Must-see attractions in Shikoku

  • Tokushima, Shikoku, Japan, North-East Asia, Asia

    Nagoro

    Shikoku

    If you're travelling along Rte 439, it's not a matter of 'blink and you'll miss it', but blink, and blink again, because you may have a hard time…

  • Kazurabashi vine bridge in Japan's Iya Valley

    Oku Iya Ni-jū Kazura-bashi

    Shikoku

    Away from the crowds and tour buses, the spectacular Oku Iya Ni-jū Kazura-bashi are two secluded vine bridges hanging side by side high over the river…

  • Detail from Konpira Jinja, a shrine on Mount Konpira in Shikoku, Japan.

    Konpira-san

    Kagawa Prefecture

    Konpira-san or, more formally, Kotohira-gū, was originally a Buddhist and Shintō temple dedicated to the guardian of mariners. It became exclusively a…

  • Japan, Kochi Prefecture, Kochi Castle

    Kōchi-jō

    Shikoku

    Kōchi-jō is one of just a dozen castles in Japan to have survived with its original tenshu-kaku (keep) intact. The castle was originally built during the…

  • Cherry blossom and the Matsuyama Castle, Shikoku, Japan, Asia

    Matsuyama-jō

    Ehime Prefecture

    Perched on top of Mt Katsuyama in the centre of town, the castle dominates the city, as it has for centuries. Matsuyama-jō is one of Japan's finest…

  • Naruto, Japan - April 2, 2018: On the grounds of Ryozenji, temple number 1 of Shikoku-henro pilgrimage; Shutterstock ID 1264858930; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Vastine; GL account no.: 65050; Netsuite department name: Online Editorial; Full Product or Project name including edition: BiA Imagery

    Temple One: Ryōzen-ji

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    Ryōzen-ji is Temple One of the 88 Sacred Temples of Shikoku pilgrimage. It is called Temple One because it was the first that temple pilgrims came to…

  • Ritsurin-kōen

    Kagawa Prefecture

    One of the most beautiful gardens in the country, Ritsurin-kōen dates from the mid-1600s and took more than a century to complete. Designed as a walking…

  • Temple 23: Yakuō-ji

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    The major attraction of Hiwasa, Yakuō-ji, Temple 23, is the last temple in Tokushima Prefecture. Yakuō-ji dates back to the year 726, and is famous as a…

  • Temple 75: Zentsū-ji

    Kagawa Prefecture

    Zentsū-ji, Temple 75 of the sacred 88, is the largest of the temples – most of the other 87 could fit in its car park. This is where Kōbō Daishi was born,…

  • Temple 45: Iwaya-ji

    Ehime Prefecture

    Pilgrims will be hoofing it through Shikoku's mountainous interior to get here, but you'll want your own wheels if you're not a henro to get to the…

  • Temple 66: Unpen-ji

    Kagawa Prefecture

    Unpen-ji, aptly meaning 'Temple of the Surrounding Clouds', is the highest of the 88 Temples at 900m. Surprisingly, it actually sits in Tokushima…

  • Yōkaichi Historic District

    Ehime Prefecture

    Uchiko's picturesque and protected main street has a number of interesting buildings, many of which now serve as museums, souvenir stalls, craft shops,…

  • Shikoku-mura

    Kagawa Prefecture

    About 500m north of Yashima station, Shikoku-mura is an excellent village museum that houses old buildings transported here from all over Shikoku and…

  • Marugame-jō

    Kagawa Prefecture

    This small castle dates from 1597. It took five years to build and is one of only 12 castles in Japan to have its original wooden donjon intact. It's…

  • Sea Turtle Museum Caretta

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    Dedicated to sea turtles, the museum's name – Caretta – comes from the scientific name for the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. Inside, there's a lot of turtle info…

  • Kōchi Castle Museum of History

    Shikoku

    This new museum (opened in 2017), celebrating the history of Kōchi castle, is an architectural achievement in its own right. Entry is free to the museum…

  • Rise & Win Brewing Co. BBQ & General Store

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    Got to love this place. Everything at Rise & Win's brewery restaurant in Kamikatsu is recycled from old town buildings, from the incredible spectacle of…

  • Temple 88: Ōkubo-ji

    Kagawa Prefecture

    The last of the Shikoku pilgrimage's 88 Temples sits in the mountains in the southeast of Kagawa Prefecture and is well worth a visit. It's fitting that…

