Travel, eat, share!
The more you know, the more you think you don’t. The more you don’t know, the more you think you do.
— Haemin Sunim.
Heck I don’t know what I’m doing but there’s always a first time for everything! I decided to write today because there are people out there looking for some information. So hopefully it helps!
I don’t think I subscribe before, because I am noob but soon I will.
Have you heard of this place before? Well I got to know about Shingu because my friend is from Shingu. I visited back in April 2019 to meet her family, also stay for around one month.
Shingu is located in Wakayama prefecture. It’s a 4.5 hours train ride from Shin-Osaka to Shingu. We took JR and it cost JP¥7,410 when purchase on spot. But we got to know later that there’s a discounted rate if advance booking online is made (Can’t remember the exact amount but it cost around JP¥5,000++ only – it’s not much but it’s something!)
There is a few places you can visit if you happens to drop by Shingu;
HAYATAMA TAISHA – Is the ‘New Shrine’ and one of the Three Grand Shrines of Kumano (Kumano Sanzan). It is listed as World Heritage sites.
KAMIKURA SHRINE – It is said the first place that the gods of Kumano sanzan reached. On top of the mountain, there is a rock, Gotobiki, that holds the spirit of the Kamikura Shrine. It is about 10 mins hike up to reach the top.
SHINGU (TANKAKU) CASTLE RUIN – From top of this castle ruin, you can view the Kumanogawa river.
Exquisite food that are quite popular in Shingu are Mehari Zushi, Samma Zushi, Kumano beef and Wakayama Ramen. But I managed to try two of it;
MEHARI – It’s a rice ball wrapped in a salted mustard leaf which is a regional food of Kumano area, however, it is said that Shingu’s version is quite famous! I had someone made for me but you can enjoy this from Sohonke Mehariya restaurant.
SANMA ZUSHI – A pacific saury that has been preserved in yuzu citrus vinegar is placed on top of rice. I tried this and I like it because of that citrus taste, but I do not have a decent photo of it (you can google it). You can enjoy this from Jofuku Zushi Ekimae shop.
Some other restaurants I went in Shingu and loving it are Shika Roku (鹿六) and Mikou (味幸).
SHIKA ROKU – It’s an unagi specialize restaurant. The portion is quite big for me and lots of unagi underneath that rice! The Umaki (rolled eel omelette) is fluffy and wobbly.
MIKOU (味幸) – It’s a crab restaurant. I went there twice because it’s very delicious but it wasn’t that cheap though. The gratin course set is as below and it comes with a dessert;
Shabu-shabu course with porridge as below but we forgot to snap a photo of the porridge though.
Oh yes, there is an awesome tea house in Shingu!
KIMURAYA (きむら屋) – It’s a traditional Japanese tea house. A bit far from the station (around 30 mins walking) but worth visiting! They have a private garden inside that looks so pretty especially during the cherry blossom season.
Shingu stay was amazing! I like the place as it’s very calm and peaceful. There are supermarkets nearby the place I was staying and Aeon is not that far either. During the weekend, my friend and her family would bring me to other places in Wakayama and Mie to experience more on Japanese culture, which I will share in another post soon!
I love to eat and enjoy discovering new places. Still an introvert but I can be talkative sometimes.
Blogging or writing is not my thing though, but from time to time I do read others because their post really do help! So I figured maybe I should do so, just to share what my eyes have seen and what my ears have heard.
Beginner's Blog