Shikoku

From MaxTravelz

Asia : East Asia : Japan : Shikoku

Shikoku (四国) is an oft-forgotten island in Japan. The smallest of Japan's Big Four, it lies to the south of Honshu. The island is thought of as a rural backwater, with few must-see attractions, but a visit there can wash away those doubts; particularly the mountainous inner regions offer some good hiking and a glimpse of the elusive Real Japan. It is also the home of the 88 Temple Pilgrimage of the Shingon sect of Buddhism.

Contents

Regions

Vine bridge across the Iya Valley
Enlarge
Vine bridge across the Iya Valley

Shikoku literally means "four lands", and it indeed consists of four prefectures, conveniently arranged around the compass points. Each prefecture also has an old provincial name, still often found in place names and listed in parenthesis below.

Cities

  • Takamatsu — the largest city in Shikoku
  • Matsuyama — better known for neighboring Dogo Onsen
  • Tokushima — home of the Awa Odori festival in August
  • Uwajima — (barely) on the tourist map due to an interesting fertility shrine and wrestling bulls

Other destinations

Understand

Shikoku is a primarily agricultural island, renowned for its citrus fruits.

Talk

Shikoku is far enough off the beaten track that some Japanese ability, while not absolutely necessary, will come in handy. Some of Shikoku's dialects, notably Tosa-ben spoken in Kochi, are famously incomprehensible to outsiders.

Get in

By plane

Prefectural capitals Takamatsu, Matsuyama, Kochi and Tokushima all have small regional airports. Takamatsu fields a few flights a week to Seoul, but for any other international destinations, you will have to connect via Tokyo or Kansai.

By train

Shikoku is not connected to the Shinkansen network, but there are frequent connections from Okayama on Honshu to Takamatsu and from there on throughout the island.

By bus

If coming from Kansai or eastern parts of Japan, buses through Awaji Island are the fastest way of getting to Shikoku.

By boat

There are numerous ferries that run to Shikoku that can be taken from major cities like Kobe and Hiroshima. From Hiroshima to Matsuyama expect to spend 2700 yen. The ferry takes around 2 and a half hours.

Get around

By train

The JR train network connects the larger towns together fairly well, but regular trains are slow and expresses are expensive. The main lines are:

There are some other minor lines with infrequent trains. Some parts of the JR network, notably the southern segment from Kubokawa to Sukumo, have been split off to the private Tosa Kuroshio Railway company.

By bus

Buses fill in the gaps in the train network and are the only means of transport in areas like Cape Ashizuri and the Iya Valley. Schedules are sparse and prices are high.

On foot

Serious pilgrims may choose to complete the 88 Temple Circuit (see Do) on foot.

See

Do

Buy

  • The most sought after present or "omiyage" after a visit to Shikoku is Udon Noodles. Fresh noodles can be purchased at almost any souvenir shop.
  • Gifts related to the traditional "Henro," or Pilgrim and their outfit unique to Shikoku are also popular, including a "Henro" Hello Kitty cell phone charm. Available in Shikoku souvenir shops, or any airport in Japan (for those travelers who forgot to get "omiyage" while on their trip.)

Eat

There aren't any "Shikokuan" foods per se, but each prefecture has something that they're famous for:

  • Ehime: Sweet mikan mandarin oranges
  • Kagawa: Sanuki udon noodles
  • Kochi: Bonito (Katsuo), a type of small tunafish
  • Tokushima: Sudachi a little smooth green citrus fruit, like a lime

Drink

Sleep

Get out

External links