Mt. Kōya (Kōyasan)
117-temple monastic city founded 816; the Okunoin cemetery houses 200,000 graves under towering cryptomeria, and many temples offer shukubō overnight Buddhist-training stays.
Open in Maps ↗Prefecture profile · 都道府県
Wakayama 和歌山県
Mountain-and-sea prefecture south of Osaka — the Kumano Sanzan and Kumano Kodō pilgrimage trails, the Buddhist monastic mountain of Kōyasan, Japan's #1 mikan orange and ume plum production, and a Pacific coastline that is also the country's principal whaling history.
Capital
Wakayama City
Population
920,000
Area
4,724 km²
Region
Kansai
History
Mt. Kōya (Kōyasan), founded in 816 by Kūkai (Kōbō Daishi), is the head temple complex of Shingon Buddhism — a 'monastic city' of 117 active temples that has functioned continuously for over 1,200 years.
The Kumano Sanzan (three grand shrines) and the Kumano Kodō trails became Japan's most-walked imperial pilgrimage route in the 10th–14th centuries; UNESCO inscribed the entire system in 2004 as 'Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range.'
Taiji, on Wakayama's south coast, was the historical heart of organized Japanese whaling (from the 1606 Yorimoto-style whaling techniques) and remains the focal point of contemporary Japanese whaling and dolphin-hunting controversy — featured in the 2009 Oscar-winning documentary The Cove.
Economy & business
Wakayama's prefectural GDP is around ¥3.7 trillion (US$25 billion). Agriculture (Japan's #1 producer of mikan oranges, ume plums, persimmons, and sansho pepper), petrochemicals (Wakayama-Kainan oil refinery and ENEOS), steel (Nippon Steel Wakayama plant), and a tourism economy heavily weighted toward Kōyasan and Kumano.
Key industries
Agriculture
Japan's #1 producer of mikan, ume plums, persimmons, and sansho pepper; the Arida basin alone provides ~half of national mikan output.
Petrochemicals & refining
ENEOS Wakayama refinery (one of Japan's largest), Tonen Chemical Wakayama plant — the Kainan industrial coast.
Steel
Nippon Steel Wakayama Works (Kainan), a key cold-rolled steel plant.
Tourism — pilgrimage & nature
Kōyasan (UNESCO), Kumano Kodō (UNESCO), Shirahama hot-spring resort, Nachi Falls.
Fisheries & whaling heritage
Taiji has the world's only organized cetacean drive-hunt; the controversial annual cull is a major political flashpoint.
Notable companies
ENEOS Wakayama RefineryNippon Steel Wakayama WorksKainan PetrochemicalsKishū TetsudōWakayama BankKainan Chemical
Trade partners
ChinaUnited StatesSouth KoreaTaiwanAustralia
Tourism highlights
Kumano Kodō pilgrimage
UNESCO-inscribed network of trails; the Nakahechi route from Tanabe to Hongū is the classic 30 km, 2-day walk.
Open in Maps ↗Nachi Falls & Kumano Nachi Taisha
133-metre waterfall behind a 14th-century pagoda — one of Japan's most iconic landscape compositions.
Open in Maps ↗Shirahama Onsen
Pacific-coast hot-spring resort dating to the 7th century; Adventure World's giant pandas are a side draw.
Open in Maps ↗Kishū Tōshōgū
Wakayama City's gold-and-vermillion shrine to Tokugawa Ieyasu; the spring 'Wakamatsuri' festival is a 300-year tradition.
Open in Maps ↗Wakayama Castle
Reconstructed Tokugawa-Kishū castle in the city center; the cherry-blossom view across the Wakaura inlet is famous.
Open in Maps ↗Did you know
Kōyasan, founded in 816, has functioned as a Buddhist monastic city continuously for over 1,200 years — 117 active temples and a population that still lives mostly on temple income and pilgrim tourism.
The Kumano Kodō and Spain's Camino de Santiago are the only two pilgrimage routes in the world inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage; the two share a 'dual pilgrim' certificate program for walkers who complete both.
Arida City and the surrounding basin produce roughly half of Japan's mandarin oranges (mikan); the entire south-coast economy still shifts with the November–December mikan harvest.
About Wakayama — Frequently asked
What is the capital of Wakayama?
The capital of Wakayama is Wakayama City.
What region of Japan is Wakayama in?
Wakayama is part of the Kansai region of Japan.
What are Wakayama's main industries?
Wakayama's key industries include Agriculture, Petrochemicals & refining, Steel, Tourism — pilgrimage & nature.
What are the top tourist attractions in Wakayama?
Top attractions in Wakayama include Mt. Kōya (Kōyasan), Kumano Kodō pilgrimage, Nachi Falls & Kumano Nachi Taisha, Shirahama Onsen.
What major companies are based in Wakayama?
Notable companies headquartered in Wakayama include ENEOS Wakayama Refinery, Nippon Steel Wakayama Works, Kainan Petrochemicals, Kishū Tetsudō, Wakayama Bank.
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