Kochi · GodaisanNo.1182★★Open in map →

Mount Godaisan

— Kochi's hilltop temple and botanical garden

natureOff the trail — and worth it

A wooded hill on the southeastern edge of Kochi city, holding two attractions side by side: the 31st temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage and the prefectural botanical garden. One sightseeing bus route links both to the station.

FromKochi Station
~25-30 minMY-Yu sightseeing bus
Get off atChikurinji-mae (MY-Yu sightseeing bus)
On foot
Mount Godaisan

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

This is not an undiscovered corner. It is one of Kochi's main sights and a working pilgrimage temple with visitors in white every day. What is less obvious is that the temple and the botanical garden are neighbours on the same bus route, so people who come for one often leave without ever seeing the other.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden663highland / CC BY-SA 4.0

Chikurinji main gatethe guardian gate at the top of the stone steps, where the temple grounds begin
Monjudo main hallthe main hall, an Important Cultural Property, enshrining the wisdom bodhisattva Monju
Five-storey pagodaa 31.2-metre tower of Japanese cypress, the only five-storey pagoda in the prefecture
Scenic garden and treasure halla nationally designated garden, and a hall holding the temple's Important Cultural Property statues
Makino Botanical Gardenhillside paths, glasshouses and a memorial hall on the slope immediately beside the temple

How to actually get there

Kochi Station → Chikurinji-mae (MY-Yu sightseeing bus, about 25-30 min).
Chikurinji-mae → Chikurinji main gate (walk up the slope, about 2 min).
Chikurinji → Makino Botanical Garden main gate (walk through, or ride one stop back).

MY-Yu sightseeing bus from Kochi Station: Kochi Station →(MY-Yu sightseeing bus toward Katsurahama, about 25-30 min)→ Chikurinji-mae, then roughly 2 minutes on foot up to the temple gate. The same bus calls at Makino Botanical Garden Main Gate, the stop before, so you can start from either end. Departures are spread through the day rather than frequent, so pick up a timetable at the station tourist information centre first.
Back from Chikurinji-mae: Take the same sightseeing bus back toward Kochi Station from the stop across the road. Services thin out in the late afternoon and the last run leaves well before dark, so fix your return time before you go into the garden. If you miss it, a taxi is the only fallback on this hill.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Godaisan stands on the southeastern edge of Kochi city, a wooded rise with a terrace partway up that looks out over the town and Urado Bay. Two very different places share the slope. Chikurinji is the 31st stop on the Shikoku pilgrimage of 88 temples, with a five-storey pagoda, a main hall listed as an Important Cultural Property, and a garden designated a National Place of Scenic Beauty. A few minutes away, the Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden grows around 3,000 kinds of plants across hillside paths and glasshouses. The sightseeing bus from the station calls at both, two minutes apart.

How to enjoy it

Temple grounds open from 8:00, the ticketed garden and treasure hall from 8:30, and the botanical garden from 9:00 to 17:00, so an early start lets you walk the temple first and finish among the plants. The sightseeing bus is spaced through the day rather than frequent, so note the next return time on the timetable at the stop before you wander off.

Background & history

Temple records place Chikurinji's founding in 724, when the monk Gyoki is said to have opened it at the wish of Emperor Shomu. The hill borrowed its name from Mount Wutai in China, long a centre of devotion to Monju, the bodhisattva of wisdom who is still the temple's principal image. The garden below the main hall is traditionally credited to the Zen priest Muso Soseki, and the present pagoda was rebuilt in 1980. The botanical garden is far younger, opening in 1958 to honour Tomitaro Makino, the Kochi-born botanist.

Before you go

Cash: Chikurinji's grounds are free to walk; the scenic garden and the treasure hall are ticketed, together or separately. The botanical garden charges 850 yen for adults and is free for high-school students and younger. Bus passes are sold at the station tourist information centre, and cash is the safe option on board.
Good to know: The approach is stepped stone and turns slippery after rain, and the hilltop has little shelter. The botanical garden closes over the new year period and on a maintenance day most months, and both the temple garden and the treasure hall stop admitting visitors before the grounds themselves close.
Another way: The same sightseeing bus can be boarded at Harimayabashi in the city centre, which helps if you are already downtown. By car it is about 20 minutes from the Kochi interchange, and parking at both the temple and the garden is free.
After you get off: From the Chikurinji-mae stop, walk up the slope for about 2 minutes to the temple's main gate. To start with the plants instead, stay on one stop earlier at Makino Botanical Garden Main Gate and walk through to the temple afterwards.