Kochi Sunday Market Tour

Experience the energy of Kochi: Sunday Market Tour includes Kochi Castle

Get local in Kochi with our Sunday markets tour!

Overview

Every Sunday for more than three hundred years, Kochi has set up a street market along the eastern edge of its castle: roughly 420 stalls of country produce, seafood, sweets, antiques, Tosa pottery and Tosa cutlery, stretched over some 1,300 metres of city street. This tour is built around that one day of the week: five hours on foot through the market and the streets next to it, with enough time to taste, to linger, and to see the castle the market runs alongside.

Your guide meets you at your Kochi-city hotel and stays with you through the morning, pointing out the stalls worth stopping at and ordering local specialties along the way: country-style sushi, potato tempura, ice cream eaten while walking. Lunch is at Hirome Market, a covered hall of some forty small restaurants just beside the castle, where katsuo no tataki (seared bonito with salt and a slice of raw garlic) is the dish to order.

Adjacent stands Kochi Castle, one of only twelve pre-Edo keeps still standing in Japan, with its original Tenshu, Honmaru palace and connecting corridor bridge preserved together with the stone walls. The afternoon continues through the covered Obiyamachi shopping arcade and closes at the Yosakoi Information Center, dedicated to one of the three great festivals of Shikoku, launched in Kochi in 1954. A Sunday in Tosa, seen from the inside.

Details

❖ Hotel Pick-up

Your guide meets you in your Kochi-city hotel lobby at the scheduled start time. A brief outline of the day ahead, then a short walk or tram ride to the Sunday Market.

❖ Sunday Market

09:15 - 11:00 (1:45 h)

Held every Sunday for over 300 years, Kochi's Sunday Market unfurls along the broad avenue that borders the castle moat. Around 420 stalls stretch for roughly 1,300 metres of city street, supplied mostly by country farmhouses and small local ventures of the Tosa region.

Your guide walks the length with you at an unhurried pace, stopping wherever you want to taste: fresh seasonal vegetables, citrus, Tosa seafood, country-style sushi, potato tempura and ice cream eaten while walking. Beyond food, the market is a window onto Tosa craft: antiques, Tosa pottery, and the celebrated red-boxed Tosa cutlery displayed at signature blade stalls.

❖ Hirome Market

11:00 - 11:30 (30 min)

A covered hall just beside the castle, gathering around 40 small restaurants and souvenir shops under one roof. Lunch here is built around katsuo no tataki, Kochi's signature seared bonito, traditionally served with salt and a slice of raw garlic. Just outside sits W/O Stand Kochi, an independent coffee spot worth a pause on the way out.

❖ Kochi Castle

11:40 - 12:50 (1:10 h)

Known as "the best castle on the Nankaido" and the symbol of the city. Currently only twelve pre-Edo castles still stand in Japan, and Kochi Castle is among the most precious. The current main tower was rebuilt in August 1747, and the great rarity of Kochi is that the full ensemble - Tenshu (main keep), Honmaru palace, and the connecting corridor bridge - all remain preserved together with the original stone walls. From the gazebo on the top floor, the whole of Kochi opens up under the coastal hills.

❖ Obiyamachi Shopping Arcade

13:00 - 13:30 (30 min)

Kochi's largest covered shopping street, running through the heart of the old town. The arcade is fully roofed, so the walk holds up in any weather: restaurants, small specialty shops, everyday goods, a department store, and an easy pace between the castle and the Yosakoi Information Center. A natural spot for souvenirs or a break, with the guide on hand for questions.

❖ Kochi Yosakoi Information Center

13:30 - 14:00 (30 min)

A small but spirited museum dedicated to Yosakoi, one of the three great festivals of Shikoku, launched in Kochi in 1954. Exhibits walk you through the festival's history, the costumes of each generation of dancers and the pop culture that has grown around the event. Guests may try on a dancer's costume for a photo - a fitting close to a Kochi Sunday.

❖ Hotel Drop-off

Your guide accompanies you back to your Kochi-city hotel, typically around 14:00.

OPTIONS

Notes

The tour runs on Sundays only: the Sunday Market is a weekly event and the entire itinerary is built around it.
Cruise passengers disembarking at Kochi Port are met at Harimayabashi Bus Terminal, where the port shuttle stops (see Port Pick-up & Drop-off option).
Come hungry. The morning is built around market tasting, and lunch is at Hirome Market.
Tour duration can be extended at a rate of 6,000 yen per group per hour, payable in cash.