Top Reasons to Visit

Top Reasons to Visit

Explore the Scenery

Raft down the river Yoshinogawa, hike up craggy Mt. Tsurugi, and swim in Kochi's crystal seas. Walk through Takamatsu's traditional Ritsurin-koen, Kochi's botanical gardens, the Noguchi sculpture park at Yashima, and an island of art on Naoshima. Best of all, bicycle across the Seto Inland Sea on bridges stretching all the way to Honshu!

Do as the Natives Do

Roll up your sleeves and shine your dancing shoes—discover Japan by doing. Try a martial art at Matsuyama's Budokan, make soba noodles in the Iya Valley, dye fabrics and fingers near Tokushima, and learn a two-step or two in time for the summer dances.

Festival Frenzy

Festivals large and small mark every weekend between April and October. Mud festivals, fire festivals, lantern festivals, and boat festivals lead up to bigger events—battles between gargantuan mobile shrines, mountain-top fireworks displays, demon-bull parades, and—biggest in the nation—the summer dance festivals Yosakoi and Awa Odori.

Get Personal

You might be the first foreigner this old farmer has ever spoken with, so make his day! He'll make yours, too, and you're guaranteed a good photo, a great story, and an armful of juicy, hand-picked mikans.

The Real Japan

You'll hear a hundred times that Shikoku is "the real Japan," but decide the reason for yourself: is it time-forgotten towns like Uchiko and Nishi-Iya, unique landmarks like Dogo Onsen or Kompira-san, or just the untold acres of rice?