"For a Day Out the South Is Fine, But You Can Get Home Without Staying": What Japanese Visitors Say About Shirahama After the Pandas Left

What Japanese visitors said — picked from the top 200 of 910 comments

• There were already loads of abandoned hotels back when the pandas were here Honestly the other factors are bigger

  パンダが居た頃から廃ホテルとかは沢山あったからなぁ 正直それ以外の要因も大きい

  — @addone125650 likes

• One point the video doesn't raise... The opening of the expressway probably cut demand for overnight stays a lot too. Nowadays it's doable as a day trip...

  本動画で挙げられていない点を挙げると… 高速道路の開通で、宿泊需要が減少したのも大きいかも。 今や日帰り旅行出来てしまうので…

  — @hoshimai8546501 likes

• Shirahama is three times further from Osaka than you think, you know

  白浜って大阪から思ってる3倍は遠いんよね

  — @がろん-l8h152 likes

• Getting around got more convenient, and hotel popularity went to the extremes too. Adventure World is a genuinely attractive place even without pandas! I'll go again.

  移動手段が便利になってホテルも人気が極端になったのもありますね、アドベンチャーワールドはパンダが無くても本当魅力的な施設ですし！また行きます。

  — @kaito3227534 likes

• Adventure World is plenty of fun even without pandas. Good to see the figures bear that out. It was a facility of global importance for panda research, so my feelings are mixed, but maybe the panda rental fees are money saved.

  アドベンチャーワールドはパンダいなくても充分楽しいですからね。 数字にも出てて安心しました。 パンダ研究に注力してた世界的にも重要な施設なので複雑な気持ちでもありますが、パンダのレンタル代が浮いたかもしれないです。

  — @Nouyhjjk680 likes

• All eyes go to the pandas, but it's also one of the zoos in Japan with the most penguins. Lately a baby emperor penguin was born and is growing up well. Time to put their black-and-white companions (penguins have a bit of another colour in there, but still) front and centre 🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

  パンダばかりに目が行きますが、日本でも有数のペンギンが多い動物園でもある。特に近頃だと皇帝ペンギンの赤ちゃんが産まれてすくすく育ってます。 白黒仲間(ペンギンはちょっと別の色入りだけど)のペンギンを全面に出して行くべき時🐧🐧🐧🐧🐧

  — @htc6331103 likes

• Adventure World It and Nagoya Port Aquarium are the only two facilities in Japan keeping emperor penguins, and this is the only one that has bred them One was born last year for the first time in four years and it caused a bit of a stir... but it never quite becomes a nationwide thing

  アドベンチャーワールド 名古屋港水族館とここの日本で2館だけのエンペラーペンギン飼育施設で、繁殖に成功しているのはこちらだけ 去年4年ぶりに産まれてそれなりに盛り上がってはいたんですがね… なかなか全国区のムーブメントにはならないですね

  — @ーあひゃあ95 likes

• But compared with 1970 the population is only down by 6,000. That surprised me the other way 😱 Is that the power of the Shirahama brand?

  でも、1970年と比べて6000人しか減ってない。逆にびっくり😱それも、白浜というブランドの力なんですかね。

  — @kujira1972267 likes

• I'm from Wakayama (I live nearby). Thank you for covering Shirahama. 5:54~ The Seaside Hotel at one point ran shows by the impressionist Akira Shimizu all year round. 11:30~ Tsubaki Onsen has always been set up for long-stay bathers, and my impression is that it faded earlier than Shirahama Onsen, which was aimed at groups and tourists. 20:00~ The numbers haven't fallen, but the previous year (2024) had a beach closure and limited express cancellations in August because of the earthquake advisory, so the baseline was low, and in reality things are still tough compared with before the pandemic.

  和歌山県民(近隣住民)です。 白浜を取り上げていただき、ありがとうございます。 5:54～シーサイドホテルは、一時ものまね芸人の清水アキラさんのショーが年中開催されてました。 11:30～椿温泉は昔から湯治客向け仕様で、団体客&観光向けの白浜温泉より早くに寂れてしまった印象です。 20:00～数字上は減ってませんが、前年(2024年)は地震臨時情報で8月にビーチの閉鎖や特急の運休等があり元が低く、まだ実際はコロナ禍前に比べると厳しいのが現状です。

  — @平-f8f101 likes

• I'm local, and it was only just staying alive on the pandas. I think most country resort towns are like this.

