Wakayama Arida Onsen

Arida, on the Kishima coast of central Wakayama Prefecture, is one of Japan's most celebrated mandarin orange (mikan) producing communities, the terraced hillside citrus orchards of the Arida River valley producing the Arida mikan whose exceptional sweetness and thin skin have made this Wakayama citrus the preferred choice of Japanese confectioners and fresh fruit markets since the Edo period. Wakayama Arida Onsen draws on chloride-rich coastal thermal waters from the marine geological formations of the Wakayama Kishima coast, offering warming maritime baths in a citrus-fragrant coastal community whose extraordinary mikan heritage, the Arida River valley terraced orchard scenery, and the coastal fishing culture of the Kishima Bay fishing ports create a wonderfully fragrant and seasonally vibrant spa setting. The Arida mikan harvest experiences from November through January when the terraced hillsides turn orange with ripe fruit, the Kishima coast fishing heritage and fresh Pacific seafood, and the traditional Kishima Bay boat fishing culture visible from the coastal spa windows make Arida one of Japan's most olfactorily distinctive and seasonally delightful thermal spa destinations on the Wakayama coast.