Town Hotel Marunouchi

This hotel is located near Wakayamashi station. It is a 5' walk to Wakayama castle and the Japanese garden. Cost is only around 4600 yen (Rakuten Travel) and it includes an excellent minshuku-type Japanese breakfast. The only other residents in the hotel during my 3-day stay were boarders, so you get a slightly different breakfast each day. Hotel was clean with a big fridge. Wakayama city is so big, you need a rental car to see the sights on the other side of the city near Kuroshio market, around 12 km away. Down the street from the hotel is a Mazda rental car which is the cheapest in the city at 4500 yen/day. So very convenient. Also Wakayamashi station is the station you use to go to famous doll shrine at Kada station, which is a must see. From there, you also take the ferry to Tomogashima islands, which used to be a navy facility which has many interesting abandoned buildings such as ammo bunkers, etc. The island is a nice day trip. There is also a walking tour you can take of Wakayama castle and the garden grounds near the hotel. In contrast, the JR Wakyama station on the other side of the city really doesn't have much tourist attractions nearby except for a modern food basement and bunch of restaurants, so it really isn't the best base to sightsee the city. You will need at least 3 days to see Kuroshio market and the Porto italia amusement park (replica of Italy), one of the finest fresh seafood markets I have seen in Japan, as well as the historical sites in Wakayama city. There are many interesting sites, e.g., shrines, gardens, lighthouse, arched bridge, in that area of the city that requires a rental car to get around. Wakayama city is one of the best off-the-beaten path places in Japan to visit. In fact, the best maguro sashimi I have eaten in Japan is at the restaurant on the 2nd floor of Kuroshio market.