairi"" from January 9 to 11 when they offer lucky items like kumade and fukudawara amulets. It's the only time the approach to the shrine is lined with red banners lit up at night. On July 26, their kagura hall hosts a performance of Noh theater by firelight."
-
- Oyunohara
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Tanabeshi Honguchouhongu
- "Oyunohara is a historic location that was the original site of the Kumano Hongu Taisha Shrine in Hongu Town, Wakayama Prefecture. The shrine was situated on a sandbank at the confluence of the Kumano River, the Otonashi River and the Iwada River. In Japan, Torii gateways are used to mark the boundary between sacred areas and the mundane world; Oyunohara is notable for its huge Torii gate, which is 34m high (roughly the height of an 11-story building). This area is linked to the story of the Yatagarasu, a raven that guided Emperor Jimmu when he was lost in the mountains of Kumano, and Yata Fire Festival is held here every year in August. Oyunohara's connection with a mystical event in which humans were guided towards happiness attracts many visitors to this ""power spot"" (a place that is believed to bestow power on the visitor)."
-
- Konpon Daito
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Itogunkouyachou Kouyasan 152
- This pagoda was erected to serve as a symbol of a Shingon Esoteric Buddhism Konpon Dojo training center. Located on a stage on the grounds of the Kongobu-ji Temple, work on the pagoda began when the great monk Kukai first founded the temple on Mt. Koya and was completed around 887. The pagoda was rebuilt in 1937 to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the passing of Kukai. 50 meters tall, the two-story pagoda consists of four sides and 16 bays. Of particular note is the interior structure of the pagoda itself, which is designed as a three-dimensional mandala. The mandala consists of a statue of Dainichi-Nyorai, the principal object of worship, surrounded by the four Buddhas of the Diamond Realm. The 16 internal pillars are decorated with images of 16 Bodhisattvas, while the four walls and corners are decorated with images of the Eight Patriarchs.
-
- Ryujin Village Mandala Art Museum
-
![rating-image]()
3.03 Reviews - Leisure / Hobbies
- Wakayama Tanabe-shi Ryujinmura Ryujin 203
- "Visitors can find this museum by following National Route 371 north along the Hidakagawa River from the hot spring resort area of Ryujin Village, Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture. As its name indicates, it houses over 100 mandalas. Some date back 1200 years, to the era when the Shingon monk Kobo Daishi founded the first monastery on Mt. Koya. There is a special exhibit in his honor called ""The Light of Kobo Daishi Kukai."" In addition to mandalas, the museum also exhibits haiku, poems, and other items connected with Buddhism."
-
![]()
2016年6月23日にみなべから高野山に向かう途中に立ち寄りました。トリップアドバイザーに施設の写真が掲載されていないことから行きましたが、曼陀羅の説明がないので、ただ見ただけという感じでした。
-
- Jison-in Temple
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Itogunkudoyamachou Jisonin 832
- Mirukudo Hall of Jison-in Temple was registered as a part of the Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range in 2004, and it was made a Nationally Designated Important Cultural Property in 1965. In addition, the main statue of Mirokubosatsu is a representative work of the Heian period and was designated a National Treasure in 1963. There are also about 100 Jizo statues, and earthen wall that was designated a Prefectural Cultural Property, and more. It’s about a 20-minute walk from Kudoyama Station.
-
- Okunoin Sando
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Ito-gun Koyacho Koyasan 550
- This two kilometer-long temple approach leads from Okunoin Temple's Ichi no Hashi bridge to the mausoleum the famous monk Kukai. The path is lined with many cedar trees that are more than seven hundred years old as well as upwards of 200,000 gravestone and memorial towers. Many of them bear famous names such as those of samurai warlords like Takeda Shingen, Uesugi Kenshin, and Ooka Echizen, as well as that of the Kishu Tokugawa clan. The tourism association publishes a guide map with the locations of memorial towers that visitors heading to Okunoin Temple can use to find a particular individual. The approach is also lined with stone lanterns that are lit at dusk, creating a mystical atmosphere.
