Pussyfooting around in Kinki 近畿

The final morning in Wakayama

The girl is here in Guangzhou 广州, spending the holidays with us between school terms. She arrived in the middle of this month, and will stay here until just after New Year's, a period of time that will still be too brief. I will eventually upload a lengthy post covering the moments spent here in southern China, but just a few days after showing up on our doorstep (okay, admittedly we did meet her at the airport late on a Monday evening), Amber and I stepped out of the country to go on a four-day, three-night all-too-short visit to Japan, which will be the topic of this post.

Again?! Astute readers will note this was my third visit to the object of Xi Jinping's 习近平 most recent manufactured wrath this calendar year, following the trip my wife and I took to Hokkaidō 北海道 in mid-February, and my personally epic solo jaunt that ran from late May to mid-June, during which I drove around the island of Shikoku 四国 in a rental car (check out the Blog Archive on the right side of this page for posts on those trips). Our destination on this occasion (my daughter's first time since her graduation trip to the Kantō area 関東地方 with a group of friends in summer of last year) was Wakayama 和歌山, a city of 350,000 and the capital of its namesake prefecture 和歌山県. If you've never heard of the place, you're not alone. Unless you're going to explore the UNESCO World Heritage Sites of the Kii Peninsula 紀伊半島 (which Shu-E and I did way back in the summer of 2004), there's little reason to spend time in the city of Wakayama. So why did the two of us end up there? The answer is simple: cats 猫. 

金曜日

Friday. An earlier booked flight had been canceled due to the Chinese government's efforts to persuade its citizenry that Japan was somehow a dangerous destination for them (Japanese nationals living in China, on the other hand, do need to pay more attention to their security these days), Amber and I were able to fly as scheduled on a rebooked flight from Guangzhou to Kansai International Airport 関西国際空港, landing in the late afternoon. There was no shortage of Chinese travelers on the airplane, suggesting the advice to avoid traveling to Japan was mainly being heeded by tour groups (whose members are the main reason why Chinese tourists have largely replaced Ugly Americans as the epitomes of bad traveling behavior), and not by families, friends or individuals. After breezing through Japanese immigration and customs (be sure to fill out those arrival cards online beforehand, folks!), we boarded the train and found ourselves at Wakayama Station 和歌山駅 in less than an hour:

The view from my room on the top floor of the Hotel Route Inn Grand Wakayama Station East Exit ホテルルートインGrand和歌山駅東口. My daughter would stay in the room next to mine:

After checking in the two of us went out to do a bit of exploring. Next to Wakayama Station is a Kintetsu Department Store 近鉄百貨店, which brought back memories of when my wife and I lived in Yokkaichi 四日市 in the mid-oughts, where there was also a Kintetsu by the main train station downtown that also included an expansive supermarket area in the basement:

We ended up having tonkatsu 豚カツ for dinner on the department store's 5F restaurant floor:

Afterward it was off to Mister Donut ミスタードーナツ for some dessert. Shu-E messaged that I looked "sleazy" in this photo, but a bigger worry was the disastrous effect the late evening snack had on my digestive system during that first night in country. Further "research" at the outlet led to the hypothesis that the custard cream may have been the culprit:

But before the onset of the gastrointestinal distress we took a stroll along National Route 17 moving away from the station to check out the annual KEYAKI Light Parade illumination, a three kilometer-long stretch of trees in the middle of the road lit up with 1.3 million light bulbs. Unfortunately, my phone wasn't up to the demanding task of clearly depicting the scene, so can you see a few of the lights here instead:

おやすみなさい:

土曜日

Saturday morning, and preparing to board the Umeboshi Densha うめぼしでんしゃ train car of the Kishigawa Line 貴志川線:

The interior of the car included a small display section of goods for sale, an indication that this wouldn't be your typical train ride:

And therein lay the answer to why we, or more accurately, Amber chose Wakayama as our Japanese destination for this getaway. It all comes down to the story of Tama たま, the cat who saved a Japanese rail line. You can read the story in the links, but in the Readers Digest condensed version, Tama was a calico adopted by the staff of Kishi Station 貴志駅, the terminal station of the Kishigawa Line (Wakayama Station is the line's opposite terminus). She was declared a station master and given a cute hat to wear, and in a country where kawaii 可愛い reigns supreme, visitors soon flocked in large numbers to see the cat in person. Tama died in 2015, but was succeeded by her apprentice, Nitama 二タマ. who proved to be equally popular. And thus the previously struggling railway line was saved from closure.

