Castles, clear rivers, straw fire and the Pacific.
Discover all of Kochi.

Kochi's highlights

From landmarks in Kochi City to a limestone cave, a zoo, a winery and Cape Ashizuri at the far west of the prefecture. Pick the places you like and build your trip.

Central Kochi City

Harimaya Bridge

In the Edo period, two merchant houses, Harimaya and Hitsuya, traded on opposite sides of the Horikawa canal and built a private bridge to cross it. That is where the name comes from. The bridge is also known from the Yosakoi folk song, which tells the love story of the monk Junshin and a girl named Ouma. Today it is a park with a restored red bridge.

Getting there

Right by the Harimaya-bashi tram stop (Tosaden)

Price

Free

It is small, and some call it one of Japan's three most disappointing sights. Learn the love story first and you will enjoy it more. There is a mechanical clock in the park.

Kochi City · Katsurahama

Katsurahama Beach and the Ryoma statue

A curved beach facing the Pacific. On the hill above, a bronze statue of Sakamoto Ryoma looks out to sea. The Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum is close by.

Price

Free

Swimming is not allowed at Katsurahama. The waves are strong, so do not get too close to the water's edge.

Read about Sakamoto Ryoma

Geisei Village

Kotogahama Beach

About 4 km of white sand and pine trees, chosen as one of Japan's 100 finest white-sand-and-pine coasts. It is also known for moon viewing. On the beach, a statue of Oryo, Sakamoto Ryoma's wife, and her sister Kimie waves toward the Ryoma statue at Katsurahama.

Getting there

7 min walk from Wajiki Station (Gomen-Nahari Line) / About 3 min by car from Geisei-nishi IC

Price

Free

Phone

0887-33-2111 (Geisei Village Office)

Free parking. The Bamboo Lantern Evening is held in autumn. Kotogahama Kappa Market nearby sells local vegetables and fruit.

Kami City

Ryugado Cave

One of Japan's three great limestone caves and a national historic site and natural monument. Of its roughly 4 km, about 1 km is open as a walking course (about 40 minutes, no reservation). Yayoi-period pottery remains near the exit.

Address

1424 Sakakawa, Tosayamada, Kami City

Hours

8:30–17:00 (until 16:30 Nov–Jan), last entry

Price

Adults 1,500 yen / Junior high 800 yen / Elementary 600 yen≈ $9.60 USD

Phone

0887-53-2144

It is cool inside the cave. Adventure courses cost extra and need a reservation. About 15 min by car from Kochi Ryoma Airport.

Konan City

Noichi Zoological Park of Kochi Prefecture

A prefectural zoo in Konan City. Entry is free for anyone under 18, so it is an easy family outing. The photo shows a shoebill taken at this zoo.

Address

738 Otani, Noichi-cho, Konan City

Hours

9:30–17:00 (last entry 16:00) / Closed Mondays (next day if a holiday) and Dec 29–Jan 1

Price

Adults 470 yen / Under 18 free (annual pass 1,570 yen)≈ $3.01 USD

Phone

0887-56-3500

Free parking (about 280 cars). Inoue Winery is in the same Otani area of Noichi-cho.

Original illustration (we could not find a winery photo that is free to use)

Konan City

Inoue Winery, Noichi brewery

A winery in Konan City that makes TOSA Wine. You can buy Kochi wine at the shop next to the brewery.

Address

1424-31 Otani, Noichi-cho, Konan City

Hours

10:00–18:00 / Closed Mondays (open on holidays)

Phone

0887-50-6694

The legal drinking age in Japan is 20. If you drive, the driver must not drink. Parking for 20 cars.

Official site

Kahoku, Kami City

Yanase Takashi Memorial Museum

A museum in Kami City, the hometown of creator Yanase Takashi, known as the Anpanman Museum. Its galleries introduce his work.

Address

1224-2 Birafu, Kahoku, Kami City

Hours

9:30–17:00 (last entry 16:30) / Closed Tuesdays (next day if a holiday)

Price

Adults 1,200 yen / Junior high & high school 500 yen / Age 3 to elementary 300 yen≈ $7.68 USD

Advance reservation is generally required. Book on the official website before you go.