-
- Torodo (Lantern Hall)
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Itogunkouyachou Kouyasan 550
- "One of the Two Great Holy Sites of Mt. Koyasan, it was originally built as a hall of worship as a chapel of the mausoleum, and is located in front of the Gobyo (mausoleum) at ""Okuno-in"" where Kukai (Kobo Daishi) died while meditating. Inside, over 20,000 toro lanterns offered by worshipers hang bundled closely together. At the front on the inside, the Kishin lanterns devoted by Kishin shonin and the Shirakawa lanterns devoted by the Emperor Shirakawa have remained burning for over 1000 years as an ""unquenched flame."" In particular, the prayer lamp said to have been devoted by a girl called Oteru who sold her own hair for the Bodhi of her parents is also called ""the lantern of a poor girl."""
-
- Toukei-jinja Shrine
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Prefecture Tanabe City Toyo 1-1
- This shrine is located in Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture and is affectionately referred to as “Gongen-san” due to it being called Tanabe Shrine after the transfer of the deity “Kumano Gongen” here. Kumano Betto Tanzo, said to be Musashibo Benkei’s father, is said to have held a cockfight in front of the main shrine in order to decide which side to support during the Genpei War. He ended up supporting Minamoto and leading the Kumano navy to victory. You’ll find statues of Tanzo and Benkei on the shrine grounds, and treasures such as the pot used to give the infant Benkei his first bath and Minamoto no Yoshitsune’s flute are kept here. Near the start of October, many visit for the “Benkei Festival.”
-
- Fushiogami-Oji ato
-
![rating-image]()
5.01 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Tanabeshi Honguchoufushiogami
- "This historic site is along the Nakahechi Trail, part of the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route. The name is said to come from pilgrims walking the trail via Hosshinmon-Oji and Mizunomi-Oji. When they arrived at Fushiogami-Oji, Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine finally came into view, and the pilgrims would fall down in reverence. Today you can see Oyunohara at the spot where Kumano Hongu Taisha Grand Shrine once stood. There is a small shrine at Fuhiogami-Oji, as well as a memorial to the Heian Period (794–1185) poet Shikibu Izumi who stopped there to pray. Another must-see is the nearby house and tea field used as a shooting location for the NHK drama ""Honmamon."" "
-
![]()
山里の茶畑を見ながら進み、草原を抜けると有人の茶屋があります。 茶屋前の石段を上がると伏拝王子です。 昔はここから本宮大社が見え、巡礼者が喜んで拝んだことから名付けられたそうです。 場所が変わったので、現在、大社は見えませんが、熊野の山が連なる景色がすばらしいです。 和泉式部の供養塔？があり、言い伝えから熊野権現は身分も性別も分け隔てなく受け入れる、大らかな神様だと分かります。 お茶屋では...
-
- Taiji Municipal Stone Wall Memorial Hall
-
![rating-image]()
2.52 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Higashimuro-gun Taijicho Taiji 2902-79
- This memorial hall is located next to Taiji Kujirahama Park and the Kino-Matsushima Sightseeing Boat dock. It displays the works of Eitaro Ishigaki, who was originally from Taiji Town and traveled to the United States, where he played an important role in the art world from around 1920 until the 1940's. Ayako Ishigaki, his wife and critic, contributed to the town with constructions and donations, and in addition to the oil paintings and drawings, the memorial hall also displays their most cherished belongings. There is a small hall inside, which is used for local cultural activities, lectures and study groups.
-
![]()
遊覧船の時間待ちが長くたまたま立ち寄りましたが、なぜ記念館があるのかわかりません。全く個人的趣味で建てられたのでは？？と思います。作品もほんの少しです。
-
- Onsendera Temple
-
![rating-image]()
4.01 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Tanabe-shi Ryujinmura Ryujin 23
- "This temple is a five-minute walk from Ryujin Onsen bus stop. Visitors should follow the path on the other side of the river toward Ryujin Onsen Motoyu. It is just past Nanda Ryuo Shrine. Kobo Daishi is said to have discovered the hot spring in the ninth century after receiving a message from Nanda Ryuo and founded the hot spring, dedicating it to the Buddha Yakushi Nyorai. The temple was dubbed ""Onsendera"" (""Hot Spring Temple"") when the monk Meisan rebuilt the Ryuo Shrine Yakushido. Since it is located in a hot spring resort area, it receives large numbers of visitors. Some of the current buildings were reconstructed in recent years."
