| Kōchi (prefecture) ((ja)高 知 県, Kōchi-ken) | |
 | |
| Shimanto River and Iwama Bridge | |
| Information | |
| Country |  Japan |
|---|---|
| Region | Shikoku |
| Regional capital | Kōchi |
| Area | 7 103,93 km² |
| Population | 687 128 hab. () |
| Density | 96,73 inhab./km² |
| Spindle | UTC 09:00, Japan Standard Time |
| Location | |
&groups=aller,circuler,voir,faire,acheter,manger,sortir,loger,ville,destination,diplomatie,masque,around,buy,city,do,drink,eat,go,listing,other,see,sleep,vicinity,view,black,blue,brown,chocolate,forestgreen,gold,gray,grey,lime,maroon,mediumaquamarine,navy,red,royalblue,silver,steelblue,teal,fuchsia) 33 ° 33 ′ 35 ″ N 133 ° 31 ′ 52 ″ E | |
| Official site | |
Kōchi is a prefecture japanese, located on the island of Shikoku.
Understand
Kōchi was once known as Tosa (土 佐).
Regions
Cities
- 1 Aki (安 芸) – Ancient walled city and birthplace of Iwasaki Yattarō the founder of Mitsubishi Motors.
- 2 Kami (香 美) – Famous for Anpanman and Ryūga-dō Cave.
- 3 Kōchi (高 知) – The capital.
- Muroto (室 戸)
- 4 Tosashimizu (土 佐 清水)
- 5 Nankoku (南国) – A neighboring town of Kōchi known for its long-tailed chickens.
- 6 Shimanto (四万 十) – A city named after the famous eponymous river, the last without a dam in Japan. The ancient city of Kubokawa (窪 川), which merged with other to form Shimanto, is famous for its beef.
- 7 Sukumo (宿 毛) – Terminal of the JR Dosan line.
- 8 Susaki (須 崎 市)
Other destinations
- 1 Cape Ashizuri (足 摺 岬, ashizuri misaki)
- 2 Yusuhara (檮 原)
- 3 Tōyō (東洋) – Famous for its citrus, surfing and Shirahama Beach.
To speak
To go
By plane
- 1 Kōchi Airport (IATA : KCZ ; 高 知 空港, kōchi-kūkō; Kōchi Ryōma airport) – This small airport has flights to Osaka-Itami, Tokyo-Haneda, Nagoya-Komaki and Fukuoka. Buses connect the train station Kōchi about 2 times per hour (35-45 min), 700 JPY.
By train
The most popular way to get to Kōchi is by train from Okayama on Honshū, the main island. From Okayama, take the Nanpu limited express train, and you will arrive in Kōchi in about 2 h 30.
By bus
There are several night buses to Kōchi from Tokyo, Osaka and Fukuoka, and one from Osaka to Nakamura and Sukumo throughout the year, and also a special bus service during the Bon festival in early August. There are also day coaches from the others in Shikoku and from the city of Hiroshima (JR Shikoku Bus(ja)).
Circulate
By car
There are several rental offices at Kōchi, Nakamura, Susaki and Aki stations, as well as at the airport. The roads in Kōchi can be long, narrow and winding, drivers reckless, and signs difficult to understand without knowing Japanese, but driving is still the best way to see many of the prefecture's more remote sites.
There is a highway descending from villetoyo town on the northern border, passing through Kōchi, descending to Susaki and continuing to Shimanto.
By train
Even on the Gomen-Nahari line, trains are few and far between, and do not always provide convenient bus connections and reach tourist sites.
- JR Young Weekend Card
1 000 JPY, only for those 29 and under. – If you are in Shikoku for a while, it is worth the cost to take this discount card even for a round trip. It allows reductions of up to 40% on return journeys made during the same weekend.
You will be able to see the Anpanman trains, which are just normal trains, but are painted with the characters from this popular cartoon.
- JR Shikoku website – It has a lot of information (in Japanese and English) about trains in Shikoku, and also about connections with buses, airport buses, hotels and tourist attractions.
Do
To buy
Eat
- Katsuo no tataki (鰹 の タ タ キ) – This is the local specialty, skipjack dried quickly under high heat so that the surface is cooked while the inside remains raw.
Have a drink / Go out
Liquor of all kinds is drunk there: the people of Kōchi are known to be heavy drinkers. Women are particularly renowned for their affinity and ability to drink. We nickname them Hachikin, which literally means "8 testicles" because it is said that a woman of Tosa (Kōchi) can drink like four ordinary men. Kōchi offers an abundance of sake and shōchū, and the friendly locals will surely approach you in one of Kōchi's many bars.
17 sake breweries in Kōchi make the Tosa Space Sake (土 佐 宇宙 酒Tosa uchūshu), made with yeast that stayed in the space of 10 days and returned with the Soyuz rocket in 2005, and so be sure to try it for an otherworldly experience.
