Is there no direct north to south land route from Matsuyama to Kochi? The idea is that I do something outside of the usual central Japan tourist route:
* fly in via Fukuoka, then do a loop – Fukuoka -> Hiroshima -> Shimanami Kaido from Onomichi to Imabari OR ferry directly to Matsuyama -> Kochi -> ? -> Fly out of Fukuoka.
* OR do an open jaw flight – fly in via KIX, then Onomichi -> Shimanami Kaido -> Imabari or Matsuyama -> Kochi -> ? -> Fly out of Fukuoka.
Hyperdia and Google Maps are both failing me (or I’m not entering the right stations in Hyperdia). It’s also possible that there’s really no convenient way of doing this route e.g. I have to backtrack somewhere to get to Fukuoka within a reasonable amount of time (e.g. 3hrs on a train or something) and/or cost (i.e. not flying out from Kochi to Fukuoka via LLC).
Thanks!
7 comments
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If you search Shikoku train map, you’ll see that it’s basically a loop around the island and one line between Kochi and Kagawa prefecture. So if you really want to do it by train and avoid backtracking, then Matsuyama-Kochi would be done with transit in Marugame. Otherwise, it’s possible by bus, 2h30 ride: [https://www.tosaden.co.jp/multilingual/en/bus/express/route.html](https://www.tosaden.co.jp/multilingual/en/bus/express/route.html)
Then, you can continue clockwise around the island to Yawatahama, take a ferry to Beppu and finish back in Fukuoka.
There is also several regional airports around the area, such as Hiroshima and one in each prefectures of Shikoku. Fukuoka only have 4 international destinations outside of East/South Asia, so it might be easier to fly in KIX, NRT or HND and fly to one of those regional airports.
Bus is going to be the best option. Unfortunately, it’s 2.30 hours from Matsuyama to Kouchi.
Most of the time when there seems to be no direct land route, a quick view of topology in that area will make the reason clear immediately. There’s a huge East-West mountain range separating Ehime and Kouchi.
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Nope, there genuinely isn’t a train route that doesn’t take forever. If there’s something you particularly want to see in Kochi City, it might be worth flying out of *Kochi* instead of Fukuoka (assuming it doesn’t change much, not many countries have direct flights to Fukuoka). Alternatively, you could use the Uwajima route, explore eastern Ehime/western Kochi, and then return to Fukuoka via the Yawatahama ferry and Oita prefecture.
Check to see when the bullfights are going on in Uwajima. I haven’t been there for the bullfights but I think I need to see them. Yawatahama has a great sake brewery, I think it was Umebijin but I’m not positive. Also there is a great brewery owned by a retired Canadian diplomat and his wife. He may look Japanese but his English and French are fluent! I think Nishimoto shuzo and the station is Iyo-Miyanoshita.
No clue about your other locations mentioned here, but don’t skip the Shimanami Kaido. It was one of my absolute favourites during my japan trip.
I started in Tokyo, did Kyoto and Osaka and started in Onomichi. Did the cycling in a day. Took the bus from Imabari to Matsuyama and stayed a night in a Ryokan. The next day I visited Dogo Onsen and the Castle and took the ferry to Hiroshima in the afternoon. Every single part of it was incredible. Highly recommended!