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Yokogurayama Museum

YokogurayamaTadao AndoOchiMakinoAntoku

Kochi · Ochi

33.5334°N, 133.2423°E

Mt. Yokogura in Ochi is a limestone massif holding some of the oldest rock in Shikoku, a considerable concentration of endemic plants, and — in local tradition — the grave of the boy emperor Antoku, who is generally recorded as having drowned at Dan-no-ura in 1185. Makino Tomitaro, the botanist, worked on the mountain repeatedly and named species from it.

The museum at its foot was designed by Ando Tadao and opened in 1997: concrete, water and controlled light on a wooded slope, with the geology, the flora and the Antoku legend divided across three floors. It is one of the least visited Ando buildings in Japan and it is slowly being reclaimed by the forest around it, which is arguably the intention. Admission is ¥500 and it takes an hour.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

9:00 AM – 5:00 PM | Last entry 4:30 PM

Closed: Closed Mondays, or the following day when the Monday is a holiday | 29 December – 3 January

Entrance Fee

¥500 general | ¥400 high school and university students | ¥200 elementary and junior high school students

Best Season

Year-round | Spring and early summer for the mountain flora

Visit Duration

60 minutes | Half a day with a walk on the mountain

Getting There

Access Information

737-12 Ochi-hei, Ochi, Takaoka District. Car recommended. Open 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM with last entry at 4:30 PM. Closed Mondays, or the following day when the Monday is a holiday, and 29 December – 3 January. Admission ¥500 general, ¥400 high school and university students, ¥200 elementary and junior high school students. Phone 0889-26-1060.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Look at the building as well as the exhibits.** Ando concrete on a wooded slope with water and directed light, from 1997. It is a small work and it is largely unvisited, which is a rare combination. **Three floors, three subjects.** Geology of the massif, the plants Makino worked on, and the Antoku legend. They are more connected than they sound once you are in the building. **The mountain itself is walkable.** Trails run up Yokogura from near the museum, and the endemic flora is the reason Makino kept returning. **Closed Mondays.** With a holiday shift. **Combine with Sakawa.** Makino's birthplace and the sake warehouse street are about fifteen minutes away, which makes a coherent day around one botanist.

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