和歌の浦温泉 萬波 Manpa Resort
Date of Visit: 14 Mar 2026
As our flight was delayed for almost two hours, it was almost 5pm when we arrived at Shinwakaura 新和歌浦, where we would spend the night at Manpa Resort 和歌の浦温泉 萬波.
It was strange but no one was at the entrance to greet us and took our luggage on arrival, and only after unloading by ourselves did someone come. The parking area was quite packed, illustrating a lot of guests staying on the night.
The staff then took us to our room ‘Zen 禅’ on 7/F, on the top floor of the building. This royal suite with open-air bath is the most premium room in the hotel, renovated in 2023. The corner room has a fantastic panoramic view of the sea.
Facing the door is a mini bar in which all the beverages are free. On the two sides are a spacious toilet, and an accessible bathroom, showing that this room is also designed to cater for people with reduced mobility.
The Western-style bedroom has two beds, with also a comfortable chaise lounge. Separating by movable partitions is the 10-mat Japanese-style room, which can accommodate another 3 people, making a total of 5 guests in total.
The large windows in the Japanese-style room look out to Horai-Iwa 蓬莱岩 just beside the hotel and Wakaura fishing port 和歌浦漁港 in the distance. The TV and closet are also on this part of the room.
From the Western-style bedroom we can directly access the balcony. On the side is a small washroom with a single sink, leading to the bathroom with the typical shower. The bathroom has also direct access to the balcony.
Stepping out onto the balcony is a spacious open-air bath, offering complete relaxation while watching sunset and the beautiful sea. However, the water is not hot spring. Sitting on the rattan chairs to cool down after the bath, savoring a can of icy beer, is priceless.
We went to the public bath for a dip before dinner. The indoor bath has two pools, one with the air jets to provide massaging effect. The outdoor bath is popular because of its fantastic sea view. There are also two private baths (with fees) if one desires more exclusivity.
Approaching dinner time we went to Wakaura Smoke Dining エビスガオ, a new restaurant only starting from March 2025, featuring dishes using traditional ash-drying 灰干し and grilling over wood 薪焼き in preparation of Kumano Beef 熊野牛.
Apart from the semi-private tables, the restaurant also has a few spacious private rooms, and we were assigned to one of those. I ordered a bottle of local sake, 紀土 KID 純米酒, from 平和酒造 (3,500 yen) to pair with the food on the night.
The first course 前八寸 has 新じゃ がアーリオ・オーリオ Fresh potatoes sauteed with garlic and olive oil, 筍木ノ芽和え 若鷺甘露煮 Bamboo shoot and Kinome leaf salad, and Wakasagi in Kanroni style, 紀州名物雀寿司 蕗含め煮Special Kishu style sushi, and Cooked Chinese onion, ホタルいか錦糸巻 Firefly squid Kinshi-maki, and 満開桜昆布Full bloom Sakura Kombu.
The second course 向付 has 本日厳選のお造り五種盛り which included the day’s fresh catch from the sea, with Ika, Maguro, Katsuo, Kanpachi, Ebi, Taichio, Uni, Tai, pairing with 醤油, 桜香塩, 金山寺山葵味噌 Shoyu, Sakura salt, and Kinzanji wasabi miso as condiments.
The third course 強肴has 紀州九絵しゃぶ鍋, featuring the prized Kue in hotpot. Apart from the longtooth grouper, there are 豆腐 えのき しめじ 水菜 人参 京葱 tofu, enoki and shimeji mushrooms, carrot and leek, and served in the 薬味 自家製ポン酢 ponzu sauce. The fish was fresh and flavourful, with nice bite on the skin and delicious flesh.
The fourth course 焼物 has 萬波オリジナル 薪焼き Manpa original wood-fire grills, featuring和歌山ブランド 熊野牛Wakayama famous Kumano Beef, 鮑 肝ソース Abalone with liver sauce, 伊勢海老 Lobster, 旬の地魚Seasonal local fish, and 季節の野菜 Seasonal vegetables.
I had also pre-ordered two additional dishes, including 穴子と太刀魚の紅梅揚げ Anago and Taichio Tempura with Red Plum (1,800 yen). The meaty conger eel and beltfish are wrapped in shiso and red plum paste before deep-frying, with the slight sourness of the plum paste helping to remove the fattiness.
The other additional is 紀州雑賀崎 足赤海老塩焼き (1,650 yen). The prized Ashiaka-Ebi, coming from Saikazaki, the southwestern tip of Wakayama, has firm texture and good sweetness, and grilling with salt highlighted its flavours even more pronouncedly.
Returning to the menu, the fifth course 蒸し物 is 天然鯛桜蒸し 銀餡かけ. A Spring seasonal dish, the Sakura Tai is added with glutinous rice, wrapped in a Sakura leaf to steam, with a silver starchy sauce.
The 御飯 features a nice 筍御飯 Bamboo Shoot Rice. 止椀 has 桜饂飩 三つ葉 Soup with Sakura dumplings and Mitsuba, with 紀州梅鶏卵雲竜仕立て. 香の物 has 和歌の漬物 三種盛り. I manage to finish two servings because of how good they are.
Finally, for デザートdessert, it is カップケーキ風ヨーグルトソース掛け 季節のフルーツ添え Cupcake with Yogurt sauce, together with Seasonal Fruit. The strawberry is sweet and juicy, while the yogurt sauce has nice acidity to balance the sweetness of the cupcake.
Retiring to our room to enjoy the open-air bath, while it was quite cold and windy, with the hot water it was very comfortable and relaxing to stay out, taking in the sea breeze while bathing. It was a good sleep, getting us fully recharged.
Waking up the next morning, I took another dip in the open-air bath, with the rising sun in the background. At the appointed time, we returned to Wakaura Smoke Dining エビスガオ for breakfast.
Apart from the Japanese breakfast set, the restaurant also offered a variety of small dishes for self-service in buffet, including だし巻たまご , 納豆, 海苔, 生卵, オレンジジ ユース, リンゴジ ユース, 特製青野菜ス ムージー.
The colourful box お目覚め彩り箱 contained assorted seasonal vegetables and seafood 季節の野菜や季節の海の幸, food that were good for the body 身体に優しい逸品 .
On the stove was a claypot holding dashi and tofu 焜炉仕立て 湯豆腐.
The grilled fish 焼き魚 ホクホク地魚, featuring some local fish with tender meat.
The salad also had some lobster meat added to the healthy fresh vegetables and tomato, paired with a special made orange dressing 伊勢海老サラダ 体に優しい茄で野菜 特製橙ドレッシング.
There was also sashimi of the day’s fresh seafood お造り 本日の鮮魚.
The freshly cooked rice 炊きたてふんわりご飯 used 和歌山県産コシヒカリ越光米, with 和歌浦名物釜揚げしらすwhitebaits that were caught in the nearby waters.
The soup お汁 was the unique feature of this seaside ryokan 海辺の宿ならではの お魚出汁の荒汁, a fish broth miso soup.
After breakfast we walked around the ryokan, on the lobby looking out from the balcony to the sea, enjoying the nice breeze. There were a few spots for taking photos with interesting décor.
Going to Lounge ソラフネ, through the small door, it was a comfortable space where we enjoyed coffee or tea while relaxing on the massage chairs, or to spent some quiet time reading books in the library.
The overall expenses spending for one stay and two meals was 139,100 yen.
