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The curved sandy beach of Katsurahama with blue Pacific waves and a pine-topped rocky cape
Photo: 京浜にけ, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Kochi · coast

Katsurahama Beach

桂浜

A curving Pacific beach watched over by a statue of Sakamoto Ryoma: a moon-viewing spot from a Kochi folk song, with a clifftop shrine and an aquarium.

Bronze statue of Sakamoto Ryoma standing above pine trees, looking out to the Pacific Ocean
Photo: Chocopeanut, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
View from above of Katsurahama's long sandy beach and the sea
Photo: kdewa, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

A moon-viewing spot from a folk song

Katsurahama Beach lies to the south of Kochi city, facing the Pacific Ocean. It is a bow-shaped beach tucked between two headlands, Cape Ryuzu to the east and Cape Ryuo to the west, and it has been chosen as one of Japan's 100 best beaches and shorelines.

The Kochi folk song "Yosakoi-bushi" has a line that goes "for the moon, the place is Katsurahama", and the beach has long been known as a place to admire the moon. Every year a moon-viewing event is held around the harvest moon (the full moon around the 15th day of the eighth month of the old lunar calendar).

Sakamoto Ryoma, gazing out over the Pacific

On the high ground above the beach stands a bronze statue of Sakamoto Ryoma. Ryoma came from Tosa (the old name for what is now Kochi Prefecture) and was a key figure at the end of the Edo period. The statue was put up in 1928 with money raised by local young people. The figure itself is 5.3 m tall, or about 13.5 m including the pedestal. He wears a kimono with boots on his feet and gazes far out across the Pacific.

Nearby is the Kochi Prefectural Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum, which displays material about Ryoma and stands in a spot overlooking the Pacific.

A clifftop shrine and an aquarium

Cape Ryuo, at the western end of the beach, is a rocky outcrop jutting into the sea. On top are shrines including Watatsumi Shrine, which protects those at sea.

Close to the beach is Katsurahama Aquarium, opened in 1931. It is well loved for how close you can get to the animals, with sea lion shows and the chance to feed the sea turtles.

Katsurahama Park has been redeveloped, and in March 2023 new facilities opened, including "Umi no Terrace" (Sea Terrace), with places to eat, shops and a viewing area.

Getting there

From central Kochi you can take the MY Yu Bus, a sightseeing loop bus for visitors, or a Tosaden Kotsu route bus from Harimayabashi. By car it takes about 30 minutes from the Kochi IC (motorway interchange) or from Kochi Ryoma Airport. Check bus times on the official website.

Tips

  • The waves at Katsurahama change quickly and big waves can arrive without warning, so swimming is banned all year round. Do not get too close to the water's edge.
  • The Ryoma Festival is held every year around 15 November.
  • Visit around the harvest moon to enjoy the moon-viewing at Katsurahama that the folk song sings about. Check the dates of the moon-viewing events on Kochi City's tourism website.

Sources

Updated 28 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.

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