---
title: Arida mandarins and stone-walled terraces
url: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/notes/arida-mandarins-and-stone-walled-terraces/
lang: en
journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/aridagawa-1/
---

# Arida mandarins and stone-walled terraces

A little of each town’s story　/　Aridagawa, Wakayama

Wakayama produces more unshu mandarins than any other prefecture. In Arida, farmers have built stone-walled, stair-stepped groves for more than 400 years. On August 26, 2025, the "Stone-walled Terraced Mandarin Orchard System of Arida and Shimotsu" was recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System.

## This moment in the journey: Over the mandarin hills

In the afternoon I headed for the hilltops. Along the way, terraced mandarin groves built on stone walls appeared, with houses lined up along the slope.

The mild climate and the steep slopes, I learned, are ideal for growing mandarins. The fruit was just beginning to turn orange, and a small monorail for hauling the harvest ran between the trees. Past villages that felt unmistakably Wakayama, I kept climbing.

![A mandarin-growing village climbing the hillside](https://karigurashijourney.com/img/aridagawa-1/s54-1200.jpg)
- Sources: https://www.pref.wakayama.lg.jp/prefg/000200/nagomi/w58/24/index.html

Read this scene in the full journey: https://karigurashijourney.com/en/episodes/aridagawa-1/