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REGIONS OF JAPAN / SHIKOKU
Shikoku
Island art, pilgrimage traditions and deep green valleys across Japan’s smallest main island.
01 / LOCATION
Find your bearings
Shikoku lies south of western Honshu, between the Seto Inland Sea and the Pacific. Takamatsu is on the northern side and Matsuyama farther west; the Iya Valley lies inland in Tokushima. Naoshima belongs to Kagawa Prefecture but is a separate Inland Sea island, reached by boat rather than a mainland road.
WITHIN JAPAN
Shikoku · explore places ↓Shikoku highlighted
Okinawa enlarged in an inset, not to scale.
Takamatsu opens one kind of journey around the Inland Sea; Matsuyama offers another around its castle and Dogo Onsen. Inland valleys need a more deliberate transport plan. Choose the trip's main setting before trying to circle the whole island.
02 / CHOOSE A BASE
Three ways to explore
Showing Takamatsu & Naoshima
01 / ART AND ISLANDS
Takamatsu and the art islands
Takamatsu garden day
Takamatsu is a useful northern-Shikoku base for a garden day and a separate island-art day. Arrive by rail from Okayama across the Seto Ohashi connection, then keep Ritsurin Garden and a Sanuki udon meal together on the city day.
Read the Takamatsu garden, port and udon guide →
An island day & boat crossing
Naoshima requires a boat crossing from Takamatsu or Uno on the Honshu side, making the sea journey part of the island visit. Our suggestion is two nights in Takamatsu for a first visit with one full island day.
Choose your Naoshima focus
On Naoshima, choose either a museum-led plan around Chichu and Benesse House or a village-led plan around Honmura, rather than expecting every art site to fit. Timed museum admission and the return boat should frame the day before smaller stops are added.
Island transport & extra days
Allow time for island buses, walking or cycling between districts. Teshima deserves a separate day instead of an improvised extra crossing.
Plan art and museum visits →
Regional food ideas →
Photo: Mason tang photography, Source · CC BY-SA 4.0.
02 / CITY AND ONSEN
Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen
Arrival in Matsuyama
Read the Matsuyama and Dogo guide for castle routes, bathing choices and local meals →
Matsuyama combines a castle city with Dogo, an onsen neighbourhood connected by tram. Use JR Matsuyama Station for intercity rail arrivals, or arrive by air through Matsuyama Airport.
Castle & Dogo pairing
Start around Okaido for the approach to Matsuyama Castle; reaching the hilltop involves a walk or a ropeway or chairlift followed by walking. Then move to Dogo for its bathhouse streets rather than treating the two areas as one compact attraction.
Suggested pace & local stops
We suggest one night and two partial days for the castle-and-Dogo pairing, or two nights if you want museums and a slower bathing stay. The Shiki Museum adds context to the city's haiku tradition; Dogo Park is another option for time outside. Mikan juice provides a local taste between visits.
Choose the base and station
Choose your accommodation around the evening you want: central-city dining and transport, or Dogo's bathing neighbourhood. JR Matsuyama and Matsuyama City Station are different stations, so use the full name when planning arrival.
03 / MOUNTAIN INTERIOR
Iya and the mountain interior
Arrival & mountain transport
The Iya Valley needs a mountain-transport plan, not city-style sightseeing by successive short walks. Oboke Station is a useful rail gateway; local buses continue toward Kazurabashi Yumebutai, followed by a walk to the Iya vine bridge.
Bridge, waterfall & gorge
Pair that bridge with nearby Biwa Waterfall. Oboke Gorge is another stop in the wider area, while the deeper valley's Ochiai village and double vine bridges require additional travel rather than an extension of the same stroll.
Suggested pace without a car
Our suggested starting plan is one night near Oboke or in Iya, with one full sightseeing day. Without a car, build the day around a small number of bus-served places and identify the return connection before leaving the station; a taxi arranged in advance can support a more dispersed route.
Roads & a focused route
Drivers should allow for narrow mountain roads. Choose either the bridge-and-gorge introduction or a deeper-valley day, leaving time to enjoy the scenery instead of chasing every viewpoint.
Plan rural transport →
Nature and outdoor trips →
Photo: ume-y — Iya Kazurabashi-1.jpg · CC BY 2.0.
More places worth building a trip around
Choose a few extra stops to suit your route and interests.
Kochi: castle history and a shared-table meal
Kochi deserves a place alongside northern Shikoku’s garden and island routes. Explore the surviving historic keep at Kochi Castle, then sit down for a meal at Hirome Market: shared tables and local dishes such as seared bonito bring the city’s sociable side into view. A Sunday visit can also include the long-running street market, when it is operating.
Naruto: watch the strait move
At Naruto, the attraction is the movement of the water beneath the great bridge. Choose the Uzu-no-michi walkway for a high view through its observation windows, or a sightseeing boat for a water-level experience. Whirlpools depend on the tide, so check the recommended viewing window before arranging the rest of the day; a bridge view alone does not guarantee a whirlpool spectacle.
Kotohira: a shrine climb and an old theatre
Kotohira turns the approach into part of the experience: shopfronts and places for udon give way to the stone steps climbing toward Kotohiragu. The main shrine involves 785 steps; decide whether that climb suits your party rather than assuming the whole visit is level. Nearby Kanamaruza adds a different cultural focus with its historic kabuki playhouse.
Shodoshima: gorge scenery and island flavours
Shodoshima is a different kind of island day from Naoshima’s museums. Its appeal combines Kankakei’s wooded gorge scenery with olive growing, somen noodles and traditional soy-sauce production. Choose a landscape-led outing or a food-and-craft route, and match the port and island transport to those stops. The island is too dispersed to treat every attraction as a short walk from the ferry.
Shimanto River: slow down in western Kochi
The Shimanto River offers a quieter outdoor stay among wooded hills, riverside settlements and low-water bridges built without substantial railings. Choose a guided paddle, a sightseeing boat or a manageable riverside cycle instead of trying to see the whole river. It belongs in a western-Kochi itinerary of its own; river conditions and safe access matter more than recreating a photograph of a bridge crossing.
Check official access and seasonal arrangements before travelling.
03 / OUR COLLECTION
More trip planning
Use the three plans above to choose between a city-and-island trip, Matsuyama and Dogo, or the Iya mountain interior. Match your base to the transport pattern before combining areas. For a different Tokushima experience, our Awa Odori guide compares street dancing, outdoor stands and indoor performances.
Compare another region in Destinations, or use the trip-planning guide to combine this area with the rest of your route.
04 / PLAN THE NEXT STEP
Build your route
Choose your base first and leave time for meals, luggage and arrival-day delays.
Plan transport between places →
Choose food and dining experiences →
Build a manageable itinerary →
Regional planning updated 27 October 2026. Day allocations are editorial suggestions; travel-day operations and local conditions can change.
Places, experiences and practical ways to get there.
Map data and licence
Map: original Japan Trip Info rendering from prefecture geometry by Fabio Crisci / open-data-jp-prefectures-geojson. Copyright (c) 2019 Fabio Crisci. MIT licence. Okinawa is shown in an inset; the locator is not a route map.
The MIT License (MIT) Copyright (c) 2019 Fabio Crisci
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Takamatsu guide entrance: Sei F · CC BY-SA 2.0.
Kochi entrance: Suicasmo · CC BY-SA 4.0.