Unfortunately, Nitama herself passed away on November 20 of this year, just a few short weeks before our daughter's arrival from the U.S. However, another successor has assumed the feline station master role at Kishi Station, much to Amber's delight. This is Yontama よんたま, who occupied her own office next to the gift shop's cashier and unsurprisingly seemed quite used to being photographed:

Our daughter contributed to the Kishigawa Line's newfound financial health by purchasing several items at the gift shop inside the station. She also eagerly participated in the "stamp rally" スタンプラリー. It was this enthusiasm that made the short trip from Guangzhou worth every yen spent:

A table had been set up inside the station building for memorial offerings to be placed in honor of Nitama:

The two of us also took time to have a break in the station's cafe and enjoy a "hot cat", a fish sausage placed in a bun and covered in tartar sauce. A good thing we did, too, as finding a place to have lunch would prove to be a challenge later that day:

On the station platform stands a small Shintō shrine enshrining the first Tama as a kami 神 to be forever known as Tama Daimyōjin たま大明神: 

My daughter left her contribution on the whiteboard next to the shrine:

Another themed railway car (one of four in operation that day), the Tama Densha たま電車, pulled into the station while we were on the platform:

 

As it was still relatively early in the day we picked up an area sightseeing map at the station, and set off to explore the surroundings on an 80-minute, 4.5 kilometer/2.8 mile-long walking course. The first stop was at the Okuninushi Shrine, an old jinja 神社 the origins of which date back to mythical times. In the annual Oi-morimono Festival, a float made to resemble a giant rice ball is offered to the kami. The festival dates back at least to the Edo period 江戸時代, where it was mentioned in sightseeing guides of that time:

Persimmons and bamboo:

At the Hiraike Park Land, where Amber tried in vain to get a decent shot of herons off in the distance:

The area around the park and the pond is home to several ancient tumuli or kofun 古墳, ancient tombs constructed before the introduction of Buddhism into Japan in the late 6th century CE:

The Kansuzuka Tumulus still has traces of the moat that once surrounded it:

All that walking had worked up an appetite, but the closest restaurant to the station at the end of the route (other than the cafe where we had the hot cat) had just closed for the afternoon when we showed up. So we bid farewell to Nitama...:

...and the feline-shpaed facade of Kishi Station...:

...and hopped on the Tama Densha Museum car to Idakiso Station 伊太祈曽駅, five stops along the line from Kishi Station:

Idakiso is home to another feline station master, Gotama (actually the two cats split their time between both stations). This cat was sleeping and we were hungry, so we set off in search of a curry rice restaurant about a ten-minute walk from the station. Along the way we passed a stand selling by way of an honesty box (a common sight in the Japanese inaka 田舎) some of the biggest cabbages my daughter had ever seen:

Amber was also taken with this house that we passed while en route to the restaurant:

As it turned out, the curry place was open...sort of. Unfortunately for us, there was a crafts workshop taking place, and only drinks were being served by the time we got there, meaning our hunger would have to wait longer to be sated. So with time to kill before the next train heading back to Wakayama would arrive (and before Gotama's shift ended at 16:00) we paid a visit to the Itakiso Shrine 伊太祁曽神社:

Passing through this tree trunk sculpture ensured good fortune for my daughter. I wasn't going to tempt fate by testing my body to see if I could get through:

The Sacred Monkey Stone おさる石, so-called because it was said to resemble a monkey's head:

By the time we returned to the station Gotama was awake and ready to clock out for the day:

