How Do You Get to Shimanto and Get Around from Nakamura Station?
This guide is for visitors who want to reach Shimanto, the river-country in the west of Kochi Prefecture on Shikoku. It uses English pages from the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) and from Visit Kochi Japan, the prefectural tourism site. All pages were read on 2026-10-04. Train and bus times are not firm on these pages, so check them with the operators before you travel.
The short answer
Take the train to Nakamura Station. JNTO says Shimanto is a small city about 100 kilometers west of Kochi, and that the station closest to downtown Shimanto is Nakamura Station. Visit Kochi says Nakamura Station, on the Tosa Kuroshio Railway, is the easiest station to reach from Kochi City and the base for buses around the area.
A note on the name
Two local governments share the river. The JNTO city page covers Shimanto City, around Nakamura. Visit Kochi's lists of roadside stations also mention Shimanto Town in Takaoka Gun, further upstream. When you see the name Shimanto, check which one a page means.
From Kochi
JNTO says to take the JR Dosan Line and the Tosa Kuroshio Railway from Kochi Station to Nakamura Station, and that the direct express takes about two hours. Another JNTO page says the Dosan Line limited express to Nakamura takes about one hour 50 minutes. The pages do not explain the difference, so plan for two hours.
From Tokyo and Osaka
JNTO's paddling page says to fly from Tokyo Haneda Airport to Kochi Ryoma Airport, about one hour 30 minutes. Then take the airport bus to Kochi Station, about 30 minutes, and the limited express to Nakamura Station. From Osaka, JNTO says to take the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Okayama in about 45 minutes, then the JR Seto-Ohashi Dosan Line to Kochi Station, which takes two hours and 30 minutes.
Getting around the valley
Visit Kochi says buses run out of Nakamura Station, passing some of the highlights. It describes a sightseeing service from Shimanto City to Sada Chinkabashi Bridge, with 5 buses a day on a hop-on, hop-off basis. That service runs only in spring and winter vacation periods, so check the dates online. The JNTO paddling page says a taxi from Nakamura to the paddle center takes about 20 minutes.
JNTO also says you can rent bicycles from the Shimanto City Tourism Association. It says the river's bridges are fun to cross by bicycle or on foot.
A scenic train line
Visit Kochi describes the JR Yodo Line, which connects Kubokawa Station in the upstream Shimanto area with Uwajima Station in Ehime Prefecture. It runs along the Shimanto River and some tributaries. It also describes the Shimantorocco, an open-air train. The trip from Kubokawa to Ekawasaki takes about one hour and all seats are reserved. It runs one return trip per day on Saturdays and holidays during spring, summer and autumn.
Roadside stations for a stop
Visit Kochi lists roadside stations in the Shimanto area for shopping and meals. It gives Aguri Kubokawa as closed on every third Wednesday of odd-numbered months and on the last day of March. Shimanto Taisho is open from 7:30 to 5:00 from April to September and 8:30 to 5:00 from October to March, closed only from December 31 to January 2. Shimanto Towa has a shop open 8:30 to 5:00 and a restaurant from 11:00 to 3:00. Yotte Nishi Tosa is closed on Tuesdays from December to February. Hours can change, so confirm before you drive.
Planning the day
Because the open-air train runs only one return trip a day on certain days, it is best to book it first and build the rest of the day around it. JNTO calls Shimanto a fantastic place to camp and hike, which suggests staying more than one night if you want to paddle as well. The pages do not list accommodation, so we do not name any.
What we could not verify, and therefore left out
- Train and bus fares and timetables, apart from the figures quoted above.
- The dates of the sightseeing bus, which the page says to check online.
- Whether a given paddle center has a pickup service from the station.
Related guides
- What is the Shimanto River, and why are its bridges built without rails?
- How do you paddle the Shimanto River, and what should you eat along it?
Sources
All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.
- Shimanto (JNTO) — (station, trains, bicycles)
- Paddle Shikoku's Clear Waters (JNTO) — (flight, bus, taxi)
- Shimanto River Valley (Visit Kochi Japan) — (buses, trains)