Katsurahama Beach — Crescent Bay & Ryoma Statue

Katsurahama is a crescent-shaped beach on Kochi's southeastern coast, famous for its black sand, pine-covered headlands, and the towering bronze statue of Sakamoto Ryoma — the samurai revolutionary who helped overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate and usher in the Meiji Restoration. The statue, erected in 1928, stands 13.5 meters tall on a cliff overlooking the Pacific, Ryoma gazing eastward toward Edo (Tokyo) with the ocean wind at his back.

The beach itself is beautiful but not for swimming — strong currents and riptides make it dangerous. Instead, visitors walk the sand, explore the tide pools, and visit the nearby Sakamoto Ryoma Memorial Museum. The beach has a poetic, windswept quality that suits Ryoma's legacy — a place where history, ocean, and ambition converge.