Hi guys!
I’m planning my next vacation and I’m looking for the best way to tavel to Shikoku coming from outside the country.
Here’s what I got so far:
Regarding my flight, I’m pretty flexible. However, I haven’t found any flight directly to the island so my plan so far is to either fly to Osaka or Tokyo and then I’d either take a domestic flight (from Tokyo) or I would take the train or the bus.
From Tokyo Haneda I’ve found a flight to Tokushima. These seem to be rather cheap in comparison to taking the train.
My other option would be to fly to Osaka and then to take the (local?) train to Tokushima which seems to be the quicker and cheaper option.
However, since I’ve not been to Japan so far, I’m not sure if the planning is correct. I’ve also read online that bus trips tend to be even cheaper in comparison. But, most of these websites have just been in Japanese so I wasn’t able to really plan a trip with those.
My best guess so far is that the Osaka route would be cheaper and quicker, while the Tokyo route would allow me to maybe take a look at the city for a few days before going to Shikoku – while the flight to Tokushima wouldn’t be that much more expensive.
How would you approach it, or is there maybe another option which I haven’t found?
14 comments
If you are going to Tokushima, apart from flying domestic from Tokyo, you can just land at KIX and take the bus or ferry.
Train from Osaka to Tokushima is on a very detour route (since it need to go via Okayama and Takamatsu). The bus is cheap, frequent, and short (~3 hour ride from Osaka station). Should be around 3000-4000 yen.
Alternatively, the cheapest way is for you to land at KIX and buy a Nankai Tokushima Skip Ticket (there’s not much information in English — it cost 2,200 yen/trip), and you can take train to Wakayama Port Station (Wakayamako), and connect onto Nankai Ferry to Tokushima port.
Also Japan Rail Pass will take you to Shikoku easily too.
An alternative route from Osaka to Shikoku is to go to Takamatsu. The JR Sanyo San’in Area Pass covers this. Take the Shinkansen from Shin-Osaka to Okayama then transfer the Marine Liner to Takamatsu. The whole trip only takes two hours. Quite doable even for a day trip.
Rent a car
The easiest / cheapest option to Shikoku would be to fly to Osaka (KIX), take the train to Wakayama port, and take the ferry. The whole trip only costs ¥2200 from kix.
Another option would be to take the train from KIX to OCAT bus terminal and then take the bus from there. It costs a bit more (¥3,000-6,000), but the bus takes an hour less and you have more options, such as Takamatsu, Matsuyama, and Kochi, instead of just Tokushima.
Taking the Shinkansen saves time (1 hr – 2hrs) depending on your destination, but you should plan out your times beforehand and it also costs double the bus fare.
Local train? Don’t do it. I did it once from Himeji, but it’s takes way too long. Plus, it costs more than the bus so I would advise against it, unless you’re a big train fan or something.
You can take a direct ferry from Tokyo to Tokushima actually. 18 hours overnight at 13,000 yen. It’s a famous sea route among backpackers–there’s something exotic exciting about long distance sea travel.
1. Cheapest way: via combination of highway and local buses and use of JR All Shikoku Pass. With this regard flying in to KIX and taking a highway bus from Osaka to Naruto or Tokushima (via Awaji Island) or ferry from Wakayama to Tokushima.
JR Kansai Wide Area Pass or Setouchi Are Pass might come into play with proper planning (and if stopping eg. at Himeji or Okayama).
2. Flexible way: Renting a car may make a lot sense for Shikoku, however, local transport (in Takamatsu/Ehime, Matsuyama, Kochi) might be more efficient.
Instead of checking to buy a ticket from Tokyo to Tokushima, you could check to buy your ticket from your home airport all the way to Tokushima. Yes, you will have a stop elsewhere in Japan, but everything will be on a single ticket (in my opinion it’s better as you are covered if there is a delay and you need a new ticket).
You can even set a tracker in Google flight to advise of price change on a route, so you could track going to Osaka vs doing to Tokushima and make your decision from there. It might not be cheaper than going by bus or ferry, but at least you would have other options to compare.
If you consider staying in Tokyo for a while when entering the country from there, you could as well stay in Osaka for 1 or 2 days. I mean ofc it’s a different experience but wouldn’t it be a pity not to see the city since youre already there?
