SHIKOKU TRIP | JAPAN.GG
Shikoku is the part of Japan that rewards the detour. Four prefectures along one island — an ancient gorge valley, a Pacific coast that runs to open cliffs, a castle city beside Japan's oldest hot spring, and an island that became one of the world's great art destinations. The 88-temple pilgrimage connects all four.
Shikoku Must-See: 📍 Iya Valley gorge. 📍 Naruto Strait whirlpools. 📍 Awa Odori festival.
Iya Valley: The gorge drops 200 metres into a river the colour of old jade. Three vine bridges — kazurabashi — cross it the way they have for 800 years, rebuilt from mountain vines on a regular cycle.
Naruto & Awa Odori: At Naruto Strait, whirlpools up to 20 metres wide form where the Pacific and Seto Inland Sea collide. In August, Awa Odori fills Tokushima with 1.3 million visitors and four days of Japan's defining street festival. The 88-temple Ohenro circuit starts at Temple 1.
Shikoku Must-See: 📍 Niyodo River. 📍 Cape Ashizuri. 📍 Hirome Market katsuo.
The Wild Coast: Cape Ashizuri is sheer white cliffs above open ocean, with a pilgrimage temple at the edge. The Niyodo River is measured as the clearest river in Japan — the water reads a blue so saturated it doesn't look real from above.
Kochi Castle & Katsuo: One of twelve original Edo-period fortresses still standing in Japan. Hirome Market serves katsuo tataki — bonito seared over rice straw — at communal tables, daily. Go at lunch and you eat alongside people who drove two hours for it.
Shikoku Must-See: 📍 Matsuyama Castle. 📍 Dogo Onsen. 📍 Shimanami Kaido.
Matsuyama & Dogo: Matsuyama Castle sits on a 132-metre hill — one of twelve original Edo-period fortresses in Japan, unmodified. Fifteen minutes from the base is Dogo Onsen, the oldest hot spring in continuous operation in the country. The 1894 bathhouse still takes guests.
Shimanami Kaido: 70 kilometres across six Seto Inland Sea islands via suspension bridges, ending at Onomichi in Hiroshima. Rental bikes are at every island. The full crossing takes six to eight hours — one of the great cycling routes in Asia.
Shikoku Must-See: 📍 Naoshima island. 📍 Kotohira-gu shrine. 📍 Ritsurin Garden.
Naoshima: Benesse spent thirty years turning a farming island into a permanent art institution. The Chichu Art Museum is buried underground, lit by natural light only, with permanent works by Monet, James Turrell, and Walter De Maria.
Sanuki Udon & Kotohiragu: Kagawa is called Udon Prefecture — shops open at 6am to lines before the door unlocks. Kotohira-gu demands 785 stone steps to the main hall. Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu takes two hours to walk and earns them.
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