【Reading】なちかつうらぎょこう

【English Name】Nachikatsuura fishing port

Nachikatsuura Fishing Port is a fishing port located in Nachikatsuura Town, Higashimuro District, Wakayama Prefecture, and is officially called Katsuura Fishing Port. Situated in the southeastern part of the Kii Peninsula, it has carved out a long history as a natural superior harbor under the warm climate brought by the Kuroshio Current.

The surrounding coastline forms a ria-type topography, and the port is formed inside an inlet embraced by the Noroshi Peninsula. Furthermore, because Nakanoshima Island is located near the mouth of the inlet, it has a topographical structure in which the rough waves of the open sea do not easily intrude directly into the harbor. Owing to such favorable natural conditions, it has long been valued as a representative port of the Nanki region.

Nachikatsuura Town is widely known as a tuna production area, and this fishing port serves as a landing base for fresh tuna. Every February the Maguro Matsuri (Tuna Festival) is held, becoming a venue for promoting the local food culture as well. Also, nearby is the Uragami experimental station of the Kindai University Aquaculture Research Institute, which functions as a research base for aquaculture technology. Around the port, hot springs gush abundantly, and it is known as a region with composite appeal where fishing and tourism coexist.