WAKAYAMA -- Wakano-ura Bay in Wakayama is a scenic spot that was depicted in waka poems in Manyoshu, Japan's oldest poetry collection. Winds steadily blow all year round in the bay, making it a favorite spot for yacht sailing as well.
The bay is home to one of the nation's best sailing bases. The beautiful scenery is also a stage for fostering yachtsmen and women who aim to compete in world-class races.
Best environment for yachting
The sea surface, which had been calm until then, began undulating mildly about a dozen meters in front of me. Susumu Sakaguchi, 63, a staffer of Wakayama-ken Sailing Renmei (Wakayama Prefectural Sailing Federation), said: "The wind has started blowing. I'll catch it with my sails."
As a member of the federation, Sakaguchi has participated in ocean sailing races for about half a century. After he spoke, the northwest winds rubbed my cheeks.
Our conversation took place during a sailing race in early November, with participants competing for the fastest time over a distance of about 25 kilometers. About 50 yachts began sailing forward, cutting through the waves.
There were a number of twists and turns until this kind of spectacular scene came to be seen in the bay. In the wake of the 1971 National Sports Festival in Wakayama Prefecture, more local residents started enjoying marine sports, and the interior of the bay became a training site for yacht sailing.
In tandem with a 1994 maritime event that Japan called the World Resort Expo, an artificial island called Wakayama Marina City was constructed, as well as a yacht harbor that would not look out of place in a Western-style landscape.
However, the momentum did not continue. A third-sector business entity that managed a storage facility for yachts and others disbanded. The yacht boom in the bay area was about to end.
The flow of events was changed by local people who love yacht sailing, including Kazuya Nakamura, 59, who serves as head of the prefectural sailing federation. They thought the prime conditions for sailing in the bay should not go to waste.
Thanks to the Black Current, the water temperature even in winter is relatively high in the bay, and winds are always blowing at speeds of four to eight meters per second, which is considered ideal for yacht sailing.
Nakamura and his fellows, including former yacht sailing Olympians, established a nonprofit organization and began managing the Wakayama Sailing Center in 2006.
Training camps
Yacht sailing, in which participants race on the sea in small yachts, is an Olympic sport. Events differ according to the size of the yacht and the numbers of crew members on board.
Nakamura and his fellows enlarged the facilities for yachts and other vessels with assistance from the prefectural government. Because they needed permission to use the coastal waters for the sport, they asked local fisheries cooperatives and other entities for their assistance as well.
Glass-eel fishing has flourished in Wakano-ura Bay. Nakamura and company offered help with Shirasu Matsuri, a festival to promote glass-eel fishing that is held in spring and autumn every year, and also participated in cleaning activities along the bay.
Trust between them and the local people deepened, and at large-scale events, people in the local fishing industry began monitoring the safety of race participants.
In 2008, the Wakayama Sailing Center was designated as a national training center, where the nation's top-level athletes hone their skills.
From 2015, the center has been the venue for inter-high school championships in yacht sailing. Yacht enthusiasts in high school sailing clubs across the nation train hard under the slogan, "Let's go to Wakano-ura."
That year, the NPO and the prefectural board of education began events for people to experience yacht sailing, and now invite students from 20 schools annually. The total number of participants in the events reaches about 3,000.
Naoki Ichino, 31, of Shima Seiki MFG., Ltd.'s corporate team, often practices in Wakano-ura Bay. Ichino won the championship in the men's 470 class of the National Sports Festival in Ibaraki Prefecture in autumn 2019.
"[Yacht sailing] trains my body, sharpens my sense of predicting the wind, and let's me fully utilize the power of nature," Ichino said. He cannot compete in the Tokyo Olympics and is therefore aiming for a ticket for the next Games in Paris, as well as participating in activities to foster his successors.
"Yacht sailing is still a minor sport in this country. I want to teach as many children as possible how enjoyable sailing on the open sea is. I want to make this a deep-rooted sport in Japan," Ichino said.
In Wakano-ura Bay, yachtsmen can begin practicing immediately after they take their yachts out of the accommodation facility. Its conditions are equal to those in Europe, where yacht sailing is popular.
The bay also has the advantage of being close to Kansai Airport.
"A sailing field with such favorable conditions is rare in the world. I hope I can compete with yachtsmen from overseas in this bay sometime in the future," Ichino said.
The winds blowing as they did in the years of Manyoshu are backing his dream.
-- How to get there
An about 10-minute taxi ride to the Wakayama Sailing Center from JR Kainan Station. The yacht accommodation facility can store about 50 yachts. Its entrance is 13 meters high, so yachts can get in and out while keeping their masts standing. It also has a clubhouse with shower and conference rooms. The facility is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is closed on Tuesdays.
For more information, call the center at (073) 448-0251.
-- Extend your trip!
Wakaura Tenmangu shrine
This shrine is located on the hillside of Mt. Tenjin, which is 93 meters above sea level. After climbing a steep stone stairway, visitors can view beautiful landscapes, including the coastline, from around the shrine's roofed gate.
Sugawara no Michizane is enshrined here as a deity of learning. In the New Year period, many students who are going to take entrance exams visit the shrine to pray for success.
In September every year, a ritual is held to burn writing brushes that are no longer being used.
At New Year's, a calligraphy festival is held in which first-drawn works of the year are dedicated to the deity.
The shrine is an about 25-minute bus ride from JR Wakayama Station or Nankai Electric Railway's Wakayamashi Station. After getting off the bus at the Gongen-mae stop, walk about five minutes to reach the shrine.
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