---
name: "Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden"
lat: 33.54833
lng: 133.57912
official_url: "https://www.makino.or.jp/"
fee: "¥850 for adults; free through high school. Groups of 20 or more pay ¥750, and an annual pass is ¥2,500. During the Orchid Show (6-28 February 2027) it rises to ¥1,700, or ¥1,500 for groups. Free for holders of a disability certificate plus one carer, and for Kochi residents aged 65 and over with proof. Parking is free."
last_verified: "2026-08-14"
---

# Kochi Prefectural Makino Botanical Garden

The garden sits on Mount Godai above Kochi, eight hectares of slopes where more than 3,000 kinds of plant follow the seasons. The greenhouse holds about 300 tropical species, and the exhibition hall has a 4K theatre and a planted courtyard. Konkonyama Hiroba is a lookout lawn at 131 metres, and Fumufumu Hiroba holds a Tosa field and a learning meadow. Picnic mats come out where the map shows a rice-ball mark, and the QR guide on your phone reads in English, Chinese and Korean.

- Area: kochi
- Type: sightseeing
- Average stay: 120 min
- Hours: 9:00-17:00, last entry 16:30. Closed 27 December to 1 January, plus a maintenance day roughly once a month (2026: 31 Aug, 28 Sep, 26 Oct, 30 Nov). A typhoon can close it at short notice, and it may stay closed afterwards for checks and clearing up.
- Last verified: 2026-08-14

## Family facts (value + conditions + source + verified date)

| Feature | Value | Conditions | Verified | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indoor / outdoor | Indoor & outdoor | About 8 hectares of hillside garden, with four indoor buildings — the main building, the exhibition hall, the greenhouse and the Plant Research Centre — to duck into. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.makino.or.jp/faq/) |
| Stroller friendly | Yes | Strollers are lent free at the ticket windows (main building and Middle Gate, return at either; no booking, limited numbers). The main paths and the greenhouse can be walked with a stroller, but the garden sits on a hill and has stone steps, stairs and steep slopes in places. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.makino.or.jp/faq/) |
| Nursing space | Yes | A nursing room in the Godaisan lobby on the second floor of the main building, and one in the Plant Research Centre; the exhibition hall is also listed as having one. The garden map shows the current locations. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.makino.or.jp/faq/) |
| Diaper changing table | Yes | Changing mats are inside the accessible toilets at each set of restrooms (in the Plant Research Centre, only the second-floor accessible toilet). | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.makino.or.jp/faq/) |
| Family restroom | Yes (8) | Eight accessible toilets in the garden and the car park: main building second floor, exhibition hall, Konkonyama Hiroba, the Plant Research Centre (floors 1-3) and car park 1. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.makino.or.jp/faq/) |
| Elevator | Yes | Lifts connect the first and second floors of the main building, the greenhouse and the Plant Research Centre, and ramps run through the garden — though there are slopes, steps and narrow stretches. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.makino.or.jp/guide/) |
| Outside food allowed | Designated areas only | Picnic areas are marked with a rice-ball symbol on the garden map — spread a mat there, or eat on any bench. Mats are not allowed elsewhere. Indoors, eating is limited to the exhibition hall rest space and the ground-floor lounge of the Plant Research Centre, both air-conditioned. Take your rubbish home. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.makino.or.jp/faq/) |
| English support | English menu & signs | The Makino QR Guide on your own phone gives plant and exhibit commentary in English, Chinese and Korean as well as Japanese, and shows where you are on the map. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.makino.or.jp/faq/) |
| Best-fit ages (guide) | Yes | Free through high school. Fumufumu Hiroba (a Tosa field and a learning meadow), the lawn north of the exhibition hall and the hilltop Konkonyama Hiroba give children room, and one suggested route is a four-hour family circuit. Play equipment, balls, parasols and tents may not be brought in, and picking plants or catching insects is not allowed. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.makino.or.jp/faq/) |
| Stroller access notes | Yes | Free parking for 225 cars and 6 buses; set the car navigation to Chikurin-ji, since some systems end the route early on the garden's own name. From JR Kochi station the only public transport is the MY-Yu sightseeing bus, about 30 minutes, alighting at Makino Botanical Garden Main Gate. You enter by the Main Gate or the Middle Gate — the South Gate is exit-only — and the Middle Gate is nearer the greenhouse and Chikurin-ji. Coin lockers at each ticket window take a returnable ¥100 (75cm high, 30cm wide, 45cm deep). Umbrellas and parasols are lent free. The garden is entirely non-smoking; pets cannot come in, but assistance dogs can. | 2026-08-14 (web) | [source](https://www.makino.or.jp/guide/) |
| Diaper disposal bin | Not checked yet |  |  |  |
| Kids' toilet seat & step stool | Not checked yet |  |  |  |