Overview

The small town of Kure in Kochi Prefecture (not to be mistaken for the city of Kure in Hiroshima) is a little fishing town which captures the essence of Kochi. The buildings are very small in comparison to the scale of the surrounding nature. The sea exerts a strong presence, and the local people are very open and friendly.

The heart of Kure is the intimate shopping street behind the port. Here you’ll find Taishomachi Market, a covered shopping street where you can find food and local goods. In 1915, the market was destroyed in a fire and 230 houses were lost. The Emperor Taisho provided the town with money to rebuild it, so in gratitude they renamed the market after him.

Itinerary:

① Meet at Tosa Kure station (11:30)

② Lunch at Kuroshio Kobo（11:40〜12:40
Kuroshio Kobo restaurant overlooks the Pacific Ocean and is a popular place for locals to dine. If you book in advance, you can actually try searing your own bonito fish that was caught by local fishermen over an open flame, just like they did in the past!
*If you want to try "warayaki" (grilling the bonito fish on a big fire made from straw), please tell us when you book.

③ Michinoeki Nakatosa（13:00〜13:30）
This roadside station was opened in 2017 in Nakatosa Town, which has both the Pacific Ocean with the Kuroshio Current and the headwaters of the Shimanto River. At this roadside station, you can try gourmet seafood caught fresh from the Kaiyama River. You can also purchase local goods, sweets and crafts. Or, hike up the hill to see a view of the ocean!

④ Tsunami Tower（13:45-14:00）
See this steel-framed three-story tsunami evacuation tower prepared for the Nankai Trough giant earthquake. A spiral slope, stairs, and evacuation gondola are installed, a disaster prevention warehouse is set up on the second and third floors, and a helicopter rescue space is set up on the roof. In addition, a pedestrian bridge has been set up from the parking lot of the surrounding tourist facilities where many tourists gather to the tsunami evacuation tower. The various facilities are designed to be barrier-free in consideration of the use by the elderly, etc., and are open to neighboring residents and tourists as an observatory during normal times.

⑤ Kure Hachimangu（14:00-14:20）
In the centre of town lies Kure Hachiman-gu, a rustic Shinto shrine surrounded by woods. There are moss covered monuments dotted around the grounds and a mysterious large rock with a hole in it. It’s said that crawling through the hole helps ward off bad luck.

⑥ Kure Taisho Town Market（14:25-14:45）
The Kure Taisho Town Market is over 100 years old. Locals flock here for their Kure-don – an extremely fresh seafood bowl topped with your choice of ingredients. The market is adorned with fishing flags that were flown by fishing boats returning from a good catch.

⑦ Sabo Kokuya（14:45-15:25）
"Sabo Kokuya" is an old folk house cafe created by renovating a 140-year-old folk house. It is just like a traditional Japanese house in the countryside, filled with nostalgic objects. During the café’s opening hours, it is crowded with regular customers. Locals like to eat “warabi mochi” while enjoying the relaxing green garden.

⑧ Nishioka Sake Brewery（15:30-15:55）
Nishioka Shuzoten is located in the town of Kure. Their storehouse is over 200 years old, the oldest sake brewery building in Kochi. They have a small tasting room where you can taste several types of sake and liqueur stocked, and of course a shop where you can buy the sake and other goods they produce.

Tosa Kure station（16:00）
Return to the station.