Wakayama和歌山県
Wakayama-ken, わかやまけん. The name ends in 県 (ken), prefecture.
Wakayama is the Kii peninsula. The Kumano pilgrimage routes and the temple town of Kōyasan are here.
Facts
- Japanese name
- 和歌山県
- Reading
- Wakayama-ken / わかやまけん
- Region
- Kansai / Kinki 関西・近畿
- Capital
- Wakayama 和歌山市
- Population
- 922,584 (2020 census)
- Area
- 4,725 km²
- Density
- 195 people per km²
- Municipalities
- 30: 9 cities, 20 towns, and 1 village
- Designated cities
- None
- Districts (郡)
- 6
- Codes
- JIS 30, ISO 3166-2 JP-30
- Website
- www.pref.wakayama.lg.jp
- Tree
- ubame oak ウバメガシ
- Flower
- Japanese plum ウメ
- Bird
- warbling white-eye メジロ
The tree, flower, and bird are the prefectural symbols, chosen by ordinance. Every prefecture has all three.
The most populous municipalities
| Municipality | Population | km² | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wakayama City和歌山市 | 356,729 | 208.85 | 38.7% |
| Tanabe City田辺市 | 69,870 | 1,026.91 | 7.6% |
| Hashimoto City橋本市 | 60,818 | 130.55 | 6.6% |
| Kinokawa City紀の川市 | 58,816 | 228.21 | 6.4% |
| Iwade City岩出市 | 53,967 | 38.51 | 5.8% |
| Kainan City海南市 | 48,369 | 101.06 | 5.2% |
| Shingu City新宮市 | 27,171 | 255.23 | 2.9% |
| Arida City有田市 | 26,538 | 36.83 | 2.9% |
| Aridagawa Town有田川町 | 25,258 | 351.84 | 2.7% |
| Gobo City御坊市 | 23,481 | 43.91 | 2.5% |
2020 census. Share is the municipality's part of the prefecture's population. The other 20 are listed below.
How an address here begins
和歌山県和歌山市…
Wakayama-ken, Wakayama-shi, …
The prefecture name is written first, then the municipality name. The guide explains the rest of the address, and the map finds any address you paste into it.
Neighbouring prefectures
Every municipality in Wakayama市区町村
30 local governments, each with its own mayor and assembly. Each has a page with its population, area, neighbours, and boundary on the map.
Cities市
Districts, with their towns and villages郡 町 村
A district is a name that groups towns and villages in an address. It has no office and no election. Each town and village in it is a government.
Questions about Wakayama
- Is Wakayama a city or a prefecture?
- Wakayama (和歌山県) is a prefecture, one of Japan's 47. Wakayama City (和歌山市) is a municipality inside it and its capital. On its own, the name usually means the city. With 県 on the end it means the prefecture.
- What is the capital of Wakayama?
- Wakayama City (和歌山市). The prefectural office is there. It is also the largest municipality in the prefecture.
- What does 県 mean in 和歌山県?
- 県 (ken) means prefecture. It is the ordinary word for prefecture, used by 43 of the 47. The other four are Tokyo (都), Hokkaidō (道), Osaka, and Kyoto (府), which are the same kind of government with a different word at the end of the name.
- How many municipalities are in Wakayama?
- 30: 9 cities, 20 towns, and 1 village. Each is a local government with its own mayor and assembly. The towns and villages are grouped into six districts (郡), names used in addresses, not governments.
- What is the population of Wakayama?
- 922,584 at the 2020 census, on 4,725 km², which is 195 people per km². Wakayama is the 40th most populous of the 47 prefectures and the 30th largest by area.
- Which prefectures border Wakayama?
- Three prefectures: Mie (三重県), Osaka (大阪府), and Nara (奈良県). Borders across water are not counted.
- What region is Wakayama in?
- Kansai / Kinki (関西・近畿). A region is a customary grouping of prefectures, not a government, so Wakayama elects a governor and an assembly but the region elects nothing.
- How is Wakayama written in Japanese?
- 和歌山県, read Wakayama-ken and written わかやまけん in hiragana. The last character, 県, is the word for prefecture, and the name is often used without it in English.
- How does an address in Wakayama begin?
- With the prefecture name, then the municipality name: 和歌山県和歌山市… (Wakayama-ken, Wakayama-shi, …). After that are written the named area, the chōme, the block, and the building number.
- What is the largest city in Wakayama?
- Wakayama City (和歌山市), with 356,729 people at the 2020 census. It is also the capital. The three most populous municipalities are Wakayama City (和歌山市, 356,729), Tanabe City (田辺市, 69,870), and Hashimoto City (橋本市, 60,818).
- What are the symbols of Wakayama?
- The prefectural tree is the ubame oak (ウバメガシ), the flower the Japanese plum (ウメ), and the bird the warbling white-eye (メジロ). Wakayama chose them by ordinance, as every prefecture has.
Boundaries: MLIT 国土数値情報. Population: 2020 Population Census (令和2年国勢調査). Area: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan (全国都道府県市区町村別面積調, 2020). Municipality counts are from the boundary data on the map. Website and symbols: the prefecture's Japanese Wikipedia article, read in September 2026.