Kochi Prefecture

Snack your way through a food market

Japan's food markets are narrow, often covered streets of fishmongers, pickle shops and sweet stalls, and many sell small bites to eat on the spot, such as grilled scallops, rolled omelet and fresh sashimi. Buy a little at each stall and eat it at the shop or in a seating area, as some markets do not allow eating while walking. Go in the morning, since many shops close by mid-afternoon.

Walk across a bridge built to sink in floods

The Shimanto River in western Kochi, on the island of Shikoku, still has many chinkabashi, low bridges built without railings so that floodwater can flow over them instead of sweeping them away. Walk slowly across one with the wide river below and green hills on both sides; locals still drive over them every day, so step aside for cars. The bridges are spread along the river, so a taxi, rental car or rental bicycle from Nakamura Station is the easiest way to get around.

A city of street stalls and straw-seared bonito

Kochi, on the Pacific side of Shikoku, sits where bonito swim close to shore on a warm ocean current, and its Sunday market has been held on the same street for more than 300 years. In the morning, snack your way along the stalls and climb to the castle; at night, eat katsuo no tataki, bonito seared over burning straw, with local sake. The market runs only on Sundays and Kochi is about three and a half hours from Osaka by train, so stay on Saturday night.

Sit by a clear river and let the day drift

The Kakita, the Nagara and the Shimanto are often called Japan's three great clear rivers. Spend an unhurried day on a riverside path or a low bridge, just watching the water go by. They are far apart, near Mount Fuji, in Gifu and on the island of Shikoku, so pick one.

Kochi Prefecture

Eat bonito seared over a straw fire

In Kochi, on the island of Shikoku, bonito (katsuo, a fish like a small tuna) is seared over burning rice straw, and the roaring flames and smoky smell are part of the meal. Watch the cooks sear it at a market counter, or hold the fish over the fire yourself, then eat it warm as tataki, thick slices seared outside and raw inside.

Watch fish swim in an old school pool

When a small village school closes, the building is sometimes given a new life, and one has become an aquarium where sea creatures swim in the old outdoor pool and tanks fill the classrooms. You wander the corridors and the poolside at your own pace, surrounded by reminders of the school it once was. It is in Muroto, at the southern tip of Kochi on Shikoku, far from Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, so plan it as part of a Shikoku trip.

Let the scenery drift past from a slow boat

On a slow sightseeing boat you simply sit, and the scenery moves for you: a canal town, a mountain river, cormorant fishing at night, or in winter a boat with a kotatsu, a low heated table with a quilt over your legs. Choose one by the season and your mood. Most rides take 20 minutes to an hour, so one fits easily into a relaxed day.

Walk deep inside a limestone cave

Ryusendo in Iwate, Akiyoshido in Yamaguchi and Ryugado in Kochi are known as Japan's three great limestone caves, each with lit paths that take you deep underground. One has underground lakes of clear blue water, one has huge stalactites and terraced pools, and one holds pottery left by people who lived there about 2,000 years ago. The three are far apart, so visit the one on your route, and bring a light layer because the caves stay cool all year.

Kochi Prefecture

See the clear blue water of a mountain river

The Niyodo River in Kochi, on the island of Shikoku, is known for water so clear and blue that its color has a name of its own: Niyodo Blue. The blue changes with the light and the amount of water, so walk the trails to waterfall pools and gorges, or look down from a chinkabashi, a low bridge with no railings built to let floods pass over it. These spots are in the mountains and easiest to reach by car or taxi from Kochi city; keep away from the water after heavy rain and follow the signs on site.

A river town of bridges with no railings

Shimanto, in rural Kochi on the island of Shikoku, sits on a clear river crossed by chinka-bashi, low concrete bridges built without railings so that floods can pass over them instead of washing them away. Drift under one on a covered boat, then eat wild river eel or tiny river shrimp by the water. It is about two hours from Kochi by limited express and the bridges are spread out, so stay a night and rent a bicycle or hire a taxi.

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