Protected local food
Arakawa Peaches
あら川の桃
Peaches from Momoyama in Kinokawa, Wakayama, grown here since the Edo era. Handsome, juicy fruit, and a spring sea of pink blossom across the valley.
Key facts
- Registered as a protected name
- 20 July 2023
- Region
- Kansai
- Official name in Japanese
- あら川の桃
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 和歌山県紀の川市桃山町及び紀の川市竹房
A hundred thousand trees
Peaches have grown in Momoyama and Takefusa, in Kinokawa city, Wakayama, since the Edo era. The warm climate and well-drained gravel soil suit them, and the orchards run on without a break, said to show a hundred thousand trees in a single view.
Pink in spring
When the trees flower, the valley turns into what looks like a pink carpet. Many visitors come for the view, a sign of the season in this part of Wakayama.
Prized at market
Good looks, a fine taste, centuries of history and a well-known name mean Arakawa peaches sell for high prices at Japan's wholesale markets. Japanese peaches are soft, very juicy and fragrant, best eaten ripe and chilled.
Good to know
- Blossom season is usually around late March to early April. Fruit season is summer, when farm stands in Momoyama sell peaches.
- Wakayama is about an hour from Osaka. In Wakayama, also try Kishu Kinzanji Miso.
Questions travellers ask
When are Arakawa peaches in season?
In summer. The trees blossom in spring, usually around late March to early April.
Where is Arakawa?
In Momoyama and Takefusa, Kinokawa city, northern Wakayama Prefecture.
Where it comes from
More protected foods from the same area
Crafts from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Hirokawa: the tsunami levee built for a hundred generations
- Katsuragi Shugen: where mountain asceticism began
- Living with whales on the Kumano coast
- Nyonin Koya: the temples where women prayed instead of Mount Koya
- Saigoku 33 Kannon Pilgrimage: Japan's 1,300-year journey of the heart
- Wakanoura: a bay of views that inspired poets
- Yuasa: where Japanese soy sauce began
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.