shikokukochi
Muroto
Cape Muroto is the south-eastern tip of Shikoku, in Kochi prefecture in the Shikoku region, a headland of black rock about two hours by car east of Kochi, where the young monk Kukai is said to have found enlightenment.
- Prefecture
- Kochi
- Region
- Shikoku
- Journeys
- The Custom Tour of Japan
overview
A cape of black rock facing the Pacific, where a monk once sat looking at sky and sea.
Cape Muroto points south into the Pacific like the tip of a spearhead, the point of a long triangle of Shikoku coast between Tokushima and Kochi. The land here is rising out of the sea, lifted by the movement of the plates beneath, and the shore is a broad shelf of tilted rock, striped and folded, with subtropical plants growing between the stones. The whole of Muroto is a UNESCO Global Geopark, designated in 2011.
It is also a place of great meaning in Japanese Buddhism. In the late eighth century a young monk came here to meditate in a cave on the shore, and the story goes that, seeing nothing from its mouth but sky and sea, he took the name Kukai, which means sky and sea. Kukai, later known as Kobo Daishi, founded the Shingon school, and three temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage stand on the cape and its coast.
Muroto is remote, with the pleasures of a distant coast: a single coast road, small fishing towns, the deep blue of the Kuroshio current offshore, and the sound of the surf on the stones. It suits a night on a journey along the Pacific shore of Shikoku.
see and do
What to see in Muroto
Mikurodo Cave
The pair of shallow caves on the shore at the tip of the cape where Kukai is said to have meditated and taken his name, the sea framed in their mouth exactly as the story tells it.
Hotsumisaki-ji
The twenty-fourth temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage, known as Higashi-dera, the east temple, founded by Kukai on the wooded hill above the cape, its halls among camellia and subtropical trees.
Muroto Misaki Lighthouse
A white iron lighthouse of 1899 on the hill above the cape, its great lens among the largest in Japan, sending its beam far over the Pacific.
The Muroto coast walk
A level path of a few kilometres across the shelves of tilted rock and turbidite at the tip of the cape, among the sea-worn stones, the subtropical plants and the remains of old beaches lifted above the waves.
Kiragawa
A small town on the coast west of the cape, protected as a district of traditional buildings, whose merchant houses of the Meiji era are faced with white plaster and stone, with rows of tiles set into the walls to shed the rain blown in from the sea.
Kongocho-ji
The twenty-sixth temple of the pilgrimage, Nishi-dera, the west temple, on a hill above the town of Muroto, with views back along the coast to the cape.
Muroto Geopark Center
A visitor centre near the cape explaining, with models and samples, how the land of Muroto has been lifted from the seabed over the ages.
Muroto Schoolhouse Aquarium
A primary school closed in 2006 and reopened in 2018 as an aquarium, with sea turtles and fish of the Muroto coast swimming in the old school pool and in tanks along the corridors.
experiences
The best of Muroto
The cape with a geologist
A walk across the rock shelves of the cape with a geopark guide who reads the stones like a book: the layers laid down on the seabed, the old shorelines, the land still rising.
Whales from a boat
A boat out from Muroto onto the Kuroshio, steered by its skipper, to watch for the dolphins and whales that feed in the deep water off the cape.
Charcoal and plaster
An hour with a maker of Tosa binchotan, the hard white charcoal for which Muroto is known, and a walk through the plastered houses of Kiragawa that the trade once paid for.
plan your visit
Muroto on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- One night is right for Muroto, best taken on the way along the Pacific coast between Kochi and Tokushima.
- Getting there
- By private car from Kochi in about two hours along the coast road, or from Kochi Ryoma airport in about an hour and three quarters. From Tokushima the drive takes about two and a half hours.
- Pairs well with
- Muroto lies on the coast road between Kochi and Tokushima, so it joins Kochi to the west with Naruto to the north-east on a journey around the southern shore of Shikoku.KochiNarutoIya ValleyKotohira and Takamatsu
journeys
Muroto on a private journey
We bring guests to Muroto on the Custom Tour of Japan, created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director.
questions
Muroto: questions answered
How do you get to Cape Muroto?
By car, about two hours east of Kochi along the coast road, or about two and a half hours south of Tokushima. There is no railway to the cape itself.
What is Cape Muroto known for?
Cape Muroto is known as the place where Kukai, later Kobo Daishi, is said to have found enlightenment in a shore cave, and for its coast of uplifted rock, a UNESCO Global Geopark.
Is Cape Muroto worth visiting?
Yes, for travellers drawn to dramatic coast, Buddhist history and quiet: it is one of the most striking headlands in Japan, and a natural stop between Kochi and Tokushima.
How long do you need at Cape Muroto?
Half a day sees the cape, Mikurodo Cave and Hotsumisaki-ji; a night lets you add Kiragawa and a dinner of the day's catch.
Which pilgrimage temples are at Cape Muroto?
Three temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage stand on the cape and its coast: Hotsumisaki-ji, the twenty-fourth, Shinsho-ji, the twenty-fifth, and Kongocho-ji, the twenty-sixth.
Can Muroto be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Muroto included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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More in Shikoku
Muroto, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Muroto, and we will answer with a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone, or, if you would rather travel independently, an Expert Japan Itinerary that plans every day for you.