# Travel Destinations | Japan Voyage Travel - [Kochi Castle](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/kochi-castle): Kochi, Castle. One of just 12 original castles, Kochi is the only castle in Japan to retain both its original tower and complete palace buildings. - [Chikurinji Temple](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/chikurinji-temple): Kochi, Temple. Temple 31 of the Shikoku pilgrimage, on the wooded hill of Godaisan above Kochi city, founded in 724 by the monk Gyoki after Emperor Shomu dreamed of Mount Wutai in China and ordered a Japanese equivalent built. The hill was named for that dream. It is one of the better temples on the circuit, and busier with day visitors than with pilgrims. The five-storey pagoda dates from 1980 and looks older than it is among the cedars. The garden behind the main hall is attributed to Muso Soseki and is a designated national site of scenic beauty: a dry landscape on one side, a pond circuit on the other, and no crowd on either. The treasure hall is the reason to pay. Seventeen Buddhist statues from the Heian and Kamakura periods are displayed in a dim modern room, all of them Important Cultural Properties, and they are shown close enough that you can see the tool marks. The temple also has a song attached to it. Yosakoi Bushi, the Kochi folk tune, tells of a monk from here who was caught buying a hairpin for a young woman, a small scandal that grew into a song and eventually into the Yosakoi festival that fills Kochi every August and has been copied by cities all over Japan. Next door on the same hill is the Makino Botanical Garden, dedicated to Makino Tomitaro, the self-taught botanist who named over 1,500 Japanese plants and became a household name again after a 2023 television drama about him. It is excellent and needs two hours of its own. Buses run from Kochi station in about half an hour. Entry to the garden and treasure hall is around 400 yen. - [Katsurahama Beach](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/katsurahama-beach): Kochi, Beach. Curving along Kochi's rugged Pacific coastline, Katsurahama Beach is marked by the bronze statue of Sakamoto Ryoma gazing toward the horizon that shaped his revolutionary dreams. This samurai reformer, who helped modernize Japan before his assassination at 31, stands watch over the scenery of pine-fringed shores and crashing waves. Though swimming is prohibited due to strong currents, the beach offers a Ryoma museum, an aquarium with sea turtle encounters, and shops selling local coral crafts. - [Niyodo River](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/niyodo-river): Kochi, Attraction. Flowing through unspoiled mountain gorges, the Niyodo River draws visitors with its clarity and deep blue hue known locally as 'Niyodo Blue.' Ranked as Japan's clearest river for multiple consecutive years, its clear waters reveal every stone and swimming fish in fine detail. Adventurous travelers can kayak through emerald pools, swim in secluded swimming holes, or take in spots like Nikobuchi where the blue seems to glow from within. - [Cape Ashizuri](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/cape-ashizuri): Kochi, Landmark. Shikoku's southernmost cape, crowned by a striking white lighthouse perched on 80-meter sea cliffs, with a subtropical botanical garden and panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean. - [Hirome Market](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/hirome-market): Kochi, Market. Step into the center of Kochi at Hirome Market, where over 60 food stalls and communal tables create a lively atmosphere of local revelry and culinary adventure. The star attraction is katsuo no tataki, thick slices of skipjack tuna seared over blazing straw flames and served with garlic, ginger, and citrus. Grab a beer from one vendor, gyoza from another, and join locals at crowded tables for a real taste of Kochi's famously hearty drinking and dining culture. - [Ryugado Cave](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/ryugado-cave): Kochi, Attraction. A limestone cave in Kami city with stalactites, stalagmites and an underground stream, designated a national historic site and natural monument. - [Kochi Sunday Market](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/kochi-sunday-market): Kochi, Market. A street market held every Sunday along Otesuji in central Kochi, running for more than 300 years with around 300 stalls. - [Cape Muroto](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/cape-muroto): Kochi, Landmark. A headland at the southeastern tip of Shikoku, within the Muroto UNESCO Global Geopark, where uplifted seabed rock meets the Pacific Ocean. - [Nakatsu Gorge](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/nakatsu-gorge): Kochi, Attraction. A gorge in Niyodogawa town known for clear blue-green Niyodo-blue water, a riverside walking trail and Uryu Falls. - [Tatsukushi Coast](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/tatsukushi-coast): Kochi, Attraction. A coastline near Cape Ashizuri in Tosashimizu, known for sandstone rock formations shaped by wave and wind erosion and an adjacent marine park. - [Shimanto River](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/shimanto-river): Kochi, Attraction. Called the 'last clear stream of Japan', the Shimanto River flows undammed for 196 kilometers through lush Kochi countryside, ideal for canoeing and cycling. - [Kitagawa Monet's Garden Marmottan](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/kitagawa-monet-s-garden-marmottan): Kochi, Garden. A garden in Kitagawa village designed after Claude Monet's garden at Giverny, and the only place outside France permitted to use the Monet name. - [Michi-no-Eki Shimanto Towa](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/michi-no-eki-shimanto-towa): Kochi, Michi no eki. A riverside station on Route 381 in the hills of the Towa district, where the Shimanto River bends through the valley. Local women run much of the produce market, the dining room cooks with river and valley ingredients, and a zipline crosses the water. - [Sada Chinkabashi](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations/sada-chinkabashi): Kochi, Landmark. The longest submersible bridge on the Shimanto River: 291.6 meters long, 4.2 meters wide, with no railings on either side, and still a local road that cars drive across. When the river floods, it goes under. About 15 minutes by car or 40 minutes by bicycle from Nakamura Station. Page 1 of 2. Next page: https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations.md?page=2&prefecture_id=39 --- Source: [Travel Destinations | Japan Voyage Travel](https://travel.japanvoyage.jp/travel_destinations?prefecture_id=39) Last updated: 2026-10-27