Sakawa Town, Home to Japan’s Father of Botany and Sakura Cherry Blossom Spot

/ Kochi Prefecture, Spring / 6 minutes of reading

A historic sake brewery district and picturesque cherry blossom spot in Kochi prefecture

One of my favourite things about the smaller, historic districts in Japan’s rural areas is that they tend to escape the big crowds that more central city neighbourhoods attract. Kochi’s Sakawa Town (佐川町, Sakawa-cho) is one of these lovely, smaller neighbourhoods. This “town of sakura blossoms,” a name so aptly applied by the Visit Kochi website, with a park that explodes with sakura cherry blossoms in the spring and historic sake breweries, was virtually free from other sightseers when I visited in 2022. While I can happily recall posing for the camera as I walked up a stone stairway (all without the self-consciousness from strangers watching), I realize now that I’d visited just before Sakawa would experience a new kind of tourist boom. 

You see, this small historic town has an upcoming appearance in an NHK TV drama series, Ranman (らんまん) (*JP website). Modelled after one of Sakawa’s most famous residents and so-called father of botany in Japan, Tomitaro Makino (牧野富太郎), this NHK program will follow the life of the famous botanist while using the picturesque Sakawa as its real-life backdrop. Just from the buzzing of local talk and visitors outside Kochi, I’ve heard, I can only assume that Sakawa will be one heck of a popular destination for many this year in 2023.  

Aside from its new fame in the tv series, Sakawa’s tight network of historic streets is also home to the cherry tree-filled Makino Park, Kochi’s oldest sake brewery, an early Meiji-era western building, and historic buildings converted into a cafe rest stop and lifestyle shop. Plus, Sakawa is all very walkable, meaning you sample a drink (two) of Sakawa’s traditional dry sake before catching the train back to Kochi Station.

Here’s what I think you should check out while you’re in Sakawa:  

Table of Contents

Makino Park: The Sakura Cherry Blossom Hill of Kochi

If you need another reminder that Sakawa is the hometown of Dr. Tomitaro Makino, look no further than Makino Park. Named after the Sakawa native, Makino Park has approximately 17 sakura tree varieties that started as saplings sent by Dr. Tomitaro in 1902 and were hand planted by local volunteers. Each type has a different flowering season, meaning that the typically-brief sakura season is extended to two and a half months from February to mid-April. So, it’s no surprise that Sakawa is considered one of Japan’s top 100 sakura viewing sites.

temple structure amidst greenery
Woman walking up stone stairway under maple trees towards a Japanese temple gate in Sakawa Town, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
The walkway before Makino Park is also worth a brief stop for the temple grand temple off on a separate hill. And that stone staircase under the canopy of maple leaves? Stunning.

While the cherry blossom season is the most popular time to visit Sakawa, it is also the busiest, so scheduling your visit in the early morning and on weekdays would be wise. My visit fell in the early summer, with barely a soul around, which meant I could take my time enjoying the quiet shade of fresh green Japanese maple trees at the park’s base before walking up pathways up to the top of the mountain. I’d suggest taking your time as you explore, as various species of cherry trees are planted at different outposts of the park. 

Sakawa Town views with mountain in the background in japan
forested pathway with light shining down, in Sakawa Town, Kochi prefecture, Japan

If you make it up to the top of Makino Park, you’ll see Sakawa Town below you. (left) I regret not taking the forest route down. Nothing feels more whimsical than walking under a canopy of sunlight breaking through the trees.   (right)

Tsukasabotan Brewery: Sample Sake in Kochi’s Oldest Brewery 

Sakawa is also known as a sake brewing district with 400 years of history, with the “Sake Brewery Road” stretching east to west at the base of Sakawa’s old townscape. It’ll be impossible to miss Tsukasabotan Brewery, one of Sakawa’s architectural standouts with its long chimney and white-plastered storehouses spanning 85 meters. It’s also the largest sake brewery in Sakawa and the oldest in all Kochi prefectures. Founded in the first year of the Edo period in 1603, this historical continues its tradition of making the region’s traditionally dry and crisp-charactered sake within. 

woman standing in the middle of a historic street along whtie sake breweries in Sakawa Town, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
What a photo op! I think I was looking at an oncoming car here…

It’s also worth mentioning that Sakawa is very walkable and close enough to the train station, so don’t hesitate to sample a few glasses of Sakawa’s sake to pick your favourite. 😉

Former Takemura Drapery Shop: Shop for Stylish Sakawa Inside a Former Silk Merchant Shop

traditional japanese merchant house turned into store with potted plants in Sakawa Town, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
window view of Japanese balcony with white paper doors in Sakawa Town, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
traditional japanese interior room with sliding paper doors and ranma details
If you’re lucky, you might get access to the upper floors to see the ranma, an elaborately carved wood panel placed above the sliding doors of a traditional Japanese building.

The former Takemura Drapery Shop (旧竹村呉服店) was once the only silk merchant operating in western Tosa (now present-day Kochi) and is a registered cultural property. Currently, it serves as a lifestyle shop selling stylish home items and a cafe with a traditional kura storehouse turned into a free art gallery. The store owner was also kind enough to let me up to the second floor. Keep your eyes peeled for the original paintings of birds on paper screen doors  — they looked so real they were about to float off the paper!

Hamaguchi Residence: Take a Tea Break in a Traditional Japanese House

The Former Hamaguchi Residence (旧浜口家住宅) once belonged to the Hamaguchi family, who ran a sake brewery in Sakawa during the Edo Period (1603-1867), and another chance to see well-restored Japanese residence in its former Meiji-era glory. It now functions as a visitor rest spot, where visitors can sit on the tatami floors, look into the internal garden, or pick up small snacks and souvenirs from the main counter. If you’re an architecture nerd, taking a self-guided tour to examine the architectural details and wooden beams is worth taking.

inner court of Japanese garden and deck in Sakawa Town, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
There are a couple of entrances into this old residence, including this walkway through its traditional Japanese garden.

Sakawa Bunkosha: The Oldest Wooden Western Building in Kochi

The western Sakawa Bunkosha (佐川文庫庫舎) is the oldest western-style building in the prefecture, following the architectural styles from the early Meiji Era. It was originally built in 1886 as the Sakawa police station branch before it was relocated to its current location in 2010. The building has free entry to the central and top floors. 

white western style building built in the meiji era in Sakawa Town, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
The western architecture of Sakawa Bunkosha certainly stands out in this traditional Japanese town. 

Next door is the Uemachi Station (うえまち駅). Inside you’ll find a wooden train cabin from the Meiji period (1868–1912), preserved as a tribute to Mitsuaki Tanaka, who created the Dosan train lines that run across Kochi. The station also includes a local tourist information center to pick up pamphlets or ask for directions.

uemachi station tourist center in Sakawa Town, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
interior of uemachi station with retro train and tourism pamplets
interior train car with red velvet seats at uemachi station in Sakawa Town, Kochi Prefecture, Japan
I admit, it took me a while to figure out why there was a train here.

How to Get to Sakawa and the Best Times to Visit Long Do I Need to Explore?

Sakawa Station is only four stops away on a 26-minute train ride west from Kochi station to Sakawa Station on the Dosan Line Limited Express (covered under the JR pass) and an additional 10-minute walk to Sakawa’s historic townscape.