-
![]()
龍神温泉湯元の前にある駐車場近くの階段を登った所にあります。由緒には、頑固な腫れ物を温泉で治したことからか、薬師堂を再建し、温泉寺と名付けとなっています。
-
- Zenpukuin Temple Shakado
-
![rating-image]()
3.01 Reviews - Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Kainan-shi Shimotsucho Umeda 271
- This temple belonging to the Tendai school of Buddhism is located in the expansive valley of Umeda just south of Wakanoura Port. The temple was founded as one of the five Kofukuji Gokain temples in 1372 by Eisai, the monk who brought tea to Japan. The temple is said to have been so prosperous during the Azuchi-Momoyama period as the family temple of the Kamo clan that it had a complete seven-structured temple compound. However, the only temple building that remains today is the Shakado Hall, a Zenshu-style Buddhist temple featuring a mokoshi (decorative pent roof). Designated a national treasure, the hall is notable for its oversized pillars and beams and for prominently displaying characteristics of the Zenshuyo style such as the tile-covered hipped roof and parallel rafters. Together with the Shariden of Engakuji Temple in Kamakura and the Butsuden of Kozanji Temple in Yamaguchi Prefecture it is considered to be one of the oldest archetypal Zenshuyo-style Buddhist temple buildings remaining in Japan.
-
![]()
国宝の釈迦堂は、明治44年の解体修理でほぼ建立当時の姿になったとのことです。このままの姿を維持してもらいたいと思います。
-
- Negoro-ji Temple Daito Great Tower
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Iwadeshi Negoro 2286 head temple Negoro-ji in
- Located on the grounds of the Negoro-ji Temple, a Shingi Shingon Buddhist temple established by Mt. Koya priest Kakuban, this 36-meter-tall tower is one of the largest such two tier wooden pagoda towers in Japan. Designed to represent the doctrines of Shingon Buddhism, the tower was completed in 1547. Thanks to Shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the tower escaped the fires of the Conquest of Kii Province, but the building still bears the marks of bullets fired from matchlock rifles. A designated National Treasure—visitors can also view the inside of the tower.
-
- Tokugawa-ke Reidai
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Itogunkouyachou Kouyasan 682
- Toshogu Shrine which enshrines Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Edo shogunate, and his son Tokugawa Hidetada, the second shogun. It used to be on the premises of Daitokuin, but in the Meiji period, Daitokuin merged with another temple and only this reidai was left behind. Facing the mausoleum, Ieyasu is on right side building while Hidetada is on the left. The structure was designed in hitoe hogyo-zukuri style and is 6.5 meters in both length and width, respectively, while the interior is lavishly decorated in lacquer and gold leaf.
-
- Obaku-shu Gokokuzan Tokoji Temple
- Travel / Tourism
- Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture hongu Yunomine 113
- A Tendai Buddhist temple located in the Yunomine Onsen area. The temple’s principle object of worship, the three-meter-tall Yunomine Healing Buddha, is said to be mineral deposits from the surrounding hot spring waters which accumulated and took the shape of a Buddha. Some 1,800 years ago, it is said that the famed priest Ragyo discovered the hot spring waters welling forth from a hole in the chest of Bhaisajyaguru, the Healing Buddha. Each year, the Eight Day Festival of Bhaisajyaguru is held on January 8. During the festival, hot spring water is offered in prayer for the prosperity of Yunomine Onsen and the fulfillment of the wishes of worshipers.
