4 Best Hotels in Shikoku, Japan

This elegant spa resort is the last thing you'd expect to find in the rough-and-tumble fishing town of Muroto Cape; spacious guest rooms all have ocean views, both from the windows and from the in-room tubs. The restaurant specializes in "Kuroshio Italian" cuisine, using fresh Kochi vegetables and fish brought in from the Pacific Ocean. The spa offers a range of treatments using seawater drawn from around the cape. The staff speak some English and provides flawless service. This is definitely a splurge, and there's not much to see or do around the resort, but if you're looking for complete relaxation, you can't do better than here. If you book three days in advance, someone on staff can pick you up at Kochi Airport.

In a small port town on Ikuchi Island, where the Shimanami Kaido enters the outskirts of Onomichi, this luxury ryokan has repurposed a 140-year-old merchant’s estate to create an inviting spot to end your bike tour. Blending modern amenities into the traditional setting, rooms combine elements such as tatami, cedar and granite flooring, cypress baths tubs, and shoji paper screens to create a very sleek, airy feel. Dinner (an optional extra) is served on antique tableware and features locally sourced produce turned into multicourse Japanese meals. The ryokan can also arrange activities such as Zen meditation at a local temple, cycling tours, and boat fishing. It  sometimes offers 20% seasonal discounts.

This Western-style luxury hotel is so spacious and modern that it almost feels out of place in gruff Kochi. This is the place to experience the city's hospitality and escape the hustle and bustle of the streets. There's a lovely café on the ground floor with desserts on display that will tempt you each time you walk past, and slightly expensive but high-end restaurants on the second. The rooms are pleasant and nicely proportioned, and the staff are extremely helpful.

The private onsen bathtubs on each room's balcony here have breathtaking views of the unspoiled valley below. The Japanese-style rooms are luxurious. Follow Route 45 as it curves right and transforms back into the old Route 32; make a left just after the decrepit pink Kazurabashi Hotel, and the lush Iya Bijin will come up on your right.