Kure earns a place on a Kochi itinerary because at Taisho-machi Market you can make straw-grilled bonito tataki yourself, and the market is about a five-minute walk from Tosa-Kure Station. Below are the limited express and car times from Kochi and Kubokawa, the price and length of the tataki experiences, meal prices and serving times, parking, the walk to Kure Hachimangu Shrine, and an order for the day.
Getting to Kure
Tosa-Kure Station is on the JR Shikoku Dosan Line, and the limited express from Kochi Station reaches it in about fifty minutes. Coming from the west, the limited express from Kubokawa Station takes about fifteen minutes. The local train on the same line from Kochi takes about one hour and thirty minutes.
| Route | Time |
|---|---|
| Kochi Station to Tosa-Kure Station by limited express on the JR Shikoku Dosan Line | about 50 minutes |
| Kochi Station to Tosa-Kure Station by local train on the JR Shikoku Dosan Line | about 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Kubokawa Station to Tosa-Kure Station by limited express on the JR Shikoku Dosan Line | about 15 minutes |
| Kochi IC to Nakatosa IC by car on the Kochi Expressway | about 40 minutes |
| Nakatosa IC to Taisho-machi Market by car | about 5 minutes |
From Tosa-Kure Station, Taisho-machi Market is about a five-minute walk, so you can leave the platform and head straight for lunch. By car from the Kochi side, the Kochi Expressway takes about forty minutes from Kochi IC to Nakatosa IC. From Nakatosa IC, the market is about another five minutes by road.
Making Straw-Grilled Bonito Tataki
The activity to plan around is making straw-grilled bonito tataki yourself at Taisho-machi Market. Separate experiences are listed, and their prices and lengths differ, so compare them before choosing. The experience that comes with a meal includes rice, miso soup and a portion of tataki, and it costs two thousand yen.
| Experience | Price | Time and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Straw-grilled bonito tataki making plus one meal portion (rice, miso soup, one portion of tataki) | 2,000 yen | - |
| A second straw-grilled bonito tataki experience | 3,000 yen (tax included) | - |
| Length of the second experience | - | about 90 minutes |
| Arranging the second experience | - | at least 14 days in advance |
The prices and the time needed differ between the experiences, so treat them as separate options rather than as the same session. The second experience takes about ninety minutes. It also has to be arranged at least fourteen days in advance, which is the main constraint when you fix the date of your visit.
Where to stay
Places to stay near Kubokawa, Kochi, Japan →
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Eating at Taisho-machi Market
Without the hands-on session, you can still eat straw-grilled bonito tataki here. A serving, with salt or sauce, costs nine hundred and fifty yen including tax. A fish shop in the market lists a seafood rice bowl at one thousand two hundred yen. A straw-grilled salted bonito tataki rice bowl is also one thousand two hundred yen.
| Dish | Price |
|---|---|
| Straw-grilled bonito tataki, one serving (salt or sauce) | 950 yen (tax included) |
| Seafood rice bowl from a fish shop | 1,200 yen (tax included) |
| Straw-grilled salted bonito tataki rice bowl | 1,200 yen (tax included) |
| Place | Hours |
|---|---|
| A fish shop's dining hall | 11:00-14:00 |
| The same shop's storefront fresh fish sales | 10:00-15:00 |
| A market eatery | 10:30-16:00 |
| Another fish shop | 9:00-17:00 |
| The market overall | around 10:00-15:00, varies by store |
The dining hall and the storefront fish counter belong to the same shop, and the storefront keeps longer hours than the dining hall. The market as a whole runs from around ten in the morning to about three in the afternoon, and the exact time varies by store. Find it at Taisho-machi Market on Google Maps.
Kure Hachimangu Shrine and Parking
Kure Hachimangu Shrine is about a seven-minute walk from Tosa-Kure Station, so it fits before or after the market without any transport. Its autumn grand festival, counted among the three great festivals of Tosa, is held every year on the fourteenth and fifteenth of August by the lunar calendar.
If you drive, there is a car park about a three-minute walk from Taisho-machi Market. It has room for thirty or more vehicles. A second car park is about a fifteen-minute walk from the market. The shrine itself is at Kure Hachimangu Shrine on Google Maps.
| Parking | Walk to the market |
|---|---|
| Closer car park | about 3 minutes, 30 or more vehicles |
| Farther car park | about 15 minutes |
For an overnight stay, browse places to stay in nearby Kubokawa; Kubokawa Station is about fifteen minutes away from Tosa-Kure Station by limited express.
Planning One Day in Kure
Take a morning limited express from Kochi Station; the ride to Tosa-Kure Station is about fifty minutes. The market is about a five-minute walk from the platform. Its stores begin around ten in the morning, though each store sets its own time. The dining hall serves lunch from eleven until two, which fixes the middle of the day.
If you want to make the tataki yourself, remember that the second experience has to be arranged at least fourteen days ahead, so settle the date before anything else. Afterwards, walk over to Kure Hachimangu Shrine, which is about seven minutes on foot from Tosa-Kure Station. Kubokawa Station is about fifteen minutes from Tosa-Kure Station by limited express, and you can browse places to stay in nearby Kubokawa if you would rather end the day there.