Best of Shikoku

You will be staying overnight in the city of Osaka. You will be met at Osaka’s Kansai Airport or Osaka’s Itami Airport, and escorted to the hotel in Osaka. We will leave a message for you at the hotel informing you of the meeting time for the next day. If you would prefer to arrive in Tokyo, contact us for the details. No meals included.

Travel: 1-1/2 Hours; Walking: Light

Before breakfast you will prepare your luggage for transfer to Tokushima. Your overnight bag will need to be packed for 2 days and 1 night. You will bring your luggage to the lobby of the hotel for transfer. After breakfast, we will start the day with a welcome/orientation meeting. We begin our adventure by traveling to Tokushima on the island of Shikoku by public bus. Tokushima is best known for its Awa Odori festival and dance held every year in mid-August. Over a million people visit Tokushima during the 4 day festival to watch the eighty-thousand dancers dressed in colorful yukatas and half-moon shaped straw hats who parade through the city waving their hands and shuffling their feet to an insistent two-beat rhythm played on taiko drums, flutes, and shamisen. The festival started in 1587 when the first daimyo (feudal lord) of Tokushima is said to have initiated the celebration on completion of his castle. The people enjoyed it so much that they held the celebration the next year, and so on for the centuries that followed. Since we will not be in Tokushima during the festival, we will do the next best thing by visiting the Awa Odori Kaikan. This museum chronicles the history of the festival and features numerous exhibits relating to the dance. Best of all, we will attend a one hour live performance demonstrating the dances performed during the festival. And then we will enjoy a ride up the ropeway to enjoy the view of Tokushima. Breakfast at the hotel and lunch and dinner at a local restaurant are included.

Travel: 4 Hours; Walking: Light

In addition to the Awa Odori festival, Tokushima is also famous as the start and the end of the 88 Sacred Temples Pilgrimage. These 88 temples were founded by Kobo Daishi, one of the most influential Buddhist Monks in Japanese history. The route of this pilgrimage takes one all the way around the island of Shikoku. If you are walking the entire route, as was done for hundreds of years, the pilgrimage would take about two months. Today, tour buses whisk pilgrims around the entire route in about two weeks. Today we will be a “henro” (pilgrim) for a day by following a section of the pilgrimage and visiting 5 of the 88 temples on our path to enlightenment. Breakfast at the hotel is included.

Travel: 1 1/2 Hours; Walking: Heavy

We will start the day by visiting the Awa Jurobe Yashiki. This small museum documents the local Bunraku, and also includes a short performance. After lunch, we will enjoy a ride on Japan’s only DMV (Dual Mode Vehicle). This small bus is able to navigate both highways and railroad tracks. After checking into the accommodations at Shishikui Onsen, we will enjoy a kaiseki dinner at the accommodation. Breakfast and dinner at the accommodations are included.

Travel: 4 Hours; Walking: Medium

After breakfast, we will drive to Mikurodo cave. It is said that Kobo Daishi, the famous Buddhist monk in the 9th and 10th centuries, meditated here for months until reaching enlightenment. Next we will take a short walk around the Muroto Geopark. After stopping for lunch, we will visit the city of Aki to visit the former Samurai District located next to Aki Castle. The castle is gone now, but a few of the buildings from that time still remain. Next, we will visit Ioki Cave and Gorge. The short, 40 meter cave is lined with fossilized shells embedded in the rocky walls. Erosion from ocean waves carved this cave years ago when the area was surrounded by the sea. The canyon walls that extend beyond the cave are cloaked with a thick carpet o ferns. Later in the afternoon, we will finish our drive to the city of Kochi, where we will be staying for the next two nights. Breakfast and dinner at the accommodations and lunch at a local restaurant.

Travel: 4 Hours; Walking: Heavy

After breakfast, we will visit the nearby Kochi Castle. Kochi Castle is one of the remaining 12 original castles in Japan. A unique feature of Kochi’s castle is that its main tower was not only used for military purposes, but also as a residence. In most other castles, the lords usually resided in separate palace buildings rather than in the castle keep. Next, we will visit Katsuurahama. A famous statue of Kochi’s favorite son, Sakamoto Ryokma stands near the beach. Sakamoto was one of the architects of modern Japan. He was instrumental in negotiating an alliance between the Choshu and Satsuma clans that helped to bring an end to Japan’s fuedal age in 1868. Breakfast at the lodging and lunch at a local restaurant is included.

