Kochi Castle and Hirome Market: A Quiet Day Out in Kochi

This guide covers the way to Kochi Castle, the keep and its grounds, Hirome Market and the practical details for a day out.

The keep of Kochi Castle is an original keep that has survived, and it is designated an Important Cultural Property. The sections below follow the route, the grounds, the timing and the market.

Getting to Kochi Castle

The steps below run from the airport to the castle, and the table adds the other ways in.

1. From Kochi Ryoma Airport, the bus to Harimayabashi takes about 25 minutes.
2. The streetcar from the front of the Harimayabashi Dentetsu Terminal Building to Kochijo-mae takes about 5 minutes.
3. From Kochijo-mae, the walk to Kochi Castle is about 5 minutes.

From	Route or operator	Time
Kochi Station to Kochijo-mae	Streetcar via Harimayabashi	About 15 minutes
Kochijo-mae to Kochi Castle	On foot	About 5 minutes
Kochi Interchange to Kochi Castle	By car	About 15 minutes

IC cards can be used on the streetcar by touching the reader near the entrance when boarding.

The Keep, the Gate and the Grounds

The gate and the keep are the buildings to look for here. The Otemon gate and the keep survive together at Kochi Castle, a pairing shared with Marugame Castle and Hirosaki Castle. In the Honmaru area, pets are in principle refused entry, even in carry cases, apart from guide, hearing and service dogs.

Year	What happened at the castle
1601	Yamauchi Katsutoyo began construction of the castle
1727	A fire in the castle town burned the castle buildings apart from the Otemon
1749	The keep, destroyed in the fire, was rebuilt in its present form

Timing Your Visit

What follows covers when the grounds can be walked, how long a visit takes, and when the guides and the blossoms come round. The park outside the Honmaru main enclosure is open around the clock. After sunset the castle is lit up until late evening.

A relaxed visit to the castle takes about an hour on average. Free guides set out from the sightseeing information office in the morning and again in the afternoon. The departure times of the guides are in the tables at the end. On average, the cherry blossoms at the castle reach full bloom in late March.

If you would rather not plan the route yourself, tours around Kochi Castle and the city are available.

Hirome Market and the Sunday Market

After the castle, the plan moves on to Hirome Market. From the Ohashi-dori streetcar stop, Hirome Market is a short walk. On Sundays Hirome Market opens in the morning and closes in the late evening. There is also the Sunday market, held every Sunday with days off in early January and in August.

Item	Detail
Ohashi-dori stop to Hirome Market	About 2 minutes on foot
Hirome Market hours on Sundays	9:00 to 23:00
Kochi Station to Hirome Market by car	About 5 minutes
Hirome Market parking	300 yen per 60 minutes

Hours and Fees, and Planning the Day

The tables below set the opening times and the fees beside a plan for the day.

Part of the day	Stop or leg	Duration or hours
Arrive	Kochijo-mae to Kochi Castle, on foot	About 5 minutes
Visit	Kochi Castle	About 1 hour
Visit	Hirome Market on a Sunday	9:00 to 23:00

Place	Hours
Kochi Castle keep and Kaitokukan	9:00 to 17:00, last admission 16:30
Kochi Castle keep and Kaitokukan closed days	December 26 to January 1
Kochi Castle Museum of History	9:00 to 18:00, and on Sundays 8:00 to 18:00
Kochi Park parking lot	7:30 to 18:30 all year
Free guide departures	9:10 and 13:30

Item	Admission or price
Kochi Castle keep, ages 18 and over	500 yen
Kochi Castle keep, under 18	Free
Set ticket with the Kochi Castle Museum of History	800 yen for the regular exhibition, 1,040 yen for a special exhibition
Parking, ordinary cars	370 yen for the first hour and 110 yen per 30 minutes after
Streetcar one-day ticket, city section	500 yen
Bus and streetcar one-day ticket, paper	2,000 yen for adults
Coin locker	100 yen returned after use
Payment at the keep	Credit cards, electronic money and transit IC cards