With its relaxed vibe and a nice location close to the sea, Kōchi quickly became our favourite city on Shikoku. Apart from that, there are lots of interesting historical sites, many of them connected to national hero Sakamoto Ryōma, who was born here.

To see the most important sights in Kōchi, I recommend staying two days here, but it would be easy to stick around even longer. Here’s everything you need to know about visiting this beautiful city.

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What to See and Do in Kōchi

Central Kōchi

Kōchi has a pretty compact city centre that’s easy to explore on foot. We found the banks of the Enokuchi River especially nice to stroll along, plus there are several historical buildings in the area, some of which contain small museums.

Kōchi’s historical heroes greeted us right as we left the train station, where there’s an impressive trio of statues of the local samurais Sakamoto Ryoma, Takechi Hapeita and Nakaoka Shintaro.

The Tourist Information Office near the train station has a small leaflet about the historical trail in the area, which we found worth checking out.

Kōchi Castle

Kōchi’s well-preserved castle sits atop a hill to the west of the centre and is impossible to miss when you’re walking around the old town. It was originally built in the early 17^th century, and is one of only twelve intact castles in Japan.

It’s certainly one of the nicest castles we came acoss in Japan. You can explore the keep and surrounding palace buildings, including the traditional living quarters and audience halls.

Apart from that, we liked that we could climb up to the highest level of the tower for pretty amazing views of the surrounding area. You can check the current prices and opening times here.

Sakamoto Ryōma’s Hometown Museum

There are traces of the life of Japanese national hero Sakamoto Ryōma all over the city, but this building is where he was born. There are artefacts from his life and we thought that the museum did a good job of both explaining Ryōma’s importance and the evoking the local life in the 19^th century.

We also thought that exhibitions were surprisingly cutting-edge for such a small museum and there are a several interactive rooms where we got a chance to digitally immerse ourselves in Edo-era Kōchi.

The museum is located south-west of the castle near the Kamimachi-itchōme Station of the tram line. You can check the current prices and opening times here.

Sunday Market

Kōchi is also famous for its 300 year old week-market, which takes place every Sunday along Otesuji, the broad street leading east from the Castle. We were lucky enough to be in town on Sunday to check it out.

There were several hundred stalls spread out over a distance of more than a kilometre selling food, flowers and various knick-knacks. We also used the opportunity to try some street-food and especially liked the local speciality Aisukurin, a kind of sorbet.

Okawasuji Samurai House Museum

This is a well-preserved 19^th century home of a Samurai and his family, and similar to the Buke Yashiki House in the Iya Valley, it gave us an interesting glimpse into the everyday life of these highly venerated members of Japanese society.

We liked both the house and the minimalistic surrounding garden, plus the caretaker was super excited to see foreign visitors. The house is located in a residential area north of the river and there is no entrance fee. You can check the current opening times here.

Hirome Ichiba Food Court

Kōchi is a great place for foodies and we tried quite a few local and regional specialities. One of the best places for that is Hirome Ichiba, a big food court with tons of stalls where we tried all manner of different snacks.

We can really recommend Katsuo no-tataki, a salted and slightly charred bonito fillet that is one of the specialities of Kōchi prefecture. The food court is located south-east of the castle.

The Torahiko Terada House Museum

The small Torahiko Terada House Museum is the well-preserved former home of a local late 19^th and early 20^th century physicist.

It’s located on the northern bank of the river, slightly north-west of the castle and there’s no entrance fee.

Harimayabashi Bridge

The little crimson Harimayabashi Bridge is one of the city’s symbols and appears in a famous story of a young monk falling in love with a local tinker’s daughter.

It’s far from a must-see, but you’ll pass it while walking south along Harimayabashi Street from the train station.

Other Sights in Central Kōchi

There are a couple of other smallers sights in the city centre. We came across most of them by following the historical trail. As I wrote before, you can get a leaflet about this worthwile trail at the Tourist Information Office near the train station.

We also found the pretty Kōchi Hachimangu Shrine worth a short visit, mainly for its beautiful grounds. It’s on the southern bank of the river east of Harimaya Street, which is the street leading south from the train station.

Godaisan Area

The small Godaisan Hill east of Kōchi’s city centre is also worth checking out. You can get there by taking one of the My-Yu sightseeing buses (see How to get around section below).

There’s a really good viewpoint with fantastic panaoramic views over the city and the harbour area down to the Pacific Ocean, a beautiful Botanical Garden and an pretty temple in a forest clearing.

