Day Trip from Osaka
I took the private line from Wakayamashi Station to a Kada. The fare was slightly above 300yen! Kada is a coastal town. If you are interested in the Sand and Sea, do alight two stops before Kada and that stop will lead you to the Beach!
Awashima Jinja is about 30 mins walk from Kada station. Do ask the station master for a map or it will be quite difficult to locate the shrine. The shrine is a photographer's paradise as the ground is littered with a wide collection of ornaments, dolls, statues, masks and figurings. Some words to describe the shrine are Bizarre, Quirky, Absurb and Creepy! It is the final resting place for many old, damaged and unwanted Hina Ningyo. This shrine is also home to plagues with women's underwear attached to them. These are placed by women who want to conceive or give birth to a healthy child.
On March 3rd, Girl's Day is celebrated at the shrine. Boats are filled with dolls, in the hope that the dolls will take their owner's misfortunes away. Due to the rocking of the sea, the dolls will slowly fall overboard thus taking the bad luck away with them.
I had enough cash to get me a car on the spot :P
Lunch inside wakashiyama shi station, one of the cheapest walls I found! Just for 300-440 yen, you can get a bowl of noodles and rice!
A Must Try is the vending machine at wakayama station. It is so cool! There is a wide selection of Hot or Cold drinks to choose from. I tried iced coffee and the most interesting part is that after your choice is made. A video will be shown to demonstrate how the coffee is made. It captures the whole process from grounding the beans, to pouring the milk into the cup and topping it off with shaved ice! After which the machine's window will open and viola your drink is ready! The end product - freshly brewed coffee with bits of grounded beans at the bottom! It is unlike the vending machines in Singapore which only gives us instant coffee.
From Wakayama Station do visit Mt Imose an islet, with a tiered pagoda and a covered water viewing deck. The view from the top is stunning. It takes about 1/2 an hour to walk there.
Direction: Walk straight from the station to the main road. Turn left and you will pass a ski shop and furniture shops along the way. Walk down to the junction where you can see Mos Burger. Turn Right, cross the bridge and continue straight. You will walk pass a huge supermarket along the way, cross the second bridge. At the end of the road, turn left and hopefully you can spot the islet!
*By the way items in the supermarket are much cheaper than Osaka!
