Wakayama Prefecture

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Wakayama Prefecture (和歌山県 Wakayama-ken)

Image:Map of Japan with highlight on 30 Wakayama 和歌山県.svg
Capital	Wakayama
Region	Kinki
Island	Honshū
Governor	Yoshinobu Nisaka
Area	4,725.67 km² (30th)
- % water	0.04%
Population  (October 1, 2005)
- Population	1,036,061 (39th)
- Density	219 /km²
Districts	6
Municipalities	30
ISO 3166-2	JP-30
Website	www.wakayama.lg.jp/ english/
Prefectural Symbols
- Flower	Ume blossom (Prunus mume)
- Tree	Ubame oak (Quercus phillyraeoides)
- Bird	Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonica)
Image:PrefSymbol-Wakayama.png Symbol of Wakayama Prefecture

Wakayama Prefecture (和歌山県, Wakayama-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the Kii Peninsula in the Kinki region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Wakayama.

Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Cities 2.2 Towns and villages 2.3 Mergers 3 Economy 4 Demographics 5 Culture 6 Tourism 7 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Geography

[edit] Cities

Nine cities are located in Wakayama Prefecture:

• Arida
• Gobō
• Hashimoto
• Iwade
• Kainan
• Kinokawa
• Shingū
• Tanabe
• Wakayama (capital)

[edit] Towns and villages

These are the towns and villages in each district:

Arida District Aridagawa Hirogawa Yuasa Hidaka District Hidaka Inami Hidakagawa Mihama Minabe Yura

Higashimuro District Kitayama Kozagawa Kushimoto Nachikatsuura Taiji Ito District Katsuragi Kōya Kudoyama

Kaisō District Kimino Nishimuro District Kamitonda Shirahama Susami

[edit] Mergers

(as of April 1, 2006)

• On October 1, 2004, the village of Minabegawa and the town of Minabe (both from Hidaka District) merged to form the new town of Minabe.

• On April 1, 2005, the town of Kushimoto from Nishimuro District merged with the town of Koza from Higashimuro District to form the town of Kushimoto (now part of Higashimuro District).

• On April 1, 2005, the city of Kainan and the town of Shimotsu from Kaisō District merged to form the new city of Kainan.

• On May 1, 2005, the towns of Kawabe, Nakatsu and Miyama from Hidaka District merged to form the new town of Hidakagawa.

• On May 1, 2005, the city of Tanabe, the village of Ryūjin from Hidaka District, the town of Nakahechi and the village of Ōtō from Nishimuro District and town of Hongū from Higashimuro District merged to form the new city of Tanabe.

• On October 1, 2005, the village of Hanazono from Ito District merged into the town of Katsuragi.

• On October 1, 2005, the city of Shingū and the town of Kumanogawa from Higashimuro District merged to form the new city of Shingū.

• On November 11, 2005, the towns of Uchita, Kokawa, Naga, Momoyama and Kishigawa from Naga District merged to form the new city of Kinokawa.

• On January 1, 2006, the towns of Kanaya, Kibi and Shimizu from Arida District merged to form the new town of Aridagawa.

• On January 1, 2006, the towns of Misato and Nokami from Kaisou District merged to form the new town of Kimino.

• On March 1, 2006, the city of Hashimoto and the town of Kōyaguchi from Ito District merged to form the new city of Hashimoto.

• On March 1, 2006, the towns of Hikigawa and Shirahama (both from Nishimuro District) merged to form the new town of Shirahama.

• On April 1, 2006, the town of Iwade from Naga District was promoted to city status. Naga District was dissolved with this change in status.

[edit] Economy

Wakayama supplies most of Japan with its high production of mikans (Mandarin Oranges) in October of every year.

[edit] Demographics

[edit] Culture

Mount Kōya (高野山, Kōya-san^?) in the Ito District is the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Japanese Buddhism. It is home to one of the first Japanese style buddhist temples in Japan and remains a site of pilgrimage and an increasingly popular tourist destination as people flock to see its ancient temples set amidst the towering cedar trees at the top of the mountain.

The Kumano Shrines are located on the southern tip of the prefecture.

[edit] Tourism

Shadow picture of Wakayama prefecture.png Prefecture outline	Onsen in Nachikatsuura, Japan.jpg Onsen in Nachikatsuura	NachiNoTaki.jpg Nachi waterfall	Waterfall Nachi02.jpg Nachi waterfall
KonponDaido.jpg Konpon Daido (Mount Koya)	Daimonzaka28-640.jpg Daimonzaka	Daimonzaka10-640.jpg Daimonzaka	WakayamaCastleM0940.jpg Wakayama Castle

[edit] External links

• Official Wakayama Prefecture homepage
• Wakayama Tourist Guide
• Nanki Sightseeing Guide
• Wakayama Prefecture JET Participants (WAJET) website

Image:Shadow picture of Wakayama prefecture.png Wakayama Prefecture Image:Flag of Wakayama.png
Cities
Arida | Gobō | Hashimoto | Iwade | Kainan | Kinokawa | Shingū | Tanabe | Wakayama (capital)
Districts
Arida | Hidaka | Higashimuro | Ito | Kaisō | Nishimuro
See also: Towns and villages by district edit

v • d • e Regions and administrative divisions of Japan

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Coordinates: 34°3′N, 135°21′Ear:محافظة واكاياما bg:Вакаяма (префектура) cs:Prefektura Wakajama de:Präfektur Wakayama et:Wakayama prefektuur es:Prefectura de Wakayama eo:Ŭakajama (prefektujo) fr:Préfecture de Wakayama ko:와카야마 현 id:Prefektur Wakayama it:Prefettura di Wakayama la:Vacaiama (praefectura) lv:Vakajamas prefektūra lt:Vakajamos prefektūra nl:Wakayama (prefectuur) ja:和歌山県 pl:Prefektura Wakayama pt:Wakayama ru:Префектура Вакаяма fi:Wakayaman prefektuuri sv:Wakayama prefektur th:จังหวัดวะกะยะมะ vi:Wakayama‎ uk:Префектура Вакаяма zh-yue:和歌山縣 zh:和歌山县