What‘s Included

Meeting and Pickup

What To Expect

Reviews

• Wonderful tour full of unique sites and experiences.

  Amy B,

  Sep 23, 2025

  - Viator

  5.00

  This tour had so many wonderful surprises. We put ourselves in Rimo's capable hands and she provided a magical day. We went to the Makino botanical gardens not knowing what to expect and it turned out to be one of the best experiences of our trip. It has great exhibits and plant selections. My nephew, age 29, and I are not gardeners and we had the best time. SHe let us spend all of the time we wanted there. We then went to Hirome market and did some shopping with Rimo's help. Lunch was at a traditional Japanese restaurant where we tasted local Kochi dishes. This was one of the best lunches we had on the whole trip and made my nephew realize he liked fish. We then went to the Kochi castle. The museum is very good and had many local artifacts so do not skip it. Rimo is a wonderful guide who listens and cares about her clients. She altered parts of the day to accommodate the things we wanted to stop and see along the way. She is from Kochi and loves her city - she made us love it too.

• Touring and Shopping in Kochi City

  Sherrie Y,

  Sep 15, 2025

  - Viator

  5.00

  Not knowing anything about Kochi City, we left our day's tour agenda up to Miyo, our guide. She took us to the botanical garden, where we spent several hours exploring the native plants and learning about the life of Dr. Tomitaro Makino. It was very interesting and enjoyable. She took us to Obiyamachi shopping street where we perused different restaurant menus and chose a lunch place, which turned out to be excellent. We then went to Hirome market, where I spied a shop selling some clothes that I was interested in. Miyo was very accommodating and gave us time to shop and then led us to a knife shop on the way to Kochi Castle because we had mentioned we were interested in purchasing some kitchen knives. Our last stop was Kochi Castle which looked very interesting, but because we were running late, we just spent a few minutes there. I think that climbing the steps would have been very challenging for and older person. We thoroughly enjoyed Miyo's guidance, and she got us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare.

• Can't-miss tour of Kochi

  stacey h,

  Sep 14, 2025

  - Viator

  5.00

  A great time seeing some highlights of Kochi. Our tour was supposed to start at 9, but we got there a bit early, so we had time to see the mechanical musical clock presentation near the bus stop that starts at 9am sharp - this was so charming and I really recommend being there early enough to see it. September is not the best time of year to see the botanical gardens, but we had a great time walking around and learning about Tomitaro Makino (the namesake and father of Japanese botany), and the greenhouse is the most stunning I have ever seen. The views from the top and walking through the temple area were also lovely. We took the bus back into town and took a quick stop at the Yosakoi Festival museum to don a costume and try the Yosakoi dance with the wooden clappers. We walked through an outdoor mall to a food hall for lunch - it was packed and we had a great time choosing what to eat and talking with some locals at the communal tables. After lunch we walked to Kochi castle - getting to the top is not for the faint of heart (over 100 steps!) but it was very cool and had some great views. Our guide Kumiko was passionate about every part of the tour and did a great job explaining everything about the history of Kochi, the gardens and the castle, and helping us navigate the food hall and translate for the locals trying to speak to us at lunch. By the end of the tour we felt like friends. She even brought us some uchiwa fans because it was so hot, which we used daily for the rest of our time in Japan. Do take this tour and ask for Kumiko!!

• Informative

  Carlos J,

  Jul 31, 2025

  - Viator

  5.00

  Kaz ( our guide) was excellent. Very patient and informative. Made great suggestions. Highly recommend.

• Keiko was a wonderfully...

  Nancy L,

  Jul 29, 2025

  - Viator

  5.00

  Keiko was a wonderfully flexible guide with a good knowledge of the visitor flow around Kochi keeping us out of the crowds. She was able to keep us on schedule while giving us time to shop and just look. We would highly recommend her. Thank you Keiko!