This was THE trip of the year!
After months of planning and anticipation, we finally touched down at Kansai International Airport late on a Saturday night. Instead of staying in the hustle of the city, we hopped on a train straight to 和歌山市 Wakayama City for a quiet overnight rest – our gateway to the scenic wonders of Wakayama Prefecture.
After a restful onsen soak and sleep at the ドーミーインPREMIUM 和歌山 (Dormy Inn hotel chain), we caught the 9:10am train to 湯浅 Yuasa, a charming little town just 45 minutes away. It’s an ideal half-day trip, and the station makes it super easy for travelers like us—luggage lockers were available (¥500 for the big ones), and the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) next door offered maps, advice, and even ¥100 coin exchanges for the lockers. Language barrier? No problem. The friendly staff used a translator to help us out. We were on a mission: to try the famous 醤油ソフト soy sauce ice cream!
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There are two very popular places for ice cream along the same stretch of Chip Bee Garden, namely The Sunday Folks and The Daily Scoop. We walked past an empty The Daily Scoop around 13:30, only to realise that this place is opened from 14:00. A few shops ahead, there was a rather long queue at Sunday Folks! Anyway, our destination was Phoon Huat, so we happily whisked past the crowd queuing in the rather hot and humid weather, and entered the air-conditioned Phoon Huat in bliss.
It was a very hot afternoon and we just had an early lunch. Needed a place to chill, and we decided to head to Thomson V, where we recalled that there were a couple of new cafés that we had yet to try.
Eat.Eat.Walk.Walk . 吃吃走走 