Very brief background: I've been living in Kansai now for a few years, and have been sort of stuck here since March 2020. So I've been traveling domestically when it's been safe and acceptable to do so, mainly away from large cities. I've posted pictures a few times in the Japan and general photography threads, but this is my first time trying to write a proper trip report, since I figured I'd try something a bit different for post #1000. This was a 4 day trip over a long weekend-ish in September so I'll write it up in 4 parts, filling in a few pictures from a previous trip to Kochi. Also, no flights, just a lot of trains.

The Shimanto river is known as "The last clear stream of Japan", located in the southwest corner of Kochi prefecture, far away from pretty much everything. There are actually three major rivers with no large dams in Japan, but the Shimanto is the largest by probably every measure and also the most natural and undisturbed. Having been to Shikoku several times now and passed nearby last year, this time I thought I'd visit this corner of the island I hadn't been to yet.


Train tickets. Most people would find the JR fare rules and ticketing incredibly boring, but I'm not most people, and if anyone else is interested I can translate and explain these. In addition, I also got the new Kochi premium transit pass, which covers virtually all public transportation in the western and central parts of the prefecture, ¥12,000 for 3 days. It's simply a website that you log into on your smartphone and show the station, train, or bus staff, and I'm not quite sure of the advantage over a paper ticket other than being able to buy it in advance. Total price ¥28,780 (~US$270).


Shin-Osaka -> Okayama, Hikari 531, 7:35 - 8:24
Okayama -> Kochi, Nampu 3, 8:52 - 11:30
Kochi -> Nakamura, Ashizuri 3, 11:40 - 13:24

First train is the shinkansen, unreserved seats, about 50% full. I didn't get a picture of it (this picture is an old one, but the same type of train at Shin-Osaka). After a brief stopover at Okayama, the second train is the Nampu limited express, this one being the very new JR Shikoku 8700 series train. It's a tilting diesel train, but is relatively quiet and has very good speed and acceleration so it feels almost like an electric one. The interior is very nice too, with outlets and large windows (and pilgrim in this case).




Crossing the Seto Ohashi bridge to Shikoku


Passing through the center of Shikoku. The mixed farms/solar panel usage seems to be appearing a lot in Japan.




Kochi station, built fairly recently in a unique wood/steel mix. Local train on the left, Ashizuri in the middle, then the Nampu on the right.


Lunch bought on the platform. This is inaka-zushi, from Kochi prefecture (haven't seen it sold anywhere else), and it's really good. Rather than vinegar, the rice has yuzu juice instead, and the toppings are mostly, or in this case, all vegetables.


Passing Susaki. On the poster is Shinjo-kun, the official mascot, although its similar-looking unofficial mascot, Chiitan, was much more famous, largely thanks to John Oliver's bit a couple years ago (find it on Youtube).


After arriving at Nakamura station, the main station of Shimanto city, I walked 5 minutes to the Hotel Sun River and checked in around 2 pm; there was no official check in time I could find anywhere but I just asked and it was fine. There's a large souvenir shop/farmer's market as well as two restaurants on the premises, owned by the hotel. The exterior is unremarkable and this the only photo I took of the room. Fairly small and nothing fancy, but newly renovated, very comfortable, and not expensive (¥8800 / $85 for two nights).


After spending a while walking through the souvenir store (which is massive and surprisingly good) and then the area around the hotel, I went back to the station to take the train to the end of the line at Sukumo, since I had the transit pass and not a whole lot else to do. I was hoping to rent a bike there for an hour to go see the other coast, but apparently you need to make a reservation, which I only found out after arriving. The center of Sukumo and the museums are one stop further east, but I'd get back there later anyway. More interesting was seeing all the local trains of the Tosa Kuroshio Railway, which are painted (or wrapped?) uniquely based on the all the cities and towns in the area.





Crossing the Shimanto river (more pictures of the river in part 2 below)