Wakayama City (和歌山) is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture, in the southern part of Japan's Kansai Region. Located at the mouth of the Kinokawa River, it faces the island of Shikoku to the west and shares a border with Osaka Prefecture to the north. The city's history can be traced all the way back to the Kofun Period (250-538), when it was the center of ancient Kii Province.
The area continued to play an important role in the development of culture and trade through the Nara and Heian periods (710-1192), when Kimiidera Temple was founded and Wakaura prospered as the main crossing point into Shikoku. During the warring states era, the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi built what would later become Wakayama Castle, and a town soon developed around it that thrived under Tokugawa rule during the Edo Period (1603-1868).
Although smaller and more rural than the Kansai Region's major cities, Wakayama boasts a number of sightseeing highlights including its reconstructed castle and several historic temples and shrines.