Katsurahama in Kochi: Getting There by Bus, the Ryoma Statue and the Beach

Getting to Katsurahama

Leg	How	Time or fare
Kochi Station Bus Terminal to the Ryoma Memorial Museum stop	Bus bound for Katsurahama	About thirty-four minutes. The fare is eight hundred yen.
Minami-Harimayabashi to the Ryoma Memorial Museum stop	Bus bound for Katsurahama	About twenty-six minutes. The fare is seven hundred thirty yen.
The Ryoma Memorial Museum stop to the museum	On foot	About two minutes
The museum to Katsurahama beach	On foot, downhill	Just under ten minutes
Kochi-Minami IC to Katsurahama	Car	About fifteen minutes

The Ryoma Statue and Ryuo Cape

Start at the statue of Sakamoto Ryoma, which stands inside Katsurahama Park in Urado, Kochi City. He is shown in Japanese dress, with his hands tucked into his sleeves and boots on his feet. For about two months around the middle of November each year, an observation deck is put up beside the statue, letting you look out at the Pacific from the same eye level as Ryoma.

Ryuo Cape sits at the southern end of the arc of shore, at the mouth of Urado Bay and still within the park. On the upper part of the cape stand the small shrines, or hokora, of Watatsumi Shrine, also called Ryuogu, and of Hayataka Shrine.

The Beach, the Waves and the Walk to the Museum

Do not swim off the beach at Katsurahama, since the waves change sharply and a sudden high wave can cause an accident in the water. The park itself stays accessible twenty-four hours a day. Facing the Pacific, the park brings together the statue, the memorial museum and an aquarium.

From the beach back up to the museum, the path called Tsubaki-no-komichi climbs uphill over stone steps and takes ten minutes or more.

Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum

Set aside time for the Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum, which stands within Katsurahama Park. The museum is open from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon, with entry requested by about half past four in the afternoon, so check official information before visiting. Allow about ninety minutes to see the new building and the main building together.

In regular periods an adult ticket costs five hundred yen. While a featured exhibition is running, the adult ticket rises to nine hundred yen.

An audio guide can be rented for seven hundred yen per unit, tax included. The guide runs about forty minutes, split between the permanent exhibition room and the main building.

Katsurahama Aquarium

Drop in at Katsurahama Aquarium, which keeps about two hundred twenty species and four thousand individuals. The layout lets you watch the exhibits inside while looking out over Katsurahama and Tosa Bay. Much of the facility is outdoors, and from the outdoor tables you can take in the view without leaving the grounds.

The aquarium is open from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon. Admission ends at half past four in the afternoon.

Tickets are one thousand six hundred yen for adults, six hundred yen for elementary school pupils and four hundred yen for junior high school students.

Driving, Parking and Where to Stay

If you land at Kochi Ryoma Airport, count on about thirty minutes to Katsurahama by taxi or car. Parking fees apply from half past eight in the morning to six in the evening.

The gate itself opens at six in the morning and shuts at half past ten in the evening. The museum lot holds forty-two standard cars, including two spaces for drivers with disabilities, plus two buses.

Travelers planning to stay overnight can look at places to stay in Kochi.