-
- Tomyo-zaki Point Lookout Site
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Higashimuro-gun Taijicho
-
- Aridagawa Town Railway Museum
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Aridagunaridagawachou Tokuda 124-1
- A museum located inside Aridagawa Railway Park in Aridagawa Town, Arida County, Wakayama Prefecture which was built on the grounds of Arida Railway Kanayaguchi Station, a station abolished in 2002. The museum displays dioramas replicating the routes of the Arida Railway and the scenery around Aridagawa, and patrons who bring their own N scale model trains can run them on the tracks. Outside the museum, visitors can view real Kiha 58 and Haimo 180 trains used on the railway up close; the museum also holds events in which the trains are operated and visitors can get on board. A fun destination for children and adults alike.
-
- Nyonindo
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Itogunkouyachou Kouyasan 709
- This is a “sanrojo” (prayer space) near Fudozakaguchi, one of the seven gates of Mt. Koya. It used to house women who would visit the mountain to pray before 1872, when women weren’t allowed on the mountain. There used to be similar facilities at all the gates, but this is currently the only one that remains.
-
- Kushimoto Okyo Rosetsu Art Museum
- Leisure / Hobbies
- Wakayama Pref. Higashimurogunkushimotochou Kushimoto 833
- This art museum is a 10-minute walk from Kushimoto Station, on the grounds of Muryoji Temple. Modern art and local historical documents are stored and displayed alongside temple treasures. Although said to be the smallest art museum in Japan their collection includes a number of early-modern works by artists such as Maruyama Okyo and his student Nagasawa Rosetsu as well as Kano Tanyu and Hakuin. 55 of their room partition paintings including Maruyama Okyo’s “Hajougunsenzu” and Nagasawa Rosetsu’s “Ryukozu” have been designated Important Cultural Properties of Japan.
-
- Zenmyoshoin Temple (Sanada-an)
- Travel / Tourism
- Wakayama Pref. Itogunkudoyamachou Kudoyama 1413
- This temple was built on the ruins of a residence where two major generals of the Sengoku period, Sanada Masayuki and Sanada Yukimura, were said to have hidden. It was erected in the mid-Edo period in 1741 by Saint Taian. The main statue is of Koyasu Enmei Jizo Bosatsu, and the temple grounds contain a building with Sanada artifacts as well as Masayuki’s tomb. Peonies bloom everywhere in the spring, and the temple gets crowded as the endpoint for the warrior procession that takes place during the “Sanada matsuri.”
Wakayama Areas
Wakayama prefecture unites pilgrims, food lovers, and culture buffs in a tranquil corner of Japan at the base of the Kii Peninsula. The setting for many a Kumano Kodo pilgrimage trail, Wakayama invites those in search of spirituality from one side of the prefecture to the other, from the 100-plus Buddhist temples of the sacred Mount Koya in the west to the inspiring temples of the Kumano Sanzan set among breathtaking nature in the east. Once the grueling hike is complete, make a beeline for Wakayama city to savor some of the country’s most delicious ramen noodles.
Wakayama Photo Album
Best of Wakayama
Travel guide top page
A list of itineraries
A list of articles
A list of spots
Photo AlbumSearch by Region
-
- Hokkaido / Tohoku
- Hokkaido
- Aomori
- Iwate
- Miyagi
- Akita
- Yamagata
- Fukushima
-
- Kanto
- Ibaraki
- Tochigi
- Gunma
- Saitama
- Chiba
- Tokyo
- Kanagawa
-
- Koshinetsu / Hokuriku
- Niigata
- Toyama
- Ishikawa
- Fukui
- Yamanashi
- Nagano
-
- Tokai
- Gifu
- Shizuoka
- Aichi
- Mie
-
- Kinki
- Shiga
- Kyoto
- Osaka
- Hyogo
- Nara
- Wakayama
-
- Chugoku
- Tottori
- Shimane
- Okayama
- Hiroshima
- Yamaguchi
-
- Shikoku
- Tokushima
- Kagawa
- Ehime
- Kochi
-
- Kyushu / Okinawa
- Fukuoka
- Saga
- Nagasaki
- Kumamoto
- Oita
- Miyazaki
- Kagoshima
- Okinawa
