(Redirected from Kochi, Kochi)

Kochi Castle

Obiyamachi in downtown Kochi
is the capital
city of
Kōchi Prefecture on the
Shikoku island of
Japan.
Kochi is the main city of the prefecture with most of the population. As of the
January 1,
2005 expansion but with
2003 population estimates, the city had an estimated
population of 335,341 and a
density of 1,269 persons per
km². The total area is 264.23 km².
The city was incorporated on
April 1,
1889, although a castle town had existed around the seat of the lords of
Tosa Province since
1603. The castle,
Kōchi-jō (高知城), still exists, and is one of the main tourist attractions. Other places of interest are the
Anpanman Museum, the
Obiyamachi (帯屋町) shopping arcade, Sunday Market Street, and
Harimaya-bashi (はりまや橋), a bridge that served as a meeting spot for a Buddhist priest and his lover in a famous Japanese song. There are many other places to visit in Kochi, especially
Katsurahama and its aquarium, a coastline and beach, The
Ryugado, an ancient cave hike that is 1.9 KM long in total,
Gomen,
Nankoku-shi, and many other interactive places to visit, scenic viewpoints, and many places to shop in Downtown Kochi, especially in
Obiyamachi, as mentioned above.
Kochi's most famous festival is the
Yosakoi (よさこい come to the night) which is held in August. Teams of dancers dance to a traditional and modern songs at various places in Kochi City. The total number of dancers is in the thousands.

Downtown Kochi, Japan
Expansions
On
January 1,
2005 the villages of
Kagami and
Tosayama, both from
Tosa District, merged into the city. Also, the
Sakuragaoka District merged into the city, a rather large community including a golf course, north of Downtown and in the mountains.

Harimaya-bashi
Sister cities
★ -
Fresno, California,
USA
★ -
Wuhu, China
★ -
Kitami, Japan
★ -
Surabaya, Indonesia
★ -
Mashhad,
Iran
Famous residents
★
Sakamoto Ryoma, samurai and Tokugawa-era reformer
★
Itagaki Taisuke, 19th Century Governmental Politician
★
Nakahama Manjiro, "John Manjiro," Meiji-era figure
★
Tsutomu Seki, astronomer
★
Nobuo Uematsu, composer
★
Ryoko Hirosue, actress in ''
Wasabi''
★
Takashi Yanase, Anpanman creator
★
Hamagawa Mika, The Little General
External links
★
Kochi official website in Japanese
★
Kochi official website in English
★
Kochi Castle official site in Japanese
★
Kochi Asakura Website in Japanese