Kochi prefecture in Shikoku, Japan’s fourth island, is home of the Shimanto river. A 196 kilometers long beautiful and wild watercourse, known as the last pristine river of the country. Far from the crowded cities, the banks of the Shimanto-gawa (四万十川 ) are a pleasant break, where many Japanese are camping every summer. The landscape – out of the Heisei 100 list – is also famous for its narrow bridges without guard-rail.

How to get there?

The easiest way to reach the river is first to travel to its mouth, in Shimanto city (not to be mistaken with Shimanto town, more in the North). From Okayama, its main station, called “Nakamura station”, is almost 4 hours away, using the JR Seto-ohashi Dosan line to Kochi and then the JR Tosa Kuroshio line (about 9000 yen).

From the station, it is convenient to rent a bike to follow the river upstream.

Another way to discover the area, several kilometers upstream, is to reach Hage or Tokawa station thanks to the JR Yodo line.