Tour the spring flowers in the fragrant air
Wakayama enjoys seasonal flowers that bloom across the year. During the spring and early summer in particular, it is a riot of color with the cherry blossoms, tulips and rhododendrons in full bloom. Follow the floral scent to Wakayama and tour the best flower-viewing spots across the region. We will also introduce quaint old kominka folk houses close to cherry blossom locations, seaside cafes and restaurants with wonderful views. Make the most of your tour of Wakayama’s blooms by enjoying some delicious dishes and desserts too.
Cherry blossoms in full bloom at Kokawa-dera Temple,Kinokawa City
Kokawa-dera Temple has extensive grounds and cultural properties at every turn, and is known for warding off misfortune. Hondo main hall, Daimon Gate, Chumon Gate and Senjudo Hall are all Important Cultural Properties, while the rock garden is designated as a National Site of Scenic Beauty. The sights are worth visiting in any season, thanks to the historic structures and dynamically designed garden, but best of all would be the cherry blossom season. When the Yoshino cherry tree is in bloom it envelops the Hondo main hall in cherry blossoms, turning the whole area pink! The views of Chumon Gate through the blossoms and Hondo colored in pale pink are spectacular highlights for any photographer.
HAJIME café
This kominka café is a place to truly relax, sitting in the Yamazaki mansion, a house built over a century ago in the modern Japanese style of the time. Touches of the early 20th century Taisho period remain around the café, in its retro furniture, antiques and art. The house beyond the café space can also be viewed: a post-meal walk around is highly recommended. At lunchtime, you could try the Seasonal Lunch, serving an abundance of vegetables and fruit grown in Kinokawa, the specialty Gyusuji (beef tendon) Curry, or the Gibier Minced Meat Cutlet Curry featuring Wakayama game meats. Situated near JR Kokawa Station, Hajime café is in the perfect location to stop off on the way back from Kokawa-dera Temple. Look out for the red brick wall.
Wakayama Prefecture Botanical Park Ryokka Center, Iwade City
Whenever you visit this park, you will always be greeted by flowers in full bloom, whether at the Panorama Flowerbed, where multicolored blooms carpet the landscape, in the beautiful glasshouse of tropical and subtropical plants, the plum grove, the camellia garden, lotus pond or hydrangea patch. Around May every year is the peak season of the rose garden, which boasts 350 plants in 75 varieties. The gorgeous color of the rose blooms is not the only attraction here: the elegantly sweet floral scent also draws you in. This is an excellent place to visit with children, thanks to the Wanpaku Hiroba, a playpark with large playground equipment, and a nursing room. There is also a busy schedule of workshops and events on offer, so a visit is very rewarding.
Kominka Cafe Restaurant Hatsuhana
A restaurant/café next to the Negoroji Temple near the Ryokka Center. Occupying a kominka house built more than a century ago, this is just the place for a relaxing meal. The classic Japanese décor is redolent of history, such as the cherry wood main pillar and the Yukimi shoji (snow-viewing sliding doors) with their lower half fitted with frosted glass and top half lined with washi paper. Whether it is the tempura made with the freshest seasonal produce, or the handmade tofu that brings out the sweetness of the soybeans, customers visit from near and far to enjoy dishes found nowhere else. For the Kirari lunch, you can choose either the seasonal takikomi rice (tasty rice steamed with mixed vegetables) or the local specialty chagayu (tea-infused rice porridge). And do not miss the assorted Japanese and European desserts made by the resident pâtissier.
Ajisai Mandara-en Garden at Sukumadani Kannon Temple, Kamitonda Town, Nishimuro District
On the grounds of the Sukumadani Kannon Temple, said to be the best place to find better fortune and ward off evil, is surely Wakayama’s most stunning ajisai (hydrangea) garden. It features about 10,000 hydrangeas in some 120 different varieties across an area of about 6.5 km2. Stroll in the garden surrounded by flowers and enjoy the bridge crossing the stream, the wisteria trellis, pavilion and more. These are wonderful photo spots, especially the water features that appear among the multicolored hydrangea blooms. The outstanding view from the lookout takes in not just the Mandara Garden but the towns of Shirahama and Tanabe, and the Kii Channel beyond. At around half an hour’s drive from Shirahama Onsen, why not combine flower viewing with a hot spring?
Stone Oven Nature Cafe Toto Koko
This café by the sea and surrounded by nature is found inside Iyashirochi Calm, a relaxation salon offering aromatherapy and more. From inside the café or a seat outside, gaze out across the forest to the bay where twin-rock Mezuro Island lies. Try one of a mouthwatering range of original pizzas, fired in the owner’s home-built stone oven. Choose from one of eight pizza sauces, including homemade tomato sauce, miso and soy sauce koji. Options include seasonal pizzas, and one even features foraged wild greens. All pizzas can be made vegan-friendly. Other standout menu items include the stone oven bread made with wild yeast, craft juices, and herb teas chosen to suit your mood or state of health.
Koi-no-Tulip Field in Koino District, Hashimoto City
The Koi-no-Tulip Field, created on fallow fields, is a spring tradition in Hashimoto City. From late March to early April every year, the tulips reach full bloom in vivid reds, whites, yellows and pinks. Come and look for the big red heart, created from tens of thousands of tulip flowers in the middle of the field. Attracting large crowds of spectators would be the Love Hashimoto! Tulip Festival, held in early April, which is thronged by families and features food and drink booths. Eat something delectable as you take in the tulips; this is a balm for the soul.
Kominka Restaurant & Cafe Koino Tsuruya
This is a restaurant operating out of a renovated 180-year-old kominka house. Drop by for a slightly luxurious yet casual lunch, with creative tofu-based menu using homemade tofu and yuba tofu skin or a seasonal multi-course kaiseki dining. The “Sakura” lunch menu of assorted dishes is also recommended. This involves the choice of tofu hotpot made with homemade tofu or seasonal hotpot, with the famous specialty of the house, which is sesame tofu chawanmushi (a savory custard dish). Dinner service is by reservation only and limited to one party per evening. Make this a special occasion by booking out this quaint space to enjoy Japanese hotpot using the finest ingredients or a mini-kaiseki dining experience. At lunchtime, the Tsuruya “Hanare” room can also be booked.
The irises of Yosuien Garden, Wakayama City
Yosuien Garden is a “daimyo garden” created by 10th local Kishu lord Tokugawa Harutomi, one of the three branch families of the Tokugawa house, which ruled Edo Japan as shogun across 15 generations and 260 years beginning in 1603. The approximately 33 km2 site has a seawater pond, a rarity in Japan, a seasonally changing array of plants and flowers, as well as a large number of pine trees. Once the cherry blossoms have fallen in late April and early May, it is the turn of the irises to reach full bloom around Yosuitei, a villa built for the daimyo as a retreat. The irises of Yosuien Garden also appear in Koume’s Diary, Japan’s oldest extant diary of 19th century poet and painter Kawai Koume which documents local history, explaining that they were planted in that century. The historic buildings and beautiful indigo flowers are reminiscent of the scenery of that time.
Kalos Ocean
This restaurant at the Aegean-style resort hotel Epicharis in Wakanoura offers a creative modern Greek menu. Here you can admire the amazing views through floor-to-ceiling open windows to the blue world beyond as you enjoy your meal. On a fine day, why not eat out in the salt air on the terrasse? At lunchtime the set course menu featuring Greek classics like moussaka and pastitsio (baked beef pasta) is very popular. In the evening, the night view is stunning and you can partake in a multi-course meal that starts with an assortment of appetizers. Savor your sophistication as you enjoy seafood in the Greek style, fished fresh from Wakaura Bay.