page_title: Kōchi, Kōchi
section_title: Geography and climate
hierarchical_section_title: Kōchi, Kōchi / Geography and climate
caption_attribution_description: Downtown Kōchi, Japan as seen from nearby mountain
context_page_description: Kōchi is the capital city of Kōchi Prefecture located on the island of Shikoku in Japan.
  Kōchi is the main city of the prefecture with over 40% of its population. As of April 1, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 332,059 and a population density of 1,100 persons per km². The total area is 309.22 km². A symbol of the city is its most famous dish, katsuo tataki, made by lightly searing and seasoning bonito.
context_section_description: The area of Kōchi has three distinct geographic sections. The major settled part of the city lies at the head of Urado Bay, in a narrow alluvial plain crossed by several rivers, notably the Kagami River and Kokubu River. The plain is bounded by mountains to the north and a range of hills to the south and west.
  The northern mountains form the least densely populated part of the city, with the only settlement being along narrow river valleys. The highest point in Kōchi is Kuishi-yama at 1,176 metres (3,858 ft).
  To the south of the city centre, Urado Bay cuts through the hills to its outlet into the Pacific Ocean. The land surrounding the bay and a small strip of the coastline form the third part of the city. This area, although hillier and less dense than the plain, is nevertheless a major location of housing and port-related industry.
  Kōchi has a very wet humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), receiving twice as much rainfall as Shikoku's other chief cities Matsuyama and Takamatsu. It is also the most typhoon-prone of Japan's major cities owing to its location directly exposed to the open Pacific Ocean from which the storms enter the country, and has twice received over 50 cm (20 in) of rainfall in a day from a typhoon.
caption: Downtown Kōchi, Japan
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