Setting of NHK's 2028 historical drama "John Man"

Tosashimizu: John Manjiro's hometown and Cape Ashizuri

John Manjiro (Nakahama Manjiro, 1827–1898) was a fisherman's son from Nakanohama in Tosashimizu. In 1841, at 14, he was lost at sea while fishing and was rescued by the American whaling ship John Howland. He went to America, studied English, mathematics and navigation, returned to Tosa in 1852, and later served as an interpreter on the Kanrin Maru. He is the hero of NHK's 2028 historical drama "John Man", starring Yamazaki Kento (announced April 9, 2026).

Cape Ashizuri

The southernmost point of Shikoku. The lookout gives a 270-degree view of the horizon, and the 18 m lighthouse has guided ships since 1914. The cape is home to Kongofukuji, temple 38 of the Shikoku pilgrimage, and a statue of John Manjiro holding a compass and a set square, facing toward America.

John Manjiro Museum

A museum that tells Manjiro's life story through film and exhibits, including a reproduction of the work clothes he wore in America. In Nakanohama, his birthplace, a reconstruction of his family home, based on old photos, is open for free.

Address

John Manjiro Museum: 303 Yoro, Tosashimizu City

Hours

9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30) / Open every day

Price

Adults 440 yen / Elementary & junior high 220 yen / Under school age free≈ $2.81 USD

Phone

0880-82-3155

Niyodo River

A clear river famous for its brilliant "Niyodo Blue" water. The pool in the photo, Nikobuchi, is known as the sacred spot of Niyodo Blue.

Nikobuchi pool (Ino Town)

Shimanto River

A river that winds slowly through the mountains. Its low "sinking bridges", built without railings so floodwater can pass over them, define the landscape.

Iwama sinking bridge (Shimanto City)

Tosashimizu City · near Cape Ashizuri

Iburi Center (Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan research station)

This research station collects and cares for the sea life shown at Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan. From early summer to autumn it collects whale sharks, and you may be able to see one up close.

Address

Iburi, Tosashimizu City

Hours

Sat, Sun and holidays 9:00–15:00 (conditions apply)

Phone

0880-82-3155 (Tosashimizu Tourism Association)

The center is normally closed to the public. Visitors who have entered the John Manjiro Museum, the Ashizuri Aquarium or the Sea Gallery may look around, as long as it does not disturb research. Whale sharks are not always there.

坂本龍馬SAKAMOTO RYOMA · 1836–1867

History

The hometown of Sakamoto Ryoma

Sakamoto Ryoma (1836–1867) was a samurai born in Tosa, today's Kochi. He helped bring the rival domains of Satsuma and Choshu together and played a key part as Japan turned toward becoming a modern nation. He was attacked and killed at the Omiya inn in Kyoto in 1867. At Katsurahama beach, his statue stands looking out over the Pacific.

Two places linked to Ryoma

Walk Kochi on a Sunday, from early morning

The Sunday Market, Kochi Castle and Hirome Market are all within walking distance. Plan your trip around a Sunday.

06:00

Sunday Market

About 300 stalls line roughly 1 km of Otesuji street below the castle: vegetables, fruit, knives, plants. Around 17,000 people visit in a day.

About 6:00–14:00 / Closed Jan 1–2 and Aug 10–12

10:00

Kochi Castle

One of only 12 castle keeps in Japan that survive from before the modern era. It is the only castle where the keep is still joined to the main palace (Honmaru Goten).

12:30

Hirome Market

An indoor market of fishmongers, butchers and food stalls. Buy from several shops, then share a table with everyone. That is how Kochi eats.

19:00

Kochi Castle at night

Named one of Japan's three great night castles. See the castle you climbed by day, lit up from the streets below.

What to eat in Kochi

Katsuo no Tataki

Bonito seared in a burst of straw flame: smoky outside, fresh and rare inside. The signature taste of Kochi.

