We spent 8 days on Shikoku as part of a month long itinerary, mid-April. Sharing my take since it’s one of the areas that doesn’t get much coverage here.
We began in Imabari, where we completed the Shimanami Kaido and picked up our rental car.
From Imabari, we checked out the castle and then drove to Matsuyama. Matsuyama was enjoyable- good food, the castle was nice- good shopping. Ride the chair lift up to the castle- so fun! We didn’t go to Dogo Onsen or the area immediately around it, so I’m sure we missed something interesting. The town itself doesn’t have much architectural character- much was rebuilt following WW2 bombings. We’ve always got to hit up good craft beer spots and enjoyed Bokke.
From Matsuyama, we headed toward Uwajima and stopped in Uchiko and Ozu on the way, but found them both a bit boring.
Uwajima- probably our favorite thing was going to Doi Pearl and learning about pearl cultivation. You should email in advance for a reservation. The owner’s English was really good and he did an excellent job explaining and demonstrating steps of the process. We got to harvest a pearl as part of the experience (and choose a simple setting for it) and you can shop in their store afterward, though I didn’t find their pricing compelling. About 3,000 yen each for the experience.
Checked into our hotel and started walking around to find that the sidewalks of the town roll up by 5PM. We were on a pearl hunt and had hoped that better pricing might be found at the source. Ultimately that wasn’t the case and I was glad I had found a great set for my daughter in Matsuyama. If you go to Uwajima should should definitely go to the roadside station- good food vendors (and a conveyor belt sushi place behind it). Also Matsumoto Pearl has a location here that didn’t show up in google but was the best selection and pricing we found in town on pearls. If you follow google to Matsumoto Pearl it will take you to the farm on the water where they do have some products but it’s definitely not set up as a mainstream retail shop…seemed like their home, with half retail set up downstairs. Oops.
Anyway, some restaurants were open, but even the next day we were surprised how few stores were open in the middle of the day. We walked up to the Uwajima Castle and checked out the sex museum before leaving. Sex museum was interesting- huge collection of everything you could imagine. They didn’t allow phone use so we weren’t able to use google translate to read descriptions of some of the exhibits.
If we weren’t interested in the pearls- Uwajima would have disappointed badly.
From Uwajima, drove to Kochi. I don’t know what to say about Kochi but we were so bored and disappointed. There was great food, but we didn’t realize until we got there just how far away all of the “attractions” noted for Kochi were from downtown. The beach was a 30+ min drive. Transit options weren’t any better. Very little was reasonably walkable outside the downtown core. Our rental car was stowed in one of those towers 2 blocks from our hotel, so it wasn’t feasible to take it in and out for excursions. There were some interesting sake and beer breweries within 45 mins or so but we didn’t want to drink and drive. There was minimal tourist infrastructure- could be a real opportunity in the future to have someone do sake brewery tours etc. In addition the weather was gray or rainy while we were there which didn’t add to the appeal. We also weren’t there on a Sunday for the Sunday market. So, in hindsight I wish we had skipped Kochi.
Next we were on to Iya Valley. We stopped for white water rafting at Happy Raft and it was a great experience, such a beautiful river! We stayed two nights at Iya Valley Onsen, I think our biggest splurge of the trip. It was in a beautiful spot and the food was amazing. We drove around one afternoon to see some of the sights around Iya Valley- scarecrow town, vine bridges, etc. I will say that driving around there is pretty wild- lots of one lane windy roads and you have to watch mirrors placed at curves to see if another car is approaching and then figure out who will stop in a wider place to let the other pass. The river valleys are stunningly beautiful and there are nice views around every curve.
Finally, we drove to Takamatsu. The Ritsui Garden was great though we caught it when not a lot was in bloom. We enjoyed their covered market and had really good Udon.
From there we caught the ferry to Naoshima.
Rental car was a Toyota Aqua (hybrid). I don’t think we reserved a hybrid, just a regular car but this is what they gave us. We drove 535 km- over 300 miles- and used less than a half tank of gas, 3300 yen to refill. Very impressed with the car’s fuel efficiency!
3 comments
Could you please tell me about your experience with renting a car? I have some questions as well on top of that. How did you find driving in japan both in the city and outside of it. Did you use any of the express way passes? If you did, how did it work?
Interesting about your experience in Kochi. I went there almost exactly a year ago as part of a mini Shikoku/Okayama trip (I was living in Osaka at the time) and I actually did not have a car and didn’t try visiting anything outside the city itself. I spent about three days there and absolutely loved it. Basically I was just eating Katsuo and other local specialties, drinking sake, and chatting with the locals and loved every minute of it. I also liked the castle there though it’s certainly not the best in Japan. I’m not trying to say you’re wrong or that your experience isn’t accurate just wanted to share my own different experience. For me it was a great little way off the beaten path charming city.
Re: Kochi
I feel the need to defend it because I’ve been there twice and enjoyed it both times.
First, Kochi is far off the beaten path so of course its tourism infrastructure isn’t as good. It is a city but it’s still considered “inaka” by Japanese standards because it’s relatively isolated and small-ish. In these areas of Japan, patience is key. You’re not going to get anywhere fast and that’s just how it is, so unfortunately, you have to consider that in your planning.
However, the last time I was there, they had something called the “MY-YU Bus”, which was a tourist-oriented bus loop that would have taken you to all of the major tourist sites in the city. Was this not running anymore?
Kochi has one of only 12 original castles in Japan. On Mt. Godai, it has a lovely botanical garden next to Chikurinji Temple, one of the temples of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. It has tons of history related to Sakamoto Ryoma, one of the most famous samurai in Japan. Their specialty food is katsuo no tataki and bread hats. One of my favourite things to do in Kochi was to go to Hirome Market and eat katsuo no tataki cafeteria-style next to other Japanese people who are there to relax, drink some beer, and have fun. If I had had the time, I would have liked to explore the nearby Ryugado Caves.
Kochi is also the place where I’ve always encountered friendly people, so I have great memories there. I remember visiting Chikurinji Temple and juuuust missed the bus to take me back into town. It was something like another 30 minutes before the next bus. It was warm and there was an ice cream stand nearby, so I went and bought some ice cream. The lady chatted me up a bit (as best as possible given the language barrier) and then gave me a little charm for free. I *could* have gotten upset about missing the bus, but it ended up being a lovely experience with an ice cream vendor.
I think it has a lot to offer. You just have to do your research and have some patience.