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Katsurahama Beach, Kochi

Kochi, Shikoku Island
May 25, 2011
1 min read

Kochi is at the very bottom of Shikoku Island, facing right out into the Pacific Ocean. I had read that Kochi was the “laid back” part of Japan, and that this would be a great place to get away from a hectic traveling schedule and just unwind and let the experience of the trip sink in. And wow, they weren’t kidding.

Kochi Castle

The people were just so relaxed they were basically horizontal. It was refreshing to see after nearly two weeks of very polite, but very uptight staff and people in the shops of Tokyo and Kyoto. Most of these people barely stood up to serve you, instead preferring to just slide your purchased items to you so they didn’t have to move too much.

View from the top of Kochi Castle

Maybe it was the laid back approach, or perhaps it was due to the weather - because it was certainly hot and not the type of weather in which to be uptight.

Kochi open market

Later that afternoon, I caught the bus and travelled the 13km to Katsurahama Beach, a delightful crescent-shaped beach facing the Pacific. It was a relief to find a view without concrete structures in sight (something which I have found to be quite rare here unfortunately). Rock pools, turquoise water and soft shingle sand surrounded me as I walked along the seafront taking in the sea air. Photos simply do not do this place justice.