[Wakayama Station / Night Walk] (Wakayama City, Wakayama) — Halloween Costumes, Touts, and a Silent Giant Arcade

JR Wakayama Station. It happened to be Halloween, and a handful of costumed high school girls were hanging around the station forecourt — giving the whole place that slightly giddy, charged-up feeling that only comes on nights like this.

Around the Station

Wakayama Station serves the Kisei Main Line, the Kinokuni Line, and the Wakayama Line — a proper terminal. There's also a Wakayama-shi Station elsewhere in the city, which always trips up out-of-towners. If I remember right, Wakayama Castle is actually easier to reach from that one. The rotary here was busy with people waiting for rides and meeting friends.

Heading west along Keyaki-dori, I passed what looked like a group coming back from a night out — laughing and trailing behind each other, the evening clearly well underway.

Turning right onto Yanagi-dori, I entered what's known as the "Arochi" district — Wakayama's main entertainment strip. The touts multiplied quickly. And because it was Halloween, I passed a few people in full costume, which gave the whole scene a slightly surreal edge.

A woman in a particularly eye-catching outfit walked past. A bit late to be heading to work, but then again — it was Halloween. Maybe she was part of the night's festivities.

Just across Yanagi-dori, a dining bar painted entirely in red caught my eye. In the darkness of the street it practically glowed — impossible to walk past without noticing.

Heading further west brought me to Burakuri-cho — Wakayama's signature covered shopping arcade. It stretches on and on, but the streets were nearly empty. Quiet, and a little dark. I found myself wishing there were more lights, though there's something calming about the silence too.

Apparently many of the shops here are shuttered even during the day. But rather than feeling sad about it, I found the quiet and the darkness almost beautiful — a space frozen in time, with its own kind of dignity.

Then, a pocket of neon. This section of the arcade only covers the footpath, and the glow drew me in without thinking — that old, inexplicable pull of light in the dark.

Further along the main Burakuri-cho strip, I came across a section strung with decorative lights. A few restaurants were open, and the whole area had a warm, slightly exotic feel — almost like a night market somewhere in Southeast Asia.

This kind of chaotic, layered atmosphere is exactly what I look for on night walks. An Okinawan restaurant, maybe? Something smelled good.

Heading back toward the station along a parallel arcade one block south. Same story — quiet, unhurried, the sound of my own footsteps carrying further than they should.

A place that looked like a café by day and a bar by night. Something about a lit-up shop late at night is always reassuring — a sign that someone's still there, keeping the street company.

Out of the arcade and back onto the open stretch of Keyaki-dori.

Back near the station, girls bar staff were out front doing their thing. I suppose this is just the ordinary nighttime landscape of a regional city now.

Walking Around Wakayama Station — Video

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