Sammy and I took a day trip to Wakayama, whilst Ellen and Michael had some extra time in Osaka, because it was a prefecture we had not yet visited, but it was also out of the way of all the other holidays we were planning for the upcoming year. We were fully prepared to just do a holiday in Wakayama in the future, but we thought as we were so close, we might as well go and get the vibe of the place. It would tell us whether an entire holiday in the prefecture is something we’d like in the future. As expected, in this place that specialises in mikan/small oranges, we loved it! The last time we were in a mikan area was when we went to Ehime (you can find that blog post here) and we fell in love with the fresh juice that you can get nowhere else. Seriously, it’s like a drink for the gods!
Now, I’m just going to talk a little about the trains we rode in and out of Wakayama, please feel free to skip this paragraph if that’s not something you’re interested in. We had to get an early train to the city, because we only had the day to explore, so we caught a Kuroshio limited express out of Osaka station just after 7:30am. We were so surprised when a train disguised as a PANDA pulled up to our platform. The face at the front was so cute and all along the sides were photos of pandas and other various wildlife, like whales and lions. The seat covers inside also had pandas on and it heightened our entire experience from the get go. On the way back, our train was missing the panda decals, but its plain white face on the front did show why they’d chosen to put a design on most of these models. It didn’t look ugly or anything, but the blank, flat front is almost screaming to be decorated. I’m just glad they took the opportunity to make a panda train to start a discussion about conservation, rather than some sort of ugly advertisement instead. From what I could read online, it seems these trains were meant to stop running in 2023. Whatever reason they have to keep the service running, I am glad I got to have that experience and for it to be such a surprise too – it only made the fun even more joyous!
In Wakayama, we did do a bit more than just drink orange juice, though there was A LOT of orange juice still involved. In the single day, we managed to get round to exploring the castle, its grounds, shrines and the Historical Museum as well. The castle was actually one of my favourites that I’ve been inside within the whole of Japan. It wasn’t huge, but I enjoyed the fact the towers and the keep were all connected in a corridor that looped around, and the layout of the grounds just seemed to make a lot of sense to me. It was on high ground, but not too high that I felt my heart in my throat by the time I got to the top. Basically, if I was to live in a Japanese castle, which of course I would not for many reasons but bear with me for this analogy, I think it would be Wakayama Castle that I would choose.
We chilled in a nice coffee shop before catching the limited express train back to Osaka. If you’re ever in the area and want a place to rest that does great coffee and houjicha lattes, please check out Balder Coffee (https://www.instagram.com/baldercoffee_wakayama/) as the staff member was so kind, the decoration of the cafe was very relaxing and the drinks were delicious. Once our drinks was over, we made our way back to the station, hands full of orange juice/ mikan flavoured items to distribute to all our friends and colleagues once we arrived back in Tokyo. With only Osaka left to visit in Kansai, we could practically hear our apartment calling us home. The trip had been very fun, but the busiest of our life so far for sure. Although we wouldn’t have long back in Tokyo, we were ready for a rest in the comfort of our own home, even if it was just for a night or two before we were out on the rails again. In the times I felt exhausted, I remembered how this trip was going to be one of a lifetime. My sister and I have never got to travel together as adults, and even as children, our last holiday abroad together was over twenty years ago. Yes, it had been a wild time, jam-packed from the get go, my gosh had we made the most of every second she was in Japan, and I would never regret a single second. The memories we made will stay with us for the rest of our lives, for sure. Love you, sis. <3
