Kochi

Kochi is actually a city on an island off the Pacific coast of Japan.  It is only in the last 30 years that it has been connected to the mainland by three bridges.  The island has a population of about 300,000 people and produces rice and timber, primarily.  It is also famous for its saki.  Kochi is the rainiest part of Japan, getting 6-10 feet of rain a year; and  the other side of the low mountain range that divides the island from east to west is the driest place in Japan.

Today we went to the Kochi Prefectoral Makino Botanical Gardens and Buddhist Temple.  The Gardens were founded by the botanist Makino, who collected over 40,000 different plants.  He may have delved into this to get time away from his 13 children.  The Garden itself is quite lush and the primary hot house on the premises has many interesting tropical-type plants.

Adjacent to the Gardens is one of 88 Buddhist temples that form a ring around the island.  It is a major attraction for pilgrims and this particular temple has some interesting buildings and grounds, parts of which are over 500 years old.

While this particular garden did not have the eye-popping colorful flowers we have seen in the last two days, it is a good example of the green lush side of Japan.