On the train returning to Wakayama Station:

New Year's decorations on sale at the Hands ハンズ outlet in the Kintetsu Department Store:

Determined not to be denied curry rice カレーライス following the earlier disappointment, the two of us had dinner at a counter restaurant in the basement food shopping floor:

Stomachs filled, we watched a hip-hop battle taking place in an underground concourse:

"Goody English"? As a former English teacher I had issues with this school's name, especially after confirming with an Australian friend this isn't an expression from Down Under (from where the owner hails). However, after reading Patrick's bio on his website, I had a newfound respect for the life he had made for himself in this part of Japan, and if "Goody" is what it takes to keep a business in operation, then goody for him:

A pair of local nightcaps picked up in Kintetsu's food basement:

日曜日

Sunday. Cats seen, mission accomplished. We had chosen to visit Yontama on Saturday because of the favorable weather forecast. The following day would be almost the complete opposite in climate conditions, as a view out my window on Sunday morning confirmed:

I left the decision as to what to do this day entirely in Amber's capable hands. She suggested going into Ōsaka 大阪, but to where exactly? She's been to the famous sights like Osaka Castle 大阪城, the Osaka City Aquarium Kaiyūkan 海遊館 and Dōtonbori 道頓堀 on previous visits, so I was curious to learn her decision. After doing some research online, she made her choice and that's how we ended up at the Osaka City Sewerage Science Museum 大阪市下水道科学館:

It turned out to be a lot of fun - six floors detailing everything you might wonder about Osaka's raw sewage. Built on the site of a former sewage treatment plant, the free museum celebrates the city's modern sewage works. The place was surprisingly busy with visitors, including many families. This page gives a description in English of what can be seen and done on a visit there:

Sanitation and water treatment are something we take for granted in these modern times. The museum continually reminded us of how if it wasn't for sewage treatment facilities we would be inundated with absolute filth. This display illustrated the amount of waste the average person generates in a single day, but to me it looked like what I produced in a single night after eating that custard cream doughnout at ミスド:

Many of the displays were interactive, like this one where my daughter had to keep moving her feet in order to complete construction of a large discharge channel to protect the city...:

...while I tried (and largely failed) to identify and repair defects in pipes and tunnels while piloting a drone:

A large-sized replica of a manhole cover. Local manholes featuring different designs have become unique tourist attractions throughout Japan:

Amber completes the kanji for gesuidō 下水道, meaning "sewer":

Of course there was an actual water treatment plant across the street from the museum. We could smell it as soon as we left the building:

Local residents should have a clearer idea of what happens next after they flush their toilets or wash things down their drains:

Using anime アニメ and manga 漫画 to educate the young and the foreign:

Types of sewer pipes:

As it turned out, drones are in fact used to inspect sewer pipes:

Manhole covers based on the popular manga series Kinnikuman キン肉マン. During our visit my daughter collected all nine manhole cover stamps spread out among the different floors. By doing so and then completing a questionnaire, she was given a trading card featuring the design of the titular character (seen in the middle of the photo below). The card included the coordinates for the actual location of the manhole, which in this case was near Osaka Castle:

All in all, the two of us had a "shitty" time (rimshot) at the sewerage science museum. I came away with a sense of gratitude for our modern sanitation systems, as well as a helluva lot of respect for those who keep those systems operating. It's a dirty job but someone's got to do it.

Lunch time, so we took the subway to Namba 難波, where Amber had found on Google Maps an okonomiyaki お好み焼き restauarant called Moegi:

Afterward we moved a few doors down the alley to a cafe for some doughnuts. These ones would leave my digestive tract alone:

From there, at my daughter's suggestion, it was on foot to the Namba Yasaka Shrine 難波八阪神社, known for the large kitschy lion's head stage:

Amber wanted to end our day in Osaka in the Shin-Sekai 新世界 district. I had visited this area around Christmastime in 1991. The streets surrounding the Tsūten-kaku tower 通天閣 were the only place I've ever visited in Japan where I felt very uncomfortable. As a Japanese girlfriend and I made our way through the neighborhood, I was met with hostile glares from day laborers getting drunk on cheap sake 日本酒. Shin-Sekai itself had an unintended retro feel brought about by years of economic decline.

