Wakayama Prefecture

Kansai (Kinki) region · Prefecture

The "Land of Trees," occupying the southwest of the Kii Peninsula. It ranks 1st in Japan for production of mandarins, plums and persimmons. It has two great sacred sites, Mt. Koya and the Kumano Sanzan, and the Nanki hot springs such as Shirahama and Katsuura are also popular.

Mandarins and Nanko plums
Mt. Koya and Kumano Kodo (World Cultural Heritage)
Shirahama
Yuasa, birthplace of soy sauce

Key facts

Prefectural capital: Wakayama City
Municipalities: 30 (9 cities, 20 towns, 1 village)
Population: 863,757 40th in Japan2025 Census
5-year change: −6.4% 7th in Japanfrom 922,584 in 2020
Area: 4,725 km² 30th in Japan
Population density: 183 people/km² 29th in Japan

Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census (population, area and density); area from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (GSI), Area Statistics of Prefectures and Municipalities (2025). National ranks are among the 47 prefectures, ordered by this site from these values.

Places to know

Koya Town Mt. Koya, the sacred site of Shingon esoteric Buddhism founded by Kobo Daishi.
Shirahama Town Shirarahama Beach of white sand and Shirahama Onsen, one of Japan's three oldest hot springs.
Kitayama Village Japan's only exclave village. Raft rides and jabara citrus.

Current warnings, advisories and earthquakes

Places to visit in Wakayama Prefecture

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Nature

Shrines, temples, castles and historic sites

Museums, zoos and more

Museums and art museums16

Shops, food and lodging

Roadside stations (Michi-no-Eki)36

Chosen automatically, most popular first, from landmarks and cultural properties registered in Wikidata (we have not checked whether each is open). Names and descriptions: Wikidata (CC0); photos: Wikimedia Commons (photographer and license under each photo).

National parks in Wakayama Prefecture

Yoshino-Kumano National ParkTotal park area 616 km²Also in Mie, Nara
Setonaikai National ParkTotal park area 673 km²Also in Hyogo, Okayama, Hiroshima, Yamaguchi, Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, Oita

Chosen by overlaying the park boundaries (Ministry of the Environment, Biodiversity Center of Japan, "National Park Areas" GIS data, updated April 28, 2025, combined and simplified by NIPPON ATLAS) with municipal boundaries (National Land Numerical Information, January 2021), keeping overlaps of about 0.5 km² or more (approximate). Areas are the land areas from the Ministry of the Environment, "Overview of National Parks" (April 10, 2026). All national parks

Municipalities in Wakayama Prefecture (30)

Municipality	Population	5-year change	Area
Wakayama City	341,716	−4.2%	209 km²
Kainan City	43,853	−9.3%	101 km²
Hashimoto City	56,762	−6.7%	131 km²
Arida City	23,024	−13.2%	36.83 km²
Gobo City	20,986	−10.6%	43.91 km²
Tanabe City	64,288	−8.0%	1,027 km²
Shingu City	24,331	−10.5%	255 km²
Kinokawa City	55,789	−5.1%	228 km²
Iwade City	53,582	−0.7%	38.51 km²
Kimino Town	7,229	−12.4%	128 km²
Katsuragi Town	14,558	−8.8%	152 km²
Kudoyama Town	3,442	−10.7%	44.15 km²
Koya Town	2,589	−12.8%	137 km²
Yuasa Town	10,022	−9.9%	20.80 km²
Hirogawa Town	6,094	−10.1%	65.35 km²
Aridagawa Town	23,789	−5.8%	352 km²
Mihama Town	6,050	−11.9%	12.77 km²
Hidaka Town	7,667	−0.1%	46.21 km²
Yura Town	4,627	−13.7%	30.93 km²
Inami Town	6,926	−10.3%	114 km²
Minabe Town	10,696	−9.5%	120 km²
Hidakagawa Town	8,352	−9.4%	332 km²
Shirahama Town	18,423	−9.1%	201 km²
Kamitonda Town	15,081	−1.0%	57.37 km²
Susami Town	3,204	−13.1%	174 km²
Nachikatsuura Town	12,725	−10.0%	183 km²
Taiji Town	2,678	−4.0%	5.81 km²
Kozagawa Town	2,164	−12.7%	294 km²
Kitayama Village	356	−11.9%	48.20 km²
Kushimoto Town	12,754	−14.7%	136 km²

Source: Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2025 Population Census (population in 2025; change compared with 2020). Area: GSI (2025). Designated cities are shown as one city (wards combined). "Temperature now" is the latest JMA AMeDAS observation (preliminary) at the nearest station in the same prefecture, loaded and shown unchanged when you open the page.

Figures come from official Japanese statistics (such as the 2025 Census by the Statistics Bureau of Japan), with the source and year shown next to each one. Photos are freely licensed images from Wikimedia Commons; the photographer and license are shown under each photo.

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