Hotels in Kochi, Japan

A little about Kochi...

Kōchi is the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture on Shikoku island of Japan.

Kōchi is the main city of the prefecture with over 40% of its population. As of the January 1, 2005 expansion but with 2003 population estimates, the city had an estimated population of 335,341 and a density of 1,269 persons per km². The total area is 264.23 km².

A symbol of the city is its most famous dish, katsuo tataki, made by lightly searing and seasoning tuna.

Education: Kōchi is home to two universities, Kōchi University and Kōchi Women's University, and four junior colleges. The city directly administers Kōchi Commercial High School, and 15 other high schools are located within the city boundaries.

Events: Kōchi's most famous festival is the Yosakoi which is held in August. Teams of dancers dance to traditional and modern songs at various places around Kōchi. The total number of dancers is in the thousands.

Tourism:
Kōchi Castle still exists in its pre-restoration form, and is one of the main tourist attractions. Other places of interest in the city centre are the Obiyamachi shopping arcade, the regular Sunday street markets which are close to a kilometre in length, and Harimaya-bashi, a bridge that featured in a famous Kōchi song about the forbidden love of a Buddhist priest.

The mountain Godaisan holds a public park with views of the city, and is home to stop 31 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage, Chikurin-ji, as well as the Makino Botanical Garden.

At the mouth of Urado Bay, the remnants of Urado Castle (an earlier provincial seat) stand above Katsurahama, Katsurahama?), a famous beach with an aquarium and statue of the Kōchi hero Sakamoto Ryoma.

Transportion:The most visible form of transport within Kōchi is the tram service run by Tosa Electric Railway. Its three lines with historic cars service the major north-south and east-west axes of the city.

The city also has an extensive bus network.

Kōchi is located on the JR Shikoku's Dosan Line connecting it to northern Shikoku, and via interchanges with the Tosa Kuroshio Railway to the eastern and western parts of Kōchi Prefecture. JR's central station in Kōchi is Kōchi Station.

Kōchi is also serviced by the Kōchi interchange of the Kōchi Expressway which connects to the national expressway system.

Kōchi Ryōma Airport in nearby Nankoku serves Kōchi.