  • Temple 24: Hotsumisaki-ji

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    This gorgeous hilltop temple is considered one of the most important on the 88 Temple Pilgrimage because it is here at Muroto that Kōbō Daishi achieved…

  • Temple 51: Ishite-ji

    Ehime Prefecture

    East of Dōgo Onsen is Ishite-ji, the 51st of the 88 Temples and one of the most impressive in the circuit. Ishite means 'stone hand' and comes from a…

  • Ōzu-jō

    Ehime Prefecture

    One of Japan's most authentically reconstructed castles, Ōzu-jō and its outlying buildings are original survivors from the Edo period. The castle is an…

  • Taga-jinja & Sex Museum

    Ehime Prefecture

    Once upon a time, many Shintō shrines had a connection to fertility rites. Of those that remain, Taga-jinja is one of the best known. The grounds of the…

  • Uzu-no-michi Viewing Walkway

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    For an intriguing bird's-eye view of the whirlpools, you can walk out along this breezy 450m-long walkway hanging underneath the Naruto Bridge, which puts…

  • Bizan

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    At the foot of Bizan, the 280m-high summit at the southwestern end of Shinmachibashi-dōri, the Bizan Ropeway whizzes you to the top for fine city views. A…

  • Temple 38: Kongōfuku-ji

    Shikoku

    The grounds of Temple 38, set on dramatic Ashizuri-misaki, feel incredibly tropical and consist of a diverse array of small temples, statues, gardens and…

  • Sunday Market

    Shikoku

    Our favourite street market in Shikoku is 300 years old and takes place every Sunday along 1.3km of Ōte-suji, the main road leading to the castle. Around…

  • Kanamaru-za

    Kagawa Prefecture

    This is Japan's oldest kabuki playhouse, though it had a lengthy stint as a cinema before falling out of use. Nowadays it has sporadic shows, but can be…

  • Otsuka Museum of Art

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    One from the 'only in Japan file', this incredible 'ceramic board masterpiece museum' features more than 1000 replicas of priceless Western art on ceramic…

  • Temple 31: Chikurin-ji

    Shikoku

    At Godaisan in the east of the city, you'll find Chikurin-ji, Temple 31 of the 88. The extensive grounds feature a five-storey pagoda and thousands of…

  • Temple 85: Yakuri-ji

    Kagawa Prefecture

    Half the fun of visiting Yakuri-ji may be riding the retro cable car up and down to the temple, but this is a spectacular place in its own right, sitting…

  • Ino Japanese Paper Museum

    Shikoku

    Discover the history and development of washi (Japanese paper) at Ino, about 10km west of downtown Kōchi. There are demonstrations of nagashizuki…

  • Temple 21: Tairyū-ji

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    While most henro over the past 1200 years have struggled up steep mountain paths to get to Tairyū-ji, these days this magnificent mountaintop temple is…

  • Old Town

    Ehime Prefecture

    Ōzu's old town is well worth a stroll, with a number of Meiji-era houses plus Akarenga-kan, a red-brick building constructed in 1901, which was originally…

  • Peeing Boy Statue

    Shikoku

    The Iya Valley's famous statue of a boy peeing into the gorge is turning 50! Put in place in 1968, 'Peeing Boy' has been photographed urinating into the…

  • Chūō-kōen

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    Northeast of the train station is Tokushima's central park, Chūō-kōen, a lovely place for a stroll. You'll find the scant ruins of Tokushima-jō (Tokushima…

  • Awa Jūrobe Yashiki Puppet Theatre

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    For hundreds of years, puppet theatre thrived in the farming communities around Tokushima. Performances can still be seen here, in the former residence of…

  • Ryūga-dō

    Shikoku

    This popular cave has some interesting stalactites and stalagmites, and traces of prehistoric habitation. The route gets quite steep in places. Visitors…

  • Naruto-kōen

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    Naruto Park sits at the Shikoku end of the Naruto bridge and has observation platforms from where you can view the Naruto straits, the bridge and the…

  • Ōnaruto-hashi

    Tokushima & the Anan Coast

    Linking Shikoku to Awaji-shima, impressive Ōnaruto-hashi was completed in 1985. Later, when the world's longest suspension bridge, the Akashi Kaikyō…

  • Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum

    Kagawa Prefecture

    Born in Los Angeles to a Japanese poet and an American writer, Noguchi (1904–1988) set up a studio and residence here in 1970. Today the complex is filled…