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The castle glimpse, Kochi

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For a 5-hour call · Kochi

The castle glimpse

A 5-hour call with a pre-booked taxi both ways; on the shuttle it needs 6 hours, because the first one leaves about an hour after arrival. On a 4-hour call, take a taxi to Katsurahama instead. Timed from the gangway and back.

3 hr door to door5 stopsNeeds a 5-hour callThe first city shuttle leaves about an hour after arrival, and the last one is back at the port only an hour before departure: take the one before it
Open the route in Maps
Photo: Suicasmo / CC BY-SA 4.0
Door to door
3 hr
From the gangway and back
Best for
A 5-hour call or longer
A 5-hour call with a pre-booked taxi both ways; on the shuttle it needs 6 hours, because the first one leaves about an hour after arrival. On a 4-hour call, take a taxi to Katsurahama instead
Room to spare
None
Fits a 5-hour stop with nothing to add (off the ship 30 minutes after arrival, back at the gangway an hour before all-aboard). A longer call gives you the extra time; on this one, do not add a stop.
What it costs
about ¥3,550 per car
Taxi from about ¥3,550 per car each way (ship to castle; ¥3,120 before 30 Nov), or the city shuttle; castle ¥500.
Booking
Book ahead
At least one step needs booking before you sail: the steps below say which

Timed from the gangway with the port's official timetables · updated · Takumi Yamada

Numbers follow the route below. Pins are the places themselves; walking lines are not drawn because the best way between two stops can change with the tram, the tide or the weather.

The route

How the day runs

Times are from the moment you step off, not from the scheduled arrival. Everything shifts if your ship is late; the order does not.

  1. +0:00
    Shuttle/taxi to the city center (~25 min)

    The first shuttle leaves about an hour after arrival; a pre-booked taxi is quicker

  2. +0:30
    Kochi Castle from the gate to the keep exterior

    The plaza view costs nothing

    What you will see hereFull guide: Kochi Castle
  3. +1:15
    Hirome Market — one quick tataki plate at Myojinmaru

    Flame-seared in front of you

    What you will see hereFull guide: Hirome Market
    Katsuo tataki, flame-seared, Kochi
    Photo: ayustety from Tokyo, JAPAN / CC BY-SA
  4. +2:00
    Obiyamachi arcade: a bag of imo-kenpi from a souvenir shop

    Imoya Kinjiro's own shop is in Oroshidanchi, a taxi ride from the centre

    What you will see here
    Imo-kenpi at Imoya Kinjiro, Kochi
    Photo: Ocdp / CC0
  5. +2:30
    Shuttle/taxi back to the port

    Keep the hour

Would rather have it arranged?Best of Kochi Half-Day Tour: Castle & Hirome MarketThe castle and a tataki lunch, guided, if the shuttle timing is tight · from US$150 · 4.5★ — why we list it
The margin is not optional. This route ends an hour before all-aboard on purpose. If you are running late, drop the last stop, not the hour.
What the day looks like

Kochi, along this route

Real photographs of the places above and the streets between them. Every one is credited.

Katsuo tataki, seared bonito, served in Kochi City
Katsuo tataki, seared bonito, served in Kochi CityPhoto: ayustety from Tokyo, JAPAN / CC BY-SA 2.0
A yosakoi team dancing down a Kochi street
A yosakoi team dancing down a Kochi streetPhoto: Sakuramai Toronto / CC0 1.0
A blade heating in a forge fire, Kochi
A blade heating in a forge firePhoto: İlker Söyük / Pexels
Sunday Market stalls along Otesuji, Kochi
Sunday Market stalls along Otesuji, KochiPhoto: 無料画像・フリー画さんより引用掲載 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Hirome Market, Kochi
Hirome MarketPhoto: 雷太 / CC BY
Katsurahama, Kochi
KatsurahamaPhoto: 京浜にけ / CC BY-SA 3.0
Different hours, different day

The other routes in Kochi

The rainy-day KochiA wet day · ~4hWet weather — Kochi rains hard, and the market is roofedCastle & market, unhurriedNeeds a 6-hour call · ~4hThe city’s two anchors with the lunch they deserveThe Katsurahama loopNeeds a 9-hour call · ~7hFor 9-hour-plus calls: the beach first by taxi, town after, shuttle back
Pick your own stops instead →Back to the Kochi guide
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