7 spots โ sorted by traveller rating
Kochi contains 16 of the 88 sacred temples on the Shikoku Pilgrimage (Ohenro), including the remote Cape Ashizuri temples. Temple 24, Hotsumisakiji, and Temple 26, Kongochoji, are among the most dramatic โ set on clifftops with sweeping Pacific views. Walking the Kochi section takes 5โ7 days.
One of Japan's 12 original-keep castles โ uniquely, the entire castle complex including the main keep, connecting corridors, and main gate all survived intact from the Edo period. The Sunday morning market (Nichiyo Ichi) stretches along the boulevard below the castle, running since 1690.
The southernmost point of Shikoku โ a dramatic cape where granite cliffs plunge into the Pacific Ocean. Kongofukuji (Temple 38 of the 88-temple Shikoku Pilgrimage) sits at the cape tip among ancient camellia forests. The cliffside glass-bottom boat tour passes towering sea stacks.
Cape Ashizuri, the southernmost point of Shikoku, is a dramatic rocky headland where 80-m cliffs drop directly into the deep blue Pacific. It is the sacred endpoint (Temple 38, Kongofukuji) on the 88-temple Shikoku Pilgrimage, and the resident sea turtles nesting on nearby beaches make it a wildlife destination. The lighthouse offers Japan's broadest ocean horizon viewpoint.
Kochi's most famous beach โ a dramatic crescent of dark sand beneath pine-covered headlands. Swimming is prohibited due to strong Pacific currents, but the scenery is striking. The bronze statue of Sakamoto Ryoma gazes out to sea, and the Tosa Fighting Dogs (tosa-inu) facility is nearby.
A spectacular 4-kilometre limestone cave system with elaborate stalactite and stalagmite formations, discovered in 1931. The cave contains Yayoi-period artefacts suggesting ancient human use. A challenging 'exploration course' allows visitors to crawl through unmaintained passages with headlamps.
A museum dedicated to Sakamoto Ryoma โ the visionary Tosa-born samurai who helped broker the alliance that ended Japan's feudal era in the 1860s before being assassinated at 33. The dramatic clifftop building overlooking the Pacific has excellent English-language displays on Ryoma's life and the Meiji Restoration.
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