Kotohira is a cute village in northeastern Shikoku. It’s mostly famous for Konpira-San, which is the biggest shrine complex on the island and part of the Shikoku Henru Pilgrimage.

Konpira-San was also the main reason we stopped in Kotohira on our way from Takamatsu, but we immediately liked the small town atmosphere, so we hung around and checked out some of the lesser-know attractions in town, as well. Here are my favourite things to see and do in Kotohira.

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What to See and Do in Kotohira

We spent a little more than half a day in Kotohira on our way from Takamatsu to the Iya Valley, which was enough time to see everything I’ve described in this post. That said, I think it would be nice to spend the night here, which is something I’ll do on my next visit.

Konpira-San Shrine (aka. Kotohira-gū)

This Shintō shrine is dedicated to the protection of sailors and seafarers, but if you suspect that this means that it’s close to sea level, you’re in for a rude awakening. To visit the shrine, we had to climb a total of 785 steps (well actually 1368, as we continued to the more isolated upper shrine).

That said, the intricate architecture of the gatehouses and shrine buildings made the track absolutely worth it for us and once we saw the fantastic view over the surrounding countryside all our exertions were forgotten.

The visit to the shrine itself is free, but on the way there are few museums charging entrance fees (which I’ve described below). It’s a huge complex and if you want to take your time and explore everything (including the museums and upper Central Shrine), you should plan about three hours.

The Way Up

On the way up the stairs we met lots of vendors selling traditional sweets, although the ones we tried were pure sugar and not really our cup of tea, to be honest. Much more to our liking was the impressive wooden Ō-mon Gateway.

Soon after, you’ll pass by the Homotsukan (Treasure Hall Museum), which holds some interesting scrolls and historical pieces of armour, but we thought that the 800¥ entrance fee was a bit steep for the rather small collection.

The Omoteshoin a little further uphill also cost 800¥, but we found it to be more interesting than the museum. It’s a wooden reception hall from the mid 17^th-century and there are some beautiful painted screens full of tigers, cranes and hunting scenes by the 18th-century painter Maruyama Ōkyo.

Asahi-no-Yashiro and the Main Shrine

A bit further uphill, stands Asahi-no-Yashiro (Shrine of the Rising Sun), which to us was the most impressive building of the entire complex. It’s a very intricate wooden building from 1837, and it’s dedicated to the sun goddess Amaterasu.

From there, another stretch of steps leads to the Hongū, which is the main shrine area. Here we especially loved the great views over the mountains to the east. Apart from that, this is where the Hon-den stands, the most sacred building in the shrine.

We also liked the small Kagura-den building, which is used for the sacred dance (Kagura). As the shrine is dedicated to the protection of seafarers, we weren’t surprised to find a small boat and plenty of paintings of ships and sailors in the Ema-dō building.

The Central Shrine

Apparently, I can’t get enough of stairs, so while Stefanie waited at the main shrine, I continued further uphill to Oku-Sha, the smaller central shrine. The trail starts at the northern end of the main shrine area and takes another 20 minutes or so.

The Oku-Sha felt a bit more serene to me, as there were fewer people, but it’s also smaller and not as intricate as the buildings in the Hongū. On the way up there are a few other small shrines and occasionally some great glimpses of the surrounding hills.

Kinryō-no-Sato Sake Museum

This interesting museum is located in an old sake brewery along the main road leading to the shrine. Inside we got a good idea of the complex sake-production process. 

There are texts in both English and Japanese and some life-sized dioramas, which made it easy to understand all the steps involved in producing Japan’s national drink. The admission is free and you can check the current opening times here.

Kanamaru-za Kabuki Theatre

If you only visit one Kabuki Theatre in Japan, I recommend you make it this one. Built in 1835, Kanamaru-za is the oldest remaining Kabuki Theatre in Japan and even without seeing a performance, it gave us a good glimpse into this traditional Japanese art form.

The inside is beautiful, especially the decorated stage and the painted lanterns all around the audience area. What we found most fascinating was that you could literally get a peek behind the scenes.

We were able to walk around behind the stage and see the mechanism that was used to move the actors around on stage. We could also explore under the audience section, where there are some secret tunnels, which the actors used to suddenly appear behind the audience.

At the ticket booth we got a a small leaflet in English, which explained all of these elements. The theatre is located at the southern end of the historical centre, a bit further south from Kotohira’s town hall. The entrance fee is 500¥ and you can check the current opening times here.

Learn to Make Udon at Nakano Udon School

Another fun thing we did in Kotohira was to stop by the Nakano Udon School, where we learned to make our own Udon Noodles from scratch, starting with nothing more than flour and water. There were about ten other people there with us and we were the only foreigners.

We had a lot of fun (at some point we were required to knead the dough by jumping around on top of it) and of course, we had a chance to eat the noodles afterwards and concluded that we did a pretty good job.

Apart from that, we left with a traditional rolling stick, a certificate and some extra dough (which we used for self-catering at our next stop in the Iya Valley). The instructions are in English and Japanese, but we found it all rather intuitive.

The whole course takes about an hour and costs between 1,400 and 1,600¥ depending on how many people come together for the course.

Takadoro Lantern Tower

On the road that leads from JR Kotohira train station west to the city centre, there’s a small park with a wooden tower on your right hand side.

This is Takadōrō Lantern Tower, a former lighthouse that used to guide ships on the Sento Inland Sea during the Edo period (1603 to 1867). As it stands about 27m tall, it’s also jokingly called ‘Japan’s biggest wooden lantern’.

Apart from that, Kotohira’s historical centre is rather small, but we found it fun to stroll around and there are some interesting wooden buildings along the main road to the shrine and along the small Kamakura River.

Map of Kotohira’s Sights

All the places I’ve described above can be found in this map of Kotohira. The places connected to Konpira Shrine are coloured red, all other sights are coloured blue.

Practicalities

How to Get to Kotohira

By far the best way to get around Japan is by using the country’s impeccable train system, which is fast, comfortable and efficient. A regional JR-Railway pass allows for unlimited use of Shikoku’s JR railways for 3 (12,000¥/91$), 4 (15,000¥/113$), 5 (17,000¥/127$) or 7 days (20,000¥/149$), which is altogether a fantastic deal. You can order your pass online on this site.

Kotohira is easy to reach by train from Kochi (about 1.5 hours / 2,100 ¥) and Oboke in the Iya Valley (about 40 min. / 1,100 ¥) if you’re traveling from the south.

If you’re coming from Takamatsu or other cities to the north of Kotohira, you can either take the JR-Railway (about 45 minutes / 900 ¥), where you’ll have to change trains in Tadotsu with some connections or take the private Kotoden Line (about 1 hour / 600 ¥). If you choose the latter option, note that the line is not part of the JR network, so you can’t use a regional JR Pass in case you’ve got one.

Where to Stay in Kotohira

We decided to visit Kotohira on our way from Takamatsu to the Iya Valley, where we spent the night. That said, afterwards we thought that it would be a fun place to hang around for a little longer and maybe also explore some of the surrounding countryside.

If you want to stay here, the cheapest option seems to be the rather new Guesthouse Kotohira. If you’re not on a tight budget, there are a couple of traditional Ryokans in the village, like Toramaru Ryokan or Kotohira Onsen Kotosankaku, which is connected to an Onsen (warm spring bath). Kotohira Riverside Hotel is a more western-styled option.

You can browse for more places to stay in this map:

Where to Go Next

Takamatsu, home to the beautiful Ritsurin Garden

The Iya Valley, the perfect place to get off the beaten path on Shikoku

Kōchi, Shikoku’s most beautiful city (in my opinion)