"A City With Culture and Character" Top 5 Page for this destination Kochi by Rabbityama

Kochi Travel Guide: 37 reviews and 75 photos

Kochi is a beautiful city spanning all the way to the coast with interesting places all around. Part of its charm comes from the fact that it's not a major tourist city (especially among foreign tourists), so you feel like you can really explore on your own without hoards of people pushing by or getting in your way. Beyond that, it is just a nice looking city: In the downtown area you'll find palm trees alligning some of the main roads, trams, the historic Kochi Castle, and the romantic Harimayabashi Bridge, which is accompanied by a nice park.

Outside of the downtown area, the city is surrounded by scenic mountains which were particularly beautiful when I visited because there was low-lying mist around them. The coast is also quite scenic. Katsurahama Beach is a famous scenic spot with large rocks in and around the coast.

Kochi's Notables

Kochi city is famous for a few things beyond sites like the castle.

First, it is known as the birthplace of Sakamoto Ryoma, a samurai and important figure in Japanese history who died trying to modernize Japan and put an end to the Tokugawa shogunate and Japanese feudalism. There is a statue of him in front of Kochi Station and at Katsurahama, along with a museum dedicated to him.

A famous Kochi pastime is dog fighting. The tradition dates back to the 19th century and the Tosa dog was bred from here (Tosa is the old province name that is now Kochi Prefecture). I was not personally able to go and see the dog fights but it is definitely unique. If I had arrived at a time when they were about to start, I would have considered going. The dog fights are done at Katsurahama Beach in a building around the souvenir shops.

Kochi is also known for its long-tailed roosters (Nankoku, the next city over is actually where they are famous, but since the capital is the most popular city for visitors, it has spread as a symbol of the city and prefecture).

All Japanese cities have certain foods they are famous for, and Kochi is no exception. The famous Kochi cuisine is Katsuo no Tataki. Katsuo is bonito and tataki means that it is lightly braized so that only the outside part of the fish slice is cooked and the rest remains raw.

Intro Updated Dec 12, 2011
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Reviews (9)

Ryomaden Things to Do (5)

Ryomaden is the name of a popular TV drama about Sakamoto Ryoma, the Kochi-born samurai reformer. The Ryomaden in Kochi... more travel advice

Sakamoto Ryoma Walk Things to Do (5)

In the area between Kamimachi-Itchome Tram Stop and the Kagami River (Kagamigawa) are many sites related to native... more travel advice

Katsuo Bar Restaurants (2)

Ryomaya is a very friendly local bar named after Sakamoto Ryoma. The specialty dish is just two pieces of Katsuo no... more travel advice

Kochi's Tram Transportation (2)

Kochi is a rather large city, but the tram system (Kochi Electric Railway) helps make getting around easier. Kochiekimae... more travel advice

Comments (3)

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sanukseeker Jan 19, 2012 at 5:58 AM

Thanks for the tip on the Tottori Sand Sculpture Festival. Will keep that in mind. Dog fighting sounds very intriguing!
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taigaa001 Oct 30, 2011 at 5:29 AM

Nice pages you have created. Keep good work.
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salisbury3933 Oct 27, 2011 at 3:53 AM

Kochi is a very nice place. Has been a long time since I was there, but I remember it fondly.