Hello, would like some advice on my upcoming trip to Shikoku from 26Nov – 5Dec. Will be renting a kei car probably for the 2 of us for the trip. Understand that the planned itinerary might be too packed considering the driving distances between them, would drop one or two things if time is insufficient. Would also appreciate any food recommendations.
Day 1 (Driving from Okayama and stay in Takamatsu)
- Takamatsu (Shodoshima) to catch the autumn leaves at Kankakei + ropeway (thinking of renting an ebike or car)
- Angel road
- Olive park
- Soy sauce museum
- Movie studio and monkey zoo if time permits
Day 2 (Driving from Takamatsu to Iva Valley)
- Oku-Iya double vine bridge
- Nagoro Scarecrow Village
- Biwa waterfall
- Main vine bridge
- Zipline
- Oboke and Koboke gorge
- Peeing statue
- Stay at Iya Onsen ryokan
Day 3 (Driving from Iya Valley to Kochi)
- UFO line road (if open? read that it might be closed End November)
- Nikobuchi
- Yasui Gorge
- Kochi Castle and Katsurahama beach if time permits
- Stay at Kochi
Day 4 (Driving from Kochi to Shikoku Karst)
- Chikurinji
- Ryugado cave
- Aso submersible bridge
- Nakatsu gorge
- Stay at Hoshifuru Village Tengu
Day 5 (Driving from Shikoku Karst to Ozu)
- Explore Shikoku Karst
- Nametoko gorge
- Uwajima Castle
- Stay at Ozu
Day 6 (Driving from Ozu to Matsuyama)
- Ozu castle
- Garyu Sanso
- Ozuinariyama Park
- Uchiko
- Amago-no-sato ("catch" and eat fish)
- Shirataki Park if time permits
- Shimonada Station Sunset
- Dogo Onsen
- Stay in Matsuyama
Day 7 (Driving from Matsuyama to Takamatsu)
- Ōkunoshima (9am-12pm)
- Matsuyama Castle
- Ishiteji Temple
- Ishizuchi Jinja
- Either Minetopia Besshi or Omogokei Gorge (seems like by then peak autumn leaves are already over, do you think still worth visiting?)
- Sanuki Manno Park (night illumination) – seems like the park is closed every Tuesday, the 2 days I will be in Takamatsu hence the rush back
- Stay in Takamatsu
Day 8 (exploring Takamatsu)
- Ritsurin Koen
- Takamatsu Castle Park
- Kotohira-gu Shrine
- Marugame Castle
- Takaya Shrine
- Chichibugahama Beach
- Mt Yashima night view
- Stay in Takamatsu
Day 9 (Takamatsu to Tokushima)
- Ryozen-ji Temple
- Whirlpool (seems like December is to sight them, the smaller boat is fully booked, do you think its worth it to take the bigger boat or just watch from bridge?)
- Tokushima Castle Ruins
- Mount Bizan (sunset)
- Awaodori Kaikan
- Stay in Tokushima
Day 10 (from Tokushima to Osaka)
- Returning the car to Osaka, do not really know what to do in Awaji along the way, Googled some places
- Uzu no Oka Onaruto Bridge Memorial Museum
- Hompukuji Water Temple
- Hyogo Prefecture Awaji Hanasajiki (anything to see at this time of the year?)
- Nijigen no Mori
- Shiawaseno Pancake Awajishima Terrace
Some questions.
Ebike or car on Shodoshima? Are the roads on the island steep? Does it take effort to cycle around?
Road closures information. Any kind soul can direct me to a website showing road closures during winter? Read online that UFO line, Shikoku Karst and Iva Valley might have road closures from end November. If anyone has experienced it before, does that mean that I cant access the ryokans at Iya Valley/ Tengu highlands? Doesn't make sense when you still can make reservations in Dec/Jan/Feb.
Snow tires? Will actually be renting the car from Osaka but somehow all the cars are fully booked when toggling between different outlets in Osaka, should I drop them an email?
by jon12555
