Welcome to the sprawling coast of Kochi City’s Urado Penninsula between Cape Ryuzu and Cape Ryuo, lush with a beautiful pine forest, sandy beach and sea. This spot in Kochi Prefecture is especially popular for its bronze statue of Ryoma Sakamoto, a prominent historical figure during the end of Japan’s Edo period.
Clad with Japanese attire and boots, the statue of Ryoma Sakamoto seems as if to stare far across the Pacific Ocean. The statue is 5.3 meters tall, bringing it to a total 13.5 meters tall when measuring the statue and its base together.
Every year, a 13-meter observation deck is set up next to the statue during April, May, and the two months around Nov.15th which is the anniversary of Ryoma Sakamoto’s birthday and death.
This same spot is known since ancient times for its views of the moon, as acclaimed in the Kochi Prefecture‘s “Tsuki no Meisho wa Katsurahama”, traditional Yosakoi folk song and dance.
The area around the beach is designated “Katsurahama Park”, the grounds of which also include the Katsurahama Aquarium and the Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum.
Highlights
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Home to the bronze statue of Ryoma Sakamoto who’s from Kochi Prefecture and also loved the place.
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Inside the Katsurahama Park area you’ll find the bronze statue of Ryoma Sakamoto, as well as the Katsurahama Aquarium and Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum.
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Enjoy sweeping views over Katsurahama’s coastline from Watatsumi shrine in Cape Ryuo.
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The waters at Katsurahama are closed for swimming, even in the summer, due to the rough waves.