Tour Duration: 4 days
Price : Starting from JPY 127,000
Tour start : Kochi Ryoma Airport
Discover the natural beauty of central Kochi Prefecture, as well as the customs and cuisine of the area.
Day 1
Your first stop after landing at Kochi Airport should be to pick up your rental vehicle. Despite the vendors’ limited English proficiency, we will handle all the logistics and give you the necessary rental information. You should have a functioning cell phone because Google Maps for Kochi roads in English works perfectly well. Once you’ve signed the rental paperwork and put your belongings away, it’s time to get moving for the relatively short journey to the river village of Ino, where you’ll find the Ino Town Paper Museum and discover how to produce Japanese washi paper.
After getting back on the road, you will travel a few kilometers north along the lovely Niyodo River, one of Japan’s cleanest rivers, in search of the next “cluster” of activities. If you have kids, you might wish to go to a nice riverside cafe for lunch first before moving on to the activity areas for kayaking or a traditional yakatabune river boat excursion.
Day 2
Get up early and leave after breakfast well before nine in order to have time to visit the outside attractions and arrive in time for your upcoming stay and the numerous activities that this area provides. The Nakatsu Gorge, widely regarded as Japan’s most “photogenic” water source, will be your first destination. You will pass carved statues of the seven ancient gods, Ebisu, Hotei, Benzaiten, Bishamonten, Daikokuten, Jurojin, and Fukurokuju, as you make your way from the parking lot to the headwaters.
Lunch at one of the very few mountain cafes in the area. The Tengu Highlands can be reached by staying on Route 383. Due to the lack of ambient illumination from the nearby population, this hotel is well known among Japanese people as having one of the greatest views of the night sky in the entire nation.
Day 3
You will be traveling “downhill” today as you leave the hills and follow a number of rivers until you reach the magnificent Shimanto river.
Route 439 will lead you to the Bakery “Che-moi” (that’s how the proprietor spells it), where you can find some of the greatest locally made bread and pastries. At least according to the map, it’s further downhill. This is a great place to stop for lunch or a snack, especially since a walking path called the Kubotani Therapy Road is located just a little further down the road. Like the Tengu Highlands pathway, this one is also lovely and leads you into the peace and quiet of the forest along a well-maintained track.
Our final stop is the Hakoba farm stay in Taiso Nakatsugawa hamlet, where we will spend the evening. We strongly advise you to take a late afternoon stroll through the village and its verdant fields after meeting the owner and getting settled.
Day 4
Leave the farm by 8am, remain till then, and stop at least a few times at the places we advise. Temple No. 37 on Shikoku’s well-known Ohenro pilgrimage circuit is the first stop.
The Kure Taishomachi Market, which has some of the best seared bonito in the world, is your second “must-see” location. In actuality, “wara-yaki katsuo-no-tataki” began in the Tanaka fish shop at the end of the outdoor arcade (straw-roasted seared bonito).
It’s finally time to depart from the picturesque Shimanto region and return to modernity. Please keep track of the time of your flight and allow extra time to drop off your car and check in for a local flight. Our recommendation is that you allow one hour for check-in and an additional hour for rental return.
