Sea surface height anomalies measured by inverted echo sounders with pressure gauges (IES/PGs) and TOPEX/POSEIDON are compared at six locations in the northwest Pacific near the Kuroshio where it separates from the Japanese coast. The instruments are positioned along a TOPEX/POSEIDON descending ground track near 35 ¿N, 143 ¿E. Good correlation is found between measurements, with best agreement near the Kuroshio, where the range of sea surface height change is largest. Correlations between IES/PG and TOPEX/POSEIDON sea surface height variations range from 0.70 to 0.97. Tides modeled and removed from the TOPEX/POSEIDON data at the inverted echo sounder sites compare well with tides measured by the IES/PGs. TOPEX/POSEIDON and IES/PG data are complementary in describing mesoscale variability in the Kuroshio region. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1995