Wakayama Prefecture

Our last day in Japan was spent touring Wakayama Prefecture with our home stay family Mr. and Mrs. Arai. On the way, we stopped to see the area that was excavated to provide the foundation for the Kansai Airport. They literally moved a mountain to create an island in the Pacific to serve as the Osaka airport. The next stop was Wakayama Castle. The Castle was constructed in 1585 by Hidenaga Toyotomi. He had been ordered by his brother, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, to construct it. The inside of the castle contains a museum of implements used to protect it. This included armor, swords, and long bows used by the samurai and uniforms warn by the ninja warriors (unfortunately photography was not permitted in this area). The top level of Wakayama Castle provides panoramic views of Wakayama City.
On our way out of Wakayama Castle we walked through the Momijidani Telen Garden, which has a beautiful tea room and garden. Our host family said that we could not leave Japan without seeing at least one statue of Buddha so on the way to our last stop we visited a temple where there was a massive copper bust of Buddha. Our final destination in Wakayama Prefecture was the Minato Estate and garden. This residence was used as a second home for the feudal lords of the Kishu area. Though the residence has burned to the ground several times, the current structure was built in 1834. The structure is built of beautiful cedar beams and decorated with doors painted by the Kano sect of painters. The ceilings are constructed with paper so that in the event of an attack, ninja soldiers could come through the ceiling to protect the Shogun. The tour guide at this residence was especially animated and gave us access to all parts of the residence. Leaving Minato, we returned to our hotel where we ate a Japanese dinner and discussed the events of the last few days with the special people who made it happen. This was trip was truly one that Becky and I will never forget. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Izumi City and in particular to Ms. Tamura, Mr. Shimizu, and Mr. and Mrs. Arai with whom so much of this trip was spent.