This small fishing village in Kansai with few people and beautiful scenery hides some of the most beautiful sunrise ocean view hotels with tuna in Japan!

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🤗 Where's Kii Seung-po?

To talk about Kii Katsura, we have to separate two concepts, one is Kii and the other is Katsura.

Kii Kokusai (きい)(Kii) is part of the Nankai Province and is commonly known as Kishu. The southern part of Mie Prefecture and Wakayama Prefecture in Kii. It was an early area to be developed as it was not far from Heian-kyo and Hirakujo-kyo. Most of the area is occupied by mountains such as the Wazumi Mountains, the Nagamine Mountains, the Hakuba Mountains, and the Ota Mountains, and there are few plains, but the valleys are rich in rainfall and the climate is warm, and the area is rich in forests, and has been known for its abundance of timber since ancient times, and was called the “Country of the Woods. (The large trees on the Kumano Kodo are a point that many people remember)

Katsura is a word that is used a lot in Japan as well. For example, when we were talking about Tateyama earlier, there was one not far away called Katsuura, where the dandan noodles are one of the best.

However, we didn't find an official explanation for Katsuura, so we can only make some generalizations.

Ura in Japan is a bay, lake and waterfront area, Katsuura means victory, victory, and can be derived as good, bull. Then Katsuura can be reasonably understood to mean a good bay, a good fishing harbor.

The city of Katsuura in Chiba and the town of Katsuura in Tokushima, which we talked about above, have very good fish resources.

So Kii Katsuura is understood to be a good fishing port on the Kii Peninsula, which we will also talk about later.

Historically, Kii Katsuura was a coastal town. It was developed as a lodging place for Kumano Nachi Taisha. The town attracts worshippers with hot spring inns, sea-watching activities, and delicious tuna dishes, making it a great place to relax and unwind. In addition to Nachi Taisha Shrine on the Kumano Kodo Road, Kii Katsuura is also rich in hot springs, with more than 177 springs, making it a rare hot spring resort in Japan. It can be said that the entire seaside town is full of hot spring resources.

🤗 Is Kii Katsuura fun?

Many people think that Kii Katsura and Shirahama are very similar, and they are.

We also think that these two places are very similar and very close to each other, so you can choose one of the two places. The best thing about Shirahama is the beach and the water. So, you can go to Shirahama in summer, but you can choose this place in the rest of the year.

Tuna in the Sky - Kii Katsuura Shopping Street

Not far from Kii Katsuura JR station is the shopping street of Kii Katsuura.

It's a small town, but it's not really busy at all. Many stores are closed just like Onomichi.

But I like the tuna sign here, although I don't like seafood, I like this kind of fat round fish, made into a street sign hanging under the street lamp, under the blue sky, it has a feeling of fish flying in the sky.

Kii no Matsushima, the same as Japan's Three Scenic Spots

In Katsuura Bay, 130 islands of various shapes and sizes dot the landscape, similar to Matsushima, which we've talked about before, and are collectively known as Kinomatsujima.

Many of these islands are named after their shapes, often after various animals. Like Matsushima, you can take a boat trip to see the different shapes of rocks such as Lion Rock, Crane Rock, Camel Rock, etc. for those who are interested.

Bentenjima Birdhouse, the world's loneliest birdhouse

This loneliest torii is not an official title.

It is just because there is a red torii on Benten Island, and the red torii with the grayish-white boulder behind it has become a popular spot for photographers. (Note, remember to bring a telephoto to take pictures of this place, it's a bit far away)

Sometimes the sun's rays will penetrate through the clouds and hit the reefs and mountains, and the entire torii will be covered with a layer of solemn mystery, which is very photogenic. If you are there for a fireworks display, it will be even better.

When the tide is out, you can go up to the place and walk directly under the torii to feel the sea breeze and listen to the gentle singing of the waves. Of course, I guess a lot of people go up there to take pictures and catch the sea, so pay attention to the time of low tide and high tide.

Japan's largest tuna market - Tuna Auction Market

Kii Katsuura is the largest tuna market in Japan, which is why it's called Katsuura, as we said earlier.

At 7:00 am, the fishing boats come back from the harbor, and the caught tuna are arranged one by one on the ground after being bled out, and the huge tuna with black luster glows under the sunrise, and it looks like it is very delicious.

Each of these tuna has its own number, the tail has been cut off, buyers use an iron hook to hook up the tail, looking at the exposed flesh to decide whether to buy, visitors can from the 2nd floor platform can visit the site of the busy scene.

Note, when you go, remember to look at the date haha, usually Saturday scheduled closure.

Next door, the marina food market opens at 8:00, where you can sample the freshest tuna, or go to one of the town's restaurants for a fresh tuna dish!

Daimonozaka, a World Heritage Site

As we mentioned before, 坂 means ramp in Japanese. For example, Ninen-zaka, Sannen-zaka, and Holland-zaka.

