Best places to visit in Shikoku

Shikoku

Tokushima

Tokushima is easier to understand as five travel zones than as one compact corner of Shikoku. Tokushima City is the rail-and-bus hub and the home of Awa Odori; Naruto is governed by tide tables, bridge access and boat conditions; the Iya and Oboke valleys require mountain-road or limited-bus planning; Awa and Wakimachi follow the Yoshino River and preserved merchant streets; and the southern coast stretches through Anan, Minami, Mugi and Kaiyo on a slower rail-and-road corridor. A strong trip does not promise a whirlpool, dance performance, vine-bridge crossing or sea-turtle sighting on demand. It checks the responsible operator, separates festival dates from ordinary days, and builds weather alternatives around the connections that cannot be replaced. This guide provides that structure while keeping local neighbourhoods, pilgrimage sites, rivers, wildlife and mountain roads as living environments rather than photographic props.

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Ushitora turret of Takamatsu Castle in Tamamo Park

Shikoku

Kagawa

Kagawa is compact on a map but divided by water, timetables and reservation systems. Takamatsu and Yashima form the urban eastern base; Kotohira and Marugame sit on the mainland rail network; Shodoshima is a large island with several ports and limited buses; Naoshima and Teshima require ferry logic plus time-specific museum planning; and Mitoyo's western coast works best as a separate sunset-and-countryside module. A short road distance never guarantees an easy connection when the next leg is a ferry, a last bus or a booked art entry. This guide treats the Seto Inland Sea as operating infrastructure rather than scenery alone, distinguishes public landscape photography from rights-controlled contemporary art, and keeps weather, seasonal festival pressure and facility closures visible throughout the plan.

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View from Matsuyama Castle over the city

Shikoku

Ehime

Ehime stretches from the island-filled Seto Inland Sea to the deeply indented Uwa Sea and the high spine of the Ishizuchi mountains. Its famous pair—Matsuyama and the Shimanami Kaido—are only an entry point. A balanced journey also reads the merchant and castle towns of Uchiko and Ozu, the living port culture of Uwajima and Nanyo, and the sacred mountain landscape around Saijo. These areas have different rail, bus, ferry and seasonal conditions, so a good itinerary is organized by regional bases rather than by an ambitious list. This guide offers a seven-day framework with official links, conservative cycling and mountain advice, and enough alternatives to remain useful when a boat, ropeway, rural bus or trail does not operate as expected.

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Shikoku

Kochi

Kochi stretches in a long arc between the Shikoku Mountains and the Pacific, so it is better planned as several transport zones than as one compact destination. Kochi City is the urban gateway; the Niyodo basin lies west and north of it; the Shimanto and Hata region occupies the far southwest; Cape Ashizuri and Tatsukushi sit beyond Nakamura; and the eastern railway-and-bus corridor continues through Aki to the Muroto UNESCO Global Geopark. This guide distributes a seven-day journey across those areas while treating typhoons, river rises, surf, landslides and sparse final connections as normal planning concerns. Beaches, rivers and cliffs are never described as safe merely because a photograph shows calm water. Check official weather, transport and local safety notices on the day.

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