A flying visit to Wakayama

We took a quick trip down to Wakayama to see Baa-chan (mother in law). She is quite poorly and unfortunately stuck in hospital. It's been a pretty rough 18 months all in all. First Jii-chan got sick and passed away, unfortunately Baa-chan wasn't doing well with his passing and her heath deteriorated and then she slipped and broke her spine.

And also my mom back in the UK also took a turn for the worse, she had COPD and a heart issue, she passed away in the spring. 

Baa-chan is still hanging on but she has lost so much weight and there was little of her in the first place. She was so happy to see Ebi-kun though and we spent a few hours each day chatting with her.

It's a 6 hour trip on the Shinkansen and express train to get to Wakayama but we wanted to see her whilst Ebi-kun was still here, he flies back to uni on September 1st. We did manage to co-ordinate dinner with brother-in-law, his wife and one of his kids, which was good. And we visited Jii-chans grave, Ebi-kun got to say his goodbyes, he was away at uni when Jii-chan passed and funerals happen really quickly here.

If you have ever wonder what a Japanese funeral is like or you have to attend one and have no idea what you are getting into, I wrote this post explaining how it works.

So, Wakayama, is it worth a visit?

If you are visiting Japan for a couple of weeks, probably not. Although a trip to the founding place of Japanese Buddhism, at Koya-san is a lovely trip, but give yourself a few days so that you can relax and enjoy the place. 

Wakayama does have a castle, we usually stay at Daiwa Roynet Hotel Wakayama (great buffet breakfast) which overlooks the castle. The castle isn't huge, you can see it all and the grounds in a couple of hours. If you are lucky, you might see ninja hanging out and about!

Wakayamajo Hall is a concert hall, just down the road from the hotel. You can enter the building for free, it is beautiful and from the top floor there is open decking where you can sit and relax, with views of the castle. Each time we have been up there we have the place pretty much to ourselves, its a great hidden gem in Wakayama!

Another spot worth a visit is The Museum of Modern Art, over the years we have seen some interesting exhibitions there.

And if you want to do something totally un-Japanese, visit Porto Europa, it's a port area that is designed to look like somewhere in Europe, it gives off Spanish/Italian vibes. We have been a couple of times, there are some rides and restaurants. I wouldn't go out of my way to g if you are on a tight schedule but if you find yourself with nothing to do in Wakayama, its worth an afternoons visit.

Needless to say, we didn't do any of these things this time, it really was train - hospital- dinner - sleep - hospital - train type of trip!

Here are other posts about Wakayama, some of them are quite old so do double check any info before you visit!

If you happen to be a Wakayama local and know of any good places to visit, do let me know, no doubt we will be down there again soon.

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Awashima shrine - enough to give you nightmares

The day we went to Tomogashima shrine, we also went to Awashima shrine. We had to wait to buy tickets for the boat so we wandered down to the shrine then hung out until the tickets went on sale.

I'll show you the nice photos first...

Ebi-kun looking very grown up! Where did my little boy go?

I think he is looking more like daddy these days too (daddy has been watching America's Next Top Model and picking up modelling tips, can you tell? lol)

Lots of these birds around too, I think they are kites but don't quote me on that! It was fun just watching them hunt.

OK, now down to the shrine, Awashima-jinja is apparently famous for it's girls day ritual of floating dolls on the seas for the girls day festival (March 3rd). Just outside the shrine there are some little store selling fresh fish and seafood, if you are into that, I will give it a pass...

The shrine is full of dolls and they are all grouped together, it is pretty darn spooky and would be a great setting for a horror movie.

On one side were these dolls and the other side had geisha dolls... I can imagine them all coming to life...

There was an area where all the Japanese gods were hanging out, some of these are happy looking fellas so not quite as spooky.

My mom, who hates cats, would be freaking at this little lot...

The tanuki I found quite amusing, I think because they have such a fun expression. In Japanese mythology, tanuki (raccoon dogs) are shape shifters and they have large testicles, I'm not sure if the two ideas are linked! There is a great Studio Ghibli film called Pom Poko which I highly recommend, all about the tanuki fighting against the humans who are destroying their habitat.

The shrine is also for 'women's troubles' so women who have fertility or other internal issues go to pray there. It's a 10 minute walk from the port where you catch the boat for Tomogashima and there is a bit more info about it Awashima-jinja here.

Tomogasima Day Tripping

We arrived in Wakayama on Saturday, it's quite a trek to get there. We have to take the local train, then a shinkansen into Tokyo, change to another shinkansen into Shin-Osaka and then a rapid train to Wakayama, about 6 hours door to door.

Sunday we set off early to visit Tomogashima, a small island just off the coast. We arrived at 8.30am to hopefully catch the 9am ferry but the place was packed and we ended up catching a boat at 10am. It is a 20 minute boat ride over to the island, it was a beautiful day, perfect weather for it!

The island was used in the war, there are bunkers and places where cannons/guns were used to shoot down enemy planes. There are several buildings dotted over the island which are now abandoned. If you go, pick up a map when you buy the tickets for the boat! There are a couple of official routes but we just did it our way!

You can also stay over night and we saw quite a few groups with camping gear - most of which obvious had NO IDEA what they were doing, all the paths on the island are like the one above, so you can't use wheelie suitcases or trolleys! They must have found out the hard way!

It's not really suitable for anyone a bit dottery on their feet or for wheelchair users, or pushchairs for that matter! But GREAT for little boys (and girls) who like exploring. It's a good idea to bring a torch as there are quite a few tunnels and buildings to explore.

Also bring any supplies you need for the day, picnic and drinks. We made our way to the top of the island to a great viewpoint, to stop and have a spot of lunch... and lark about...

Ebi-kun eats...ships!

Then we headed down the other side, you can get to the sea in a few spots, it was pretty sad the amount of rubbish on the beach, I'm not sure how much had been just left behind and how much had washed up. A lot of PET bottles and plastic. I didn't see any bins on the island so be prepared to take your rubbish home with you.

Ebi-kun had fun catching hermit crabs, lots of them!

The lighthouse is still in use apparently and a few meters from there is the international timeline that Japan is on, not really well marked, just a signpost!

But a stunning view! Quite a few people were fishing for the day, so if you are into that, take some gear with you. When we got back to the jetty we noticed there was a shop open that was selling some food and basics.

I managed to catch the sun quite badly! Red face, white eyes, quite the look! The leaflet about the island says you can do the walking tour in an hour and a half, which if you are hardcore and with kids, then probably you can but I would allow for more time, enjoy the scenery and relax!

More info about Tomogashima and how to get there HERE