Daimonzaka is a 650-meter-long mountain path leading to Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine on the Kumano Kodo, which is a well-preserved mossy old path called “Daimon” because it was used to collect tolls in ancient times.

These old moss-covered stone steps blend perfectly with the surrounding cedar forests, exquisitely recreating the quaint atmosphere of the Kumano Kodo. The proximity of this route to the Katsuura Onsen Street and its convenient bus connections make it an easy to walk and extremely attractive route.

Daimonzaka is a very popular section of the Kumano Kodo, where the original scenery of the olden days has been perfectly preserved. A stone-stepped path about 640 meters long extends toward the sacred site of Nachi Mountain. On the way, the moss-covered old stone steps surrounded by cedar trees more than 800 years old make you feel as if you have traveled back to the ancient pilgrimage era of Kumano.

After a 35-minute walk, you will arrive at Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, one of the “Three Kumano Mountains”. This ancient shrine has been a holy place of worship for countless believers since ancient times. The shrine is located at an altitude of about 500 meters, and you need to climb 463 stone steps to reach it.

And right next to the Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine lies the equally old Nachiyama Aokishiwatari Temple. Here, Kannon Kannon is enshrined.

The present main hall building was reconstructed in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and this building profoundly retains the characteristics of the Momoyama period and is designated as an important cultural property of Japan.

At the end of the tour is Nachi Falls, which is known as one of the “Three Great Falls of Japan”. With a height of 133 meters and a width of 13 meters, Nachi Falls is one of the highest waterfalls in Japan. The water cascades down from the lush green forest with a huge drop and a thunderous sound, which is especially powerful during the rainy season. Surrounded by dense green mountain forests, it forms a vivid picture of nature.

🤗 Life's Must-Stay Hotels - Island in the Midst of Luxury

Kii Katsuura is best known not for the hotels we mentioned above, but for its ocean view hotels.

Nakanoshima” is a beautiful island that rises from the blue sea at the entrance, and ‘Kumano Besshi Nakanoshima’ is the most private and cozy hotel surrounded by green forests. This is the only hotel on the entire island, and this kind of private one-island-one-stay itinerary can be said to be very rare in Japan, where many islands with beautiful surroundings are either deserted or crowded with hotels. Only here in Kii Katsuura, there are quite a few.

There are six hot springs on the island, and one of them is Kishu Shio-no-Yu, a natural hot spring where you can listen to the sea and watch the tide, and where you can immerse your body in the hot spring and enjoy the breathtaking view of the sea and the secluded island as if it were your own. “Kumano Besshi Nakanoshima is a hot spring resort hotel that has been rated “No. 1 in Japan” by hot spring experts. Most of the rooms at Nakanoshima have a great view of the ocean, and you will be amazed by the view both in the morning and at dusk. Also, the meals at Nakanoshima are very good, quite a bit better than Urajima. So, overall, Nakanoshima is more expensive.

The entire Nakanoshima Hotel sits on the entire island, and early in the morning you can climb the mountain along the trail, looking out over the Pacific Ocean and Kii Katsudura Harbor. There is also fishing available for fishing, but you have to pay for it, I think it's 1,000 yen.

🤗 Hotel Urashima, a hot spring resort

The Urajima Hotel, like the Nakanoshima Hotel, is on the edge of Katsuura Fishing Harbor, and both hotels use the same pier.

Urashima is very famous first of all is its turtle boat, this turtle image is very apt, this boat traveling time is also super long, but the good thing is that there are a lot of frequency, slow and easy to sway in the sea, is also a good experience. The overall scale of Hotel Urashima is much larger than that of Nakanoshima, and consists of the Main Building, the Hill Building, the Sunrise Building, and the Nagisa Building, of which the Sunrise Building and the Hill Building allow you to see the sunrise in the morning from your room.

There are many cave hot springs on top of Urashima, such as ‍Forgettable Cave and Genbudo Cave. The most recommended one is "‍Forgettable Cave”, which is half outdoor and half indoor, with the sea right outside. However, it's relatively crowded compared to Nakanoshima, and we'd recommend getting up in the morning to soak in the hot springs and watch the sunrise, even if you don't stay at Yamanokan or Nisshinokan to unlock a nice experience.

📎 How to get to Kii Katsuura?

To get here, you'll mainly have to go from Osaka and Nagoya. Osaka: Take the JR Kuroshio Limited Express from Shin-Osaka Station, which runs along the entire eastern seashore of Wakayama, to Kii Katsura Station in about 3.5 hours. The Kuroshio is a very famous sightseeing train that stops at all the major towns in Wakayama, so if you're interested in railroads, make a stop.

Nagoya: The area can be reached in less than 4 hours from Nagoya on the Nanki Limited Express.

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As a reminder, still like Onomichi and Tateyama, which we've talked about before, many of the stores here close at 5-6pm, so be careful not to starve yourself by eating dinner.