Katsurahama

Katsurahama is a short crescent of coarse pale sand between two wooded headlands south of Kochi, with a small shrine on the rock at one end and Pacific swell coming straight in. It has been a moon-viewing site for centuries, celebrated in a local folk song, and the autumn moon over the water is the reason it was known before anything else was built here. The statue is what most visitors come for: Sakamoto Ryoma, the Tosa samurai who worked to broker the alliances that ended the shogunate and was assassinated in 1867 at thirty-one, stands 5.3 metres on a plinth above the beach in boots and a hakama looking out to sea, and he is the emblem of Kochi. A small museum to him is nearby, along with an aquarium. Swimming is prohibited - the current here is strong and the drop-off steep.

History

In 1591 Chōsokabe Motochika built Urado Castle on a hill near the beach, abandoned after Yamauchi Kazutoyo moved the seat of Tosa to Kōchi Castle in 1603, and a museum to Sakamoto Ryōma now stands on its ruins. In 1928 a group of young people raised the money for his statue on the hill above the beach (Wikipedia, Katsurahama (beach)).

The landscape

• A moon-viewing beach - celebrated for the autumn moon over the Pacific.
• The Ryoma statue - 5.3 metres on a plinth, facing out to sea.
• A small shrine - on the rock headland at the eastern end.
• No swimming - strong current and a steep drop-off, and it is enforced.

When to go

All year; autumn for the moon. Two to three hours.

Good to know

Swimming is prohibited and the sand is coarse - it is not a beach day. The site is small and can be seen in an hour. Buses from Kochi are infrequent. The surrounding development is dated.

Nearby

Kochi Castle is north in the city; Cape Ashizuri is far south-west.

Key facts