  地元ですけど、パンダで辛うじて生きてただけで田舎の観光地なんて大半はこんなもんだと思います

  — @nanorsio85 likes

• I lived there until a little while ago The town only ever spent money on tourism, and it was a hard place to live as a resident I got fed up and moved to a neighbouring town They tried attracting corporate satellite offices too but once the mayor changed it was back to tourism, tourism I think it should be merged into Tanabe

  少し前まで住んでました 町も観光のみにお金使ってばかり住民は住みにくい街でしたね 嫌気がさして近隣の街に引越しました 企業のサテライトオフィスを誘致したりもしてたけど 町長もかわったらまた観光観光ってやってますよ 田辺市に編入した方がいいと思う

  — @y4878730 likes

• The centre of the area is Tanabe next door, and Shirahama station was always just a small country station in my mind.

  町の中心はお隣の田辺市で、白浜駅は元々田舎の小さな駅って認識。

  — @BAKENAI_KITSUNE61 likes

• Whether there's a shinkansen station may be the big thing. Atami: even after company trips disappeared, it came roaring back as a destination for individual travel, with more high-end inns for individuals. Echigo-Yuzawa: even after the bubble-era resort condos crashed, migrants from Tokyo increased, and as of 2025 the population of Yuzawa town had grown through net migration for eight straight years. I used to use a resort condo in Echigo-Yuzawa that a friend owned. I was surprised to find it's still listed for close to a hundred million yen. That block is five minutes' walk from the station. I think the advantage of having a shinkansen station is big.

  新幹線の駅の有無が大きいかもしれません。熱海→社員旅行が無くなってもは個人旅行先として大復活。個人向けの高級旅館が増えた。越後湯沢→バブル期のリゾートマンションが大暴落しても東京からの移住者が増えた。25年の段階で湯沢町の人口は8年連続で社会増。かつて友人が所有する越後湯沢のリゾートマンションをよく利用していました。現在も1億近い金額で売りに出されていて驚いたことがあります。そのマンションは駅から徒歩５分。新幹線の駅があるメリットは大きいと思います。

  — @aigasubetedayo22 likes

• Hotel Kawakyu was the location for this year's New Year special of Aibou, wasn't it The marble building, pure bubble era, really was something And so Daimatsu and Yoshikawa have finally crossed paths lol

  ホテル川久はドラマ相棒の今年の正月スペシャルのロケ地になってたっけ バブル丸出しの大理石造りの建物はさすがの豪華さだった そしてとうとうだいまつと吉川が交錯したｗ

  — @kktt394169 likes

• At Sakinoyu you can't wash yourself or anything, but you bathe right beside the sea, so it's the best

  崎の湯は体を洗ったりはできませんが、海の真横で入れるので最高です

  — @ひろくんい12 likes

• I went to Shirahama a while ago and it did feel run down, that's true. I love that kind of port-town atmosphere, though. I just thought the whole place felt a bit gloomy. Around Toretore Market there were lots of people, mind you... so this is what had happened. Maybe too many of the wrong tourists came, but when I went to Senjojiki the rocks were carved all over with graffiti and it left a bad taste...

  白浜、前に遊びに行ったけど、確かに廃れてる感じあったなーー。港町のそんな雰囲気大好きだけど。ちょっと全体的に暗い感じだなぁと思ったな。とれとれ市場まわりとかは人沢山いたけど…。こんなことなってたんだ。観光客が変に増えすぎたのか、千畳敷行ったら落書きが岩に刻まれまくってて嫌な気持ちになった…。

  — @tamagoro0015 likes

• A university friend from Wakayama used to say, 'If you ever come to Wakayama, call me, I'll show you somewhere better than Shirahama.' This video made me feel I sort of get what he meant.

  和歌山出身の大学時代の友人が「白浜よりも良いところ案内するから和歌山に遊びに来るなら連絡しろ。」って言ってた意味が何となく分かった気がする動画でした。

  — @怪椎旦那41 likes

• I love the contrast of stupidly good weather and a faded resort town

  バカみたいないい天気と寂れた観光地のコントラストが好きなんだよな

  — @icewktk4750245 likes

• Shirahama was like that from before the panda effect. But there are plenty of good inns, and it's a good place to pop down from Osaka for a night.

  白浜はパンダの影響よりも前からそんな感じです。 けどいい宿もいっぱいあって大阪から気楽に泊まりに行くにはいいところです。

  — @chindanobon29 likes

• Shirahama has hotels that take dogs in the ryokan strip along the sea, so even though I'm from Kinki I sometimes go down for an overnight

  白浜は海沿いの旅館街に犬と泊まれるホテルがあるから、近畿民だけど時々泊まりで遊びに行ってる

  — @ツカモト-r2e60 likes

• I'm a Tokyo resident who went to Shirahama twice to see the pandas 😅 Once I used the airport, and once the station, because I wanted to enjoy the views from the Kisei line. Having hot springs is a real plus. That said, I bought souvenirs at Toretore Market and ate at the hotel, so I didn't contribute much to the restaurants or any other businesses. Even without the pandas, if I get the chance to travel to Nanki again I'd happily come back to Shirahama as a base