Also I agree to sharpsilverz and would recommend a rental car. Left side traffic is actually not a big deal. It might sound a bit frightening but it’s not that hard to get used to. However, as far as I know, you need a translation of your drivers license by JAF (3.000yen). Also if you cannot read Kanji (I have never had a rental car in japan) but you might need a navigation device you can actually read. Means you need a smartphone and pocket WiFi. I think the ones in a rental car are japanese only.
There’s no train to Tokushima from Osaka (at least not without going waay out of the way). You can fly to Tokushima Awa Odori Airport, take a highway bus or take the Nankai train and ferry. If you fly in, the airport is a fair ways from Tokushima City and there isn’t a connecting train, but there is a bus. If you take the highway bus, you can take it all the way to the city center. If you take the ferry, you’ll have to catch a city bus or take a taxi into town.
I think your decision should depend in part on how you plan to get around once in Tokushima. There aren’t a lot of train lines like in bigger cities, and the buses aren’t worth it. Unless you plan to only visit the center of Tokushima City, renting a car is probably your best bet. That way you explore things outside the city, like Iya Valley. There are a few rental agencies in the city center and I think there’s one by the airport and one near the highway bus stop in Matsushige. I don’t think there are any near the ferry port. I probably wouldn’t rent the car from the airport in Osaka, though, since the drive is long and full of expensive till roads.
Another factor is the flight schedule for your origin city. Some places only fly direct to Tokyo. In that case, getting a connecting flight to Tokushima might be the best option. Try for Haneda airport. Don’t take the train or bus from Tokyo to Tokushima. If you can fly directly to KIX, the highway bus directly to Tokushima City is a good bet. If your return trip is within 14 days, book a round trip bus ticket and save a few yen.
I don’t recommend taking the ferry if this is your first time in Japan. It involves at least one transfer (always at Izumisano and sometimes at Wakayama-shi) and can be a little confusing. If you decide to take the ferry though, make sure to go to the Nankai desk (not JR) at the airport station and ask for the “skip” ticket to Tokushima. That’s the cheapest ticket. They’ll give you a train ticket and a ferry ticket along with a little timetable. Don’t lose the timetable. You might see other trains coming in that look right, but they might not be the one you need. And pay close attention to the side of the train you exit at Izumisano station. It opens on both sides, but only one side is for the transfer to the Wakayama route. There are announcements, but if you’re not careful, you’ll miss them.
tl;dr: Either fly to Tokushima via Tokyo Haneda and take the airport bus into town, or fly to KIX and take the highway bus. Enjoy Tokushima!
I wouldn’t fly there, I’d fly to Tokyo or Osaka and spend a few days in one or both of those cities and then take the train or bus. Also, I recommend you read Alex Kerr’s *Lost Japan*. He lived in Shikoku and has some wonderful descriptions and suggestions for places to visit.
I’m from Kochi but I’ve been living in America since I was 5 years old. I usually go back every summer since I first moved but have not been able to go since the pandemic. Assuming that you live in America, the route that I usually take is to fly from Dallas or Houston to Tokyo Narita airport and then take the limousine bus to Tokyo Haneda airport (which costs around 3000 yen and takes about 1.5 hours). From my understanding Haneda has all of the domestic flights to less populated areas, so I would normally fly from Haneda to Kochi. Another option that I found cheaper would be to fly from the Los Angeles airport which has a direct flight to Haneda so that you can avoid having to take the limousine bus and change terminals there, where you could fly to any prefecture in Shikoku. Hope this helps!
My family are from the inland sea side of Yamaguchi prefecture and we’ve been to Shikoku a few times. There’s (at least there was in 2014, the last time I was in Shikoku) a nice ferry ride from Yanai to Matsuyama that doesn’t take long and is a good route from Honshu to Shikoku.
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Can you ride a bike?
If yes, and you’re flying in via KIX, consider biking to Shikoku via the Shimanami Kaido. You get to Onomichi from Osaka, rent a bike there, then spend maybe two days exploring the islands along the route. It ends in Imabari (you can drop off your bike here) then from there you can do a loop around Shikoku via buses or trains. It’d be slow-going and you better make sure you get on the right bus on the right time since public transport will be scarce.
To get back to the mainland you can probably go to Hiroshima and stay there for a couple or so days, or go ride on the Shimanami Kaido again. It’s doable as a day ride if you push it but dang that bike ride will be a highlight of your trip.