When to go & weather

Weather

Shikoku has amazing variations of climate for a small island. Summer can be stiflingly hot, while in winter the higher peaks are snow-capped. Typhoons regularly pound the Pacific coast from June until October. The village of Monobe in Kōchi-ken prefecture claims to have the highest rainfall levels in Japan, while the protected northern side of the island often suffers water shortages. The landscape of Kagawa-ken is pockmarked with tame-ike (water-collection ponds).