Destinations

Kochi

"For a dose of sunny, southern flare head to Kochi for fruit markets and palm trees. The wider area displays spectacular landscapes and adventure opportunities from rafting to whale watching."

Ruth Hubbard - Travel Consultant

In the centre of Shikoku’s sweeping southern coast line sits the laid back city of Kochi. This sun-kissed prefectural capital has a relaxed, yet cosmopolitan atmosphere with wide boulevards lined with palm trees and fashionable shopping arcades.  Kochi is loved for its many markets, the best of which takes place every Sunday when local farmers bring their colourful fruit and vegetables to town.

Kochi’s best tourist attraction is the original castle, Kochi-jo, which dominates the city centre. The castle is testimony to Kochi’s dramatic past during the feudal era, when several dissenting samurai emerged from the city to oppose the Tokugawa shogunate.

A rewarding trip from Kochi is to the nearby mountain of Godai-san, home of Chikurin-ji, the 31st temple on Shikoku’s pilgrimage circuit. The mountain boasts great views of Kochi and Katsurahama, the pebbly beach that lies 13km to the south of Kochi city centre.

Kochi Prefecture is Japan’s poorest and most rural district. However the sparsely populated region boasts unrivalled scenery, from Japan’s last untamed river, the Shimanto-gawa, to the spectacular rugged coastline. Here activities abound, from canoeing to scuba diving and surfing.  Tiny fishing villages such as Ogata offer whale watching tours and the rocky cape at Ashizuri Misaki is well worth a drive if you have a hire car.

Products featuring Kochi...

Self Guided Adventure

Paths Less Travelled

Our Paths Less Travelled itinerary circumnavigates the valleys and mountains of beautiful rural Shikoku and includes time on the art island of Naoshima as well as stays in historic Kyoto and buzzing Osaka.

15 Nights: £1860

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