Times have since changed. Now the lively shopping arcades are clogged with foreign visitors, and for some odd reason shooting games have proliferated here:

Tsuten-kaku in the background. The constant rain convinced both of us that there wouldn't be much to see of the surroudings from the tower's top floors:

Shin-Sekai may have been "saved" by modern tourism, but we did come across one street, Shin-Sekai Ichiba Yataimachi 新世界市場屋台街, that still retains its rough-mannered edges. A pity we had already had lunch as the handful of open stalls looked inviting:

How long the street can hold out once it's "discovered" by the gaijin influencers and Instagrammers is anyone's guess. Until that day of reckoning descends upon its denizens, obasans おばさん can still shop there for the latest in geriatric animal print fashion:

With the evening fast approaching, my daughter and I made the 70-minute-long train ride back to Wakayama. We once again found ourselves on Kintetsu's restaurant floor, this time at a place offering beef tongue 牛タン dinner sets, with mine being washed down with a Calpis Sour カルピスサワー cocktail. Despite the constant rain, the two of us had an enjoyable time in Osaka, thanks in large part to Amber's eclectic choices of places to visit. If chemistry doesn't work out for her after university, she could always go into the hopefully lucrative market of offbeat itinerary planning:

月曜日

Monday. Our last morning in Wakayama.

We didn't need to be at the airport for check-in until 13:00, so after checking out of the Route Inn we rode the JR Kinokuni Line きのくに線 two stops to Kimiidera Station 紀三井寺駅. Soon after exiting I was pleased to discover one of my favorite canned drinks, UCC Milk Coffee, in a vending machine. It used to be a common sight back when I was living in Tōkyō 東京 and Yokkaichi, but it seems to have become more difficult to find in recent years. Here I demonstrate to Amber how to properly utilize the hot drink on a chilly winter morning, by first vigorously shaking the can and then applying it gently to your cheek:

A unique-looking house, the kind of design you might come across in the pages of a book on modern Japanese architecture in your local Barnes & Noble:

Kimiidera Temple 紀三井寺, from which the station derives its name and the reason for our visit:

The temple is the second stop on the Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage 西国三十三所, and has been in existence since 710. For me the most impressive aspect was the view overlooking Wakanoura Bay 和歌の浦, worth the long walk up from street level. Long for me, anyway, as I've recently been diagnosed with early onset osteoarthritis in my left hip:

This golden Buddha was also impressive to take in:

Prayer ladles in front of the temple's main hall:

Looking up at the ceiling:

Soon it was time to get back to the hotel to retrieve our bags and then return to the airport, but not before picking up a half-dozen doughnuts from a bakery located in front of the steps leading up to the temple. No issue with these ones, either. My daughter would argue we still don't enough data to reach a definitive conclusion on whether or not the custard cream was the culprit:

It was a brief trip, but an enjoyable one nonetheless. Despite what I wrote at the start of this post, Wakayama actually turned out to be a place I wish I could've had more time to explore, with a plethora of sights to check out (starting with its castle), at least according to some tourist literature we picked up at the hotel. The city also appears to be a good choice for those who would like to settle down in a quieter Japanese city, but one that is still convenient. Wakayama is close enough to commute to and from Osaka, and day trips to cities such as Kyōto 京都 and Kōbe 神戸 can be easily made thanks to the extensive train network in the Kansai area 関西地方. And of course the city serves as the starting off point for in-depth travels into the Kii-hantō.

But what mattered most on this short excursion was the opportunity to spend more time with my daughter*, especially now that she is living halfway around the world from us. If one day I'm left with nothing but memories, at least I'll have a plethora of enjoyable ones to choose from. 

*For those who might be wondering, my wife chose to stay in Guangzhou, saying she wasn't interested in traveling to another country just to look at some cats.