Chikurin-Ji Temple

Chikurin-Ji is one of the 88 temples on the Henro Pilgrimage and has several pretty shrines, a five-storied pagoda and countless statues of Jizō, the protective spirit of Children in Japanese Buddhism. They all sit in beautiful wooded surroundings.

We also really liked the treasure house, which has a beautiful little garden, and some interesting statues and historic scrolls inside. The entrance fee to the treasure house is 400¥, but the rest of the temple area can be visited for free.

Makino Botanical Garden

This large Botanical Garden, which is named after local Botanist Dr. Makino Tomitaro, is a wonderful place to stroll around for a few hours. There are a couple of greenhouses with exotic plants from different climate zones and some giant lotus leaves.

The grounds are really beautiful and there are lots of small winding paths (and some wooden boardwalks) to explore them. There are also a couple of small museum spaces with rotating exhibitions and some good viewpoints of the surrounding area. You can check the current opening times and entrance fees here.

Suburbs of Kōchi

Ino-Cho Paper Museum

This fascinating museum is located in the town of Ino, about 10km west of central Kōchi and is dedicated to the art of Japanese paper making.

Apart from several interesting exhibits that do a good job explaining the intricate process going into the creation of washi (the traditional Japanese Paper), there lots of beautiful objects made from paper. We were especially impressed with the pretty lunch-boxes and little papier-mâché figurines.

We even learned to make washi ourselves in the museum’s workshop, which was enlightening (plus, we got to take home the postcards we made). If you decide to go for the workshop, it’s best to do it before checking out the exhibition, as the paper takes about 30 minutes to dry.

You can check the current opening times and entrance fees here. To get there, take the JR train to Ino Station, then follow the big road in front of the station west for about 10 mins.

Katsura-Hama Beach Area

This pretty beach area is located about 12km south of the city centre and is easy to reach by taking one of the My-Yu sightseeing buses (see below).

The pretty sandy beach is framed by a hill studded with pine trees. There’s a huge statue of Sakamoto Ryōma and a small picturesque shrine called Katsurahama Ryuogu Shrine on a cliff over the Pacific Ocean.

Sakamoto Ryoma Museum

If you still want to know more about local hero Sakamoto Ryōma, this museum on a hill behind Katsura-hama beach does a great job teaching about both his life and the turbulent time period leading up to Japan’s opening to the west with the Meiji Restoration in 1867.

One of the more macabre exhibits we’ve come across is a still bloody partition screen from Ōmiya Inn in Kyoto, where Ryōma was assassinated. We also liked the letter of excuse Ryōma had written to his wife after a night of drunken debauchery. I guess national heroes can be human, too.

There’s a stop of the My-Yo sightseeing bus right in front of the museum. You can check the current opening times and prices here.

Practicalities

How to Get to Kōchi

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, 4, 5 or 7 days, which is a fantastic deal. You can order your pass online on this site.

Coming from the north, you can use trains on the JR Dosan Line which starts in Okayama in southern Honshu (about 2.5 hours). You can travel to Kōchi from Takamatsu (about 2h 20 mins.), Kotohira (about 1.5 hours) and Oboke in the Iya Valley (about 50 mins.).

From the east, trains travel from Tokushima (about 1h 20mins.) to Kōchi via Awa-Ikeda, where you’ll have to change trains. From Matsuyama in the west, it’s easiest to travel to Kōchi by using the JR Shikoku bus (about 2.5 hours).

How to Get Around in Kōchi

We mainly used the convenient My-Yu Sightseeing Buses, which start at the train station and go by all the most popular tourist attractions in the city, including the Godaisan Area and the Katsura-hama beach.

It’s a little over 1,000¥ for a one-day ticket and additionaly we got a discount at a couple of sights. You can check out the route and timetable here. You can also use the ticket for several stops on the tram that runs from east to west through the city (We used it to get to the Ryōma Birth House).

The Best Hotels in Kōchi

We stayed at the Katsuo Guesthouse north of the centre, which is a good choice if you’re on a budget. There are plenty of midrange hotels, in the city centre of which Dormy Inn Kochi seems to be the top pick as well as some luxurious traditional Ryokan-style hotels, like まちの別邸 緝 Shu or Jyoseikan Ryokan, which both have great ratings.

You can check out more options in the map below.

Where to Eat in Kōchi

Apart from the Hirome Ichiba Food Court that I’ve described above, another place we really liked was Hakobe, where we could make our own Okonomiyaki (savoury pancakes) at our table.

You basically just order the ingredients that you want to put in the pancakes and then prepare them on your own personal hot-plate. It’s close to the eastern end of the pedestrian Obiyamachi Street.

Where to Go Next