On the long, long downhill, you can stop at Ryujin Onsen, one of the Kansai's more famous hot springs. This is the city office in Ryujin-mura (mura meaning village). It fits that description, all right - a very rural area that seems to have only three main industries: rice farming, pickled plums, and the aforementioned hot springs. So why do they need this enormous town office? Your tax dollars at work...

Another distraction along the way - the bridge leads to a shrine further up the hill. Unfortunately, I was getting worried about time, so I headed on. My destination was Tanabe, a town in Wakayama Prefecture that is also a main rail transit point. No special planning on my part: the road from the Koya Skyline down to the coast just happens to make a beeline for it.