Inaka-zushi

Kochi's "country sushi" made without fish, using mountain vegetables such as myoga ginger, ryukyu (taro stems), konjac, bamboo shoots and shiitake. The rice is seasoned with yuzu or other citrus vinegar for a fresh taste.

Boshi-pan (hat bread)

A hat-shaped bun with a brim of sponge-cake batter. It is said to have started around 1955, when Nagano Kyokudo bakery in Kochi City topped a melon bun with sponge batter instead of biscuit dough.

The original: Nagano Kyokudo Honten "Rinberu" (1-43 Eikokuji-cho, Kochi City)

Tosa Akaushi beef

Kochi's red-haired cattle, prized for lean, flavorful meat.

Yatai gyoza

Hot, crisp dumplings from the night food stalls.

Kuishinbo Kisaragi, Kamimachi branch (storefront)

Bento · Kochi City and more

Chicken Nanban from Kuishinbo Kisaragi

In Kochi, "chicken nanban" means this bento chain. Chicken breast in a thin, crisp coating, quite different from the tartar-sauce style of Miyazaki. Its nanban dishes sell over a million meals a year.

Everything is cooked to order, so expect a short wait. Call the shop ahead to pick it up fresh.

Official site

Photo: an ice-kurin stand in Kochi (for illustration). Not a Kubota product

Ice cream · Nankoku City

Kubota ice cream

A Kochi ice cream maker founded in 1959. Try the local "ice-kurin" or the hand-squeezed yuzu ice pop made only from yuzu juice and sugar. Simple flavors with few additives.

Sold in most supermarkets and convenience stores in Kochi. Two own shops in Kochi City and one at Michi-no-Eki Nankoku Fureari.

Official site

Butcher · Kami City

Mitani Meat fried chicken wings

The signature dish of a butcher in Tosayamada, Kami City: fried chicken wings, the shop's top recommendation. It is in the same city as Ryugado Cave and the Yanase Takashi museum.

11-3 Sakaemachi, Tosayamada, Kami City / Yamada shop 0887-53-5125 / Closed Wednesdays / About 5 min walk from JR Tosa-Yamada Station

Official site

Travel guides

Plan your trip with these guides.

Tokyo to Kochi: by plane or by train

How to travel from Tokyo to Kochi: flights from Haneda (about 1h 20m) and Narita, or the shinkansen to Okayama and the Nanpu limited express. Times, tips and links.

Read the guide →

Rural Japan in Kochi

Looking for rural Japan off the beaten path? In Kochi, 84% of the land is forest. See Niyodo Blue, Shimanto's sinking bridges, a street market dating from 1690 and mountain-vegetable sushi.

Read the guide →

10-day Japan itinerary with Kochi

A 10-day Japan itinerary that adds Kochi to the classic Tokyo–Kyoto–Osaka route. Fly Osaka to Kochi in about 45 minutes and back to Tokyo in about 1h 20m.

Read the guide →

John Manjiro's hometown: a travel guide to Tosashimizu

Visit the hometown of John Manjiro, hero of NHK's 2028 historical drama "John Man": his birthplace Nakanohama, the John Manjiro Museum and Cape Ashizuri. Access from Kochi and where to stay.

Read the guide →

Where to stay in Kochi

A traditional inn below the castle, a hot-spring hotel on a former lord's estate, a station hotel and a seaside onsen at Cape Ashizuri. Choose what suits your trip.

PRThe red "PR" buttons in this section are advertising (affiliate links). This site may receive a fee if you book through them. Please check prices on the booking site.

New hotels in Kochi City (opened 2026)

Classic and long-established stays

Three things that make the trip easier

Getting to Kochi: routes and timetables

Fly from Tokyo or Osaka. From elsewhere, take the shinkansen to Okayama and change to the Nanpu limited express. Timetables change, so check the links below for the latest schedules and service status.

Flight counts and times are approximate, checked on September 2026 timetables (Ekitan). They change with timetable revisions.