Last Updated: Apr 24, 2024

Wakayama’s Shirahama

A Seaside Hot Spring Resort in Kansai

This story was originally published on donnykimball.com and has been syndicated here on Medium.

Welcome back to yet another one of my Japan area guides. Like with all other installments, we’ll be taking a look at an oft-neglected part of the country. This time, the topic at hand will be Wakayama’s hot spring town of Shirahama. Literally meaning “White Sandy Beach,” this onsen resort has been both extremely relevant historically as well as during the modern era. Located only around 100 kilometers south of Osaka, Shirahama is a great addition to many Kansai region itineraries (especially for those of you looking to tackle some of the Kumano Kodo).

At least as far as we can tell, the first mentions of Shirahama date from as far back as a millennium ago. As I just wrote in a recent article on Oiwa Shrine though, this period of Japanese history is rather problematic for those attempting to study it. You see, the written word only really first entered Japan via the teachings of Buddhism. As a result, we don’t have many reliable references dating from before the arrival of Buddhism that aren’t mytho-history. Likely, Shirahama evolved as a hot spring escape in lockstep with the area’s rise to prominence.

While Shirahama’s historical legacy may indeed be a bit of a question mark, its time in the present-day limelight is well…