  パンダ見たさに二度白浜に行った都民です😅 一度は空港、一度は紀勢本線からの車窓の景色を楽しみたくて駅を利用しました。 温泉があるのはメリットですよね。ただし土産物はとれとれ市場で、食事は宿泊施設です済ませたので、あまり食堂施設やそれ以外の商業施設に貢献できませんでした。 パンダがいなくなっても南紀への旅行の機会があれば拠点としてまた白浜を再訪したいという気はあります

  — @薩道ヨッシー14 likes

• SaveAdventure World↗アドベンチャーワールドShirahama, Wakayama

  The park the thread defends: plenty of fun without pandas (680 likes), penguins in an ordinary pool right inside the entrance (905 likes), and one of two emperor penguin facilities in Japan (95 likes). Adult one-day admission 5,300 yen as checked.

  Sources: aws-s.com — checked 2026-08-26

• SaveShirarahama Beach↗白良浜Shirahama, Wakayama

  Named as beautiful by a visitor who went two weeks before writing and called the town a just-right resort (9 likes).

• SaveSakinoyu↗崎の湯Shirahama, Wakayama

  The open-air bath right beside the sea that one visitor calls the best thing in Shirahama, with the caveat that you cannot wash there (12 likes). The town lists admission at 500 yen for ages 3 and up, and soap and shampoo are banned because the water drains into the sea.

  Sources: town.shirahama.wakayama.jp — checked 2026-08-26

• SaveToretore Market↗とれとれ市場Shirahama, Wakayama

  Where the Tokyo visitor bought souvenirs (14 likes) and where an April visitor found the crowds (27 likes).

• SaveHotel Kawakyu↗ホテル川久Shirahama, Wakayama

  The marble bubble-era hotel that served as a location for the New Year special of the TV drama Aibou, remembered by one visitor for the sheer luxury of the building (69 likes).

• SaveSenjojiki↗千畳敷Shirahama, Wakayama

  The rock shelf where a visitor found graffiti carved all over the stone (15 likes).

• SaveTsubaki Onsen↗椿温泉Shirahama, Wakayama

  The quieter spa down the coast, built for long-stay bathers rather than groups, which a Wakayama resident says faded earlier than Shirahama proper (101 likes).

• SaveKii-Tanabe↗紀伊田辺Tanabe, Wakayama

  The actual centre of the area, in the words of one commenter, with Shirahama station being a small country station (61 likes).

Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.

Is Shirahama worth visiting after the pandas left?

Yes for a day at the beach, the bath and Adventure World, and the argument is only about the night. The most-liked comment, from a Wakayama resident (905 likes), says the south is fine for a day out but you can get home without staying, and that what matters is the gap between the hotels people book and the ones they don't. The empty hotels were already there when the pandas were (650 likes), and the expressway turned an overnight trip into a day trip (501 likes).

Is Adventure World still worth it without pandas?

The thread is close to unanimous that it is. Adventure World is plenty of fun without pandas, and the figures bear that out (680 likes); a Wakayama visitor notes there are penguins in an ordinary pool right inside the entrance (905 likes). One commenter points out it is one of only two places in Japan keeping emperor penguins and the only one to have bred them (95 likes). The four giant pandas returned to China on 28 June 2025. A one-day adult ticket is 5,300 yen, with seniors 4,800, ages 12 to 17 4,300 and ages 4 to 11 3,300.

Sources: nippon.com · aws-s.com — checked 2026-08-26

How do you get to Shirahama from Osaka or Tokyo?

From Shin-Osaka the Kuroshio limited express takes about 2 hours 30 minutes; from Tokyo, JAL flies Haneda to Nanki-Shirahama in about 75 minutes, three round trips a day. One visitor's warning is that Shirahama is three times further from Osaka than you think (152 likes), and a Tokyo visitor who went twice for the pandas used the airport once and the Kisei line once for the coastal views (14 likes). Once there, several say you need a car to do much.

Sources: shirahama-ryokan.jp — checked 2026-08-26

Should you stay overnight in Shirahama or day-trip from Osaka?

Most in the thread day-trip, and say so with a shrug: the expressway made an overnight stay unnecessary (501 likes), and the Wakayama comment at the top says you can get home without staying (905 likes). The people who still stay give reasons. There are plenty of good inns and it is an easy overnight from Osaka (29 likes), the seafront ryokan strip has hotels that take dogs (60 likes), and a visitor from Tokyo would use it again as a base for the rest of Nanki (14 likes).