Travel advice needed

Yes, I meant Wakayama City. Or more specifically, Wakayama station, in Wakayama city. If you take the normal trains (which are only a little slower than the Limited Express options, even from Kyoto), then you need to change once, in Osaka Station. From Kyoto, you'll need to catch a Rapid or a Special Rapid. The Special Rapids normally run every 15 minutes, but there are fewer of them early in the morning. They take 30 minutes Kyoto-Osaka stations. The Rapids take just a little longer, some 36 minutes or so.

In the massive Osaka Station, you then need to head to Platform 1. Since it's the airport train, it's very well sign-posted. Trains run every 2-3 minutes at platform one, and only some of them go to Wakayama. But it's easy enough to figure out.

Shin-Osaka has Limited Express services to the airport, and also to Tanabe, but the regular airport/Wakayama trains don't stop there.

Thanks Giora, yes, I'm looking at it right now - the Kishuji Rapid Service, the back four carriages, not the front ones (which go to the airport) - hmm, I fancy that. Thanks again.
By the way, Giora, I may think about perhaps adding an extra day on to the start of my Wakayama Prefecture travels, so if you have any suggestions re where to stop before getting to Tanabe, let me know!

The obvious place to stop would be Wakayama itself, I think. The city isn't that exciting - though has a few sights scattered around - but there are some lovely temples in the surrounding countryside. If you like temples, and don't mind the hassle of getting to them. Tomogashima's a great day-trip from Wakayama, but you might struggle with time, and I don't know how often the boats run in the middle of winter.

The most interesting place to stop in Osaka Prefecture would be Sakai, if you have any interest in Kofun.

Between Wakayama and Tanabe, it's nothing but small towns, and isolated, rocky coastlines. You could end up spending a (quiet) night in somewhere like Yuasa, if you wanted, but there's no real obvious place to break the trip up. Gobo's the largest town. It's not particularly interesting, though there is one nice temple - notable mostly for its statues - near town.

My recommendation would be to spend the night in Wakayama (city), and visit some temples, particularly the amazing Negoro-ji, but it really depends on your interests.

Hi again Giora, with us spending a night in Gojo after leaving Hongu and then going on to Asuka and maybe Kashihara on our way to spending the night and then an extra night in Nara (we have been there before) and after some thought, I think I may just keep my 3 nights in Kyoto (we spent 6 nights there before) - so it's going to be just 6 nights in the Kumano Kodo area - I just wish there were some good museums in Kyoto - we just love museums, the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art always seems to have special exhibitions and no permanent stuff, I wouldn't mind some tips on museums in Kyoto!

Thanks for your reply rpbourne. How do Suica etc cards help - I mean they just seem to be a facility whereby one loads it with cash, surely it's no different to cash? I haven't booked so that I travel at night so I would be leaving the appropriate station at Osaka at about 8am.

An IC card works like cash but you pay when you get off, not when you get on. Also no counting or change to worry about.

So upon arrivnig at the train station, you can just swipe in and get on any unreserved/nonexpress train you like. You dont have to select where you are getting off or worry about how much it is.

You can decide during your journey(based on weather or if you read up on something) that you want to get off at a station along the way. You dont lose anything for this flexibility. If you are going from A to D, and decide to stop at B, you still pay the same A to D fare. If you decide to stop at C, again same price. If you stop at B and C, again same fare.

You dont have to worry about how much tickets are, or getting a 2 day hop on hop off ticket as Giora describes. You just get an IC card, load it, and go.

Also works on subways. Very handy.

ohh, that sounds pretty cool - so, like I said - my final destination may be Tanabe, say, but I was wanting to get off at Kimiidera Station and Yuasa in this particular instance, then I pay for my trip all the way to Tanabe but can hop on and off at my earlier destinations, do I have to swipe out or anything?
But, I'm still wondering what the best deal is - is it breaking up my trip at Tanabe, at Kushimoto, at kii-Katsura, and finally Shingu or would one get a better deal doing the whole trip all in one? And, what are the choices for the best price deal (within reason, I do want to arrive relatively timeously)? Maybe I need to experiment with hyperdia (not the most easy to understand (and compare!!) website.

But, anyway, finally I understand the logic of the Suica cards etc (at least in this instance).
Thanks rpbourne!

ohh, I missed the point, you pay when you get off - so each time one climbs out of the train.

I don't think rpbourne's suggestion of using a card is going to help you. But I'm not an expert on those things. I think you're best off asking at a JR station for advice.

On museums: I don't know much about Kyoto museums. The National Museum is nice, the permanent collection isn't that big there though. It's much less interesting than Tokyo's National Museum. Many temples in Kyoto have interesting museums, with collections of their art and artifacts over the centuries.

In Osaka, there's currently an exhibition taking place with art from the Louvre. There's also a nice ceramics museum in Osaka.

Thanks Giora, love the Tokyo National Museum - and shall fit it in again. Hmm, recently was at the Louvre in Paris, really want Japanese art - maybe.

The last time we were in Tokyo, we also took in the Hokusai andJaponisme exhibition, it was great, how Hokusai and others influenced the craze for Japanese art and design in the west, reminded me of my gran and my great-aunts' light fittings, dinner services etc. Also, they influenced the Art Nouveau Movement of the late 1800's, the impressionists too. Hopefully more of that!

There's a museum of modern art in Kyoto, but I've never been, so don't know much about it.

For temples with impressive (ancient) art collections, the two not to miss (in my opinion) are Horyu-ji and Kofuku-ji, both in Nara. The Byodo-in (in Uji) is also outstanding.