Amazing Wakayama
South of Osaka in western Japan lines Kishu Wakayama on the Kii Peninsula, a subtropical peninsula rich in nature and history, whose climate is perfect for ume. As a hidden wonder of Japan, Kishu is quickly becoming a top-ranked destination for ecotourists, who return with full stomachs and amazing memories.
Sustainable Agricultural Heritage
About 400 years ago, the forward-thinking lord of what is now Tanabe City gave permission for farmers to grow ume on the rocky mountainous soil to promote the local economy. Soon, an environmentally balanced agricultural system was formed, and was recognized in 2015 as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, the 'Minabe-Tanabe Ume System'.
The hillsides were not suitable for many other kinds of agriculture, so ume orchards spread quickly. Farmers utilized the nearby forests for sustainable wood harvesting for the local industry of charcoal-making, or Kishu-binchotan. Honeybee population protection, watershed conservation, slope collapse prevention, and natural fertilization all became intertwined, and it is these interrelationships that were recognized as the Minabe-Tanabe Ume System.
Ume production of this region accounts for more than half of the total ume production of Japan, and most of its Nanko-ume production. Yield per unit area is about twice that of other ume producing areas.
Fresh Local Fruits and Seafood
Wakayama’s vast mountain ranges and long coastline along the ‘Kuroshio’ warm ocean current are the perfect environment for the cultivation of many varieties of fruit and for a rich seafood harvest of fish and many types of seaweed. We enjoy many citrus such as small, sweet mikan oranges, various grapefruits, aromatic yuzu, and more. Persimmons are abundant, especially in northern Wakayama. Minimally processed whitebait makes a healthy and delicious rice bowl. Foods are often accompanied by kombu, wakame, nori, and hijiki seaweeds and kelp.
Wakayama Prefecture’s Food Promotion Division publishes a brief guide to Wakayama’s most famous products. Click below to see what awaits you in a visit here.
Kumano Kodo and Ecotourism
Wakayama is home to the Kumano region, the ancient home of the gods and the spiritual heartland of Japan. For more than one thousand years emperors and commoners have been making pilgrimages on the Kumano Kodo, which is now one of the highest-rated ecotourism treks in the world. It was listed on the Unesco World Heritage in 2004 and is one of only two World Heritage pilgrimage routes.
The Kodo was first traveled extensively by retired emperors and their huge retinues, gradually became popular with commoners, and is now a top-ranked destination for international travelers. The trails pass through Koyasan, wind over isolated mountain ranges, follow the coast, and pass through villages of varying size toward three Grand Shrines in the south, the closest reachable location to the Buddhist paradise believed to exist across the ocean. Today travelers can enjoy elaborate meals of local foods and some of the best hot spring baths in the country as they walk the trails
Umeboshi have strong antibacterial properties and are common to find in bentos, where they act as a preservative. Visitors will probably have a variety of flavors of umeboshi served during their trip to the Kumano Kodo.
Yoshino Kumano National Park
Yoshino Kumano National Park was designated in 1936 and spans Wakayama, Nara, and Mie prefectures. It encompasses spectacular coastline, majestic rivers, and craggy mountain ranges where ascetic Buddhist monks still roam, practicing Shugendo, a unique type of esoteric Buddhism. It overlaps the Kumano Kodo, including the Hongu Grand Shrine and nearby onsen hot spring baths, and also features some of the amazing natural areas near Tanabe's ume orchards.
Learn more about Yoshino Kumano National Park
Image: 橋杭岩by Seiji Kobayashi, CC BY 2.0