Travel: 2 Hours; Walking: Heavy

After breakfast we will be driving from Kochi to Cape Ashizuri, making two stops along the way. After lunch, we will walk along the top of the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean for a short time, and visit Kongofuuji temple, temple #38 of the Shikoku Pilgrimage. We will finish the day by driving to Uwajima where we will be staying the night. Breakfast at the accommodations and lunch and dinner at a local restaurant.

Travel Time: 5 Hours Walking: Medium

We will continue to the city of Ozu, a former castle town. Here we will visit the Ganryu Sanso. It is a subtle yet outstanding villa located by the river. The villa was built around 1907, rustic in appearance and traditional in construction methods but artistic in features. It took ten years to design the villa, four years to build it using 9000 artisans. Next we will travel to Uchiko. Now a vestige of traditional, rural Japan, Uchiko was once a prosperous center of wax and paper production. Yokaichi Old Town is Uchiko’s preserved street of houses where most of the town’s attractions can be found. This historical district looks just as it did over 100 years ago, when wealth and prosperity came to Uchiko through its wax trade. We will finish the day by traveling to Matsuyama. Breakfast and dinner at the accommodations.

Travel: 2 Hours and 15 minutes; Walking: Heavy

In the morning, we will tour the Matsuyama Castle. Matsuyama Castle is one of Japan’s twelve “original castles”, i.e. original castles which were built before the post-feudal era (1868). The castle is located on Mount Katsuyama, a steep hill in the city center that provides visitors with a bird’s eye view of Matsuyama and the Seto Inland Sea. Matsuyama Castle was constructed between 1602 and 1628. In 1635, the castle got assigned to a branch of the Matsudaira family, relatives of the ruling Tokugawa, and it remained in their hands until the end of the feudal era. The current three storied castle tower was constructed in 1820 after the original five storied tower was destroyed by lightning. The afternoon is free to enjoy the Dogo Onsen area’s shops and restaurants. Dinner and breakfast at the ryokan.

Travel: 30 minutes; Walking: Medium

After breakfast, we will travel to Oboke. Oboke Gorge is a narrow, steep sided gorge near the entrance to the Iya Valley. Created by the swirling rapids of the Yoshino River, the name means “big dangerous step”. Here we will board the Oboke Gorge Sightseeing boat cruise. On this gentle 30 minute boat ride down the Yoshino River, guides point out interesting rocks, many of which resemble different animals along the way. Later, we will travel to the Kazurabashi Vine Bridge in Iya Valley, a remote mountain valley located in the center of Shikoku. In the past, vine bridges were the only way of crossing the Iya River. History is unclear of their origins. Legends say that Kobo Daishi built the first one, while others say they were first built by Heike refugees hiding in the Iya Valley after their defeat in the Genpei War (1180-1185). The Kazurabashi is one of the few vine bridges that still remain. It has a 45 meter span and is 15 meters above the river. We will overnight in Iya Valley.

Brekaast and dinner at the ryokan is included.

Travel: 3 Hours; Walking: Light

We will start the day by visiting the nearby Kazurabashi Vine Bridge in Iya Valley, a remote mountain valley located in the center of Shikoku. In the past, vine bridges were the only way of crossing the Iya River. History is unclear of their origins. Legends say that Kobo Daishi built the first one, while others say they were first built by Heike refugees hiding in the Iya Valley after their defeat in the Genpei War (1180-1185). The Kazurabashi is one of the few vine bridges that still remain. It has a 45 meter span and is 15 meters above the river. Later we will travel to Takamatsu. Takamatsu (高松) is the capital of Kagawa, Japan’s smallest prefecture. The city’s port used to be the main entry point to Shikoku Island until the opening of the Seto Ohashi Bridge in 1988. The Matsudaira Clan, relatives of the Tokugawa Shogun, controlled Takamatsu and the surrounding area, then known as the Sanuki Province, during most of the Edo Period. Breakfast at the ryokan and dinner at the ryokan included.

Travel: 3 Hours; Walking: Light

After breakfast we will travel to Zentsuji. Zentsuji is one of the Shikoku 88 Temples, but it is also said that Kobo Daishi was born here. Because of that, this temple is considered very special and is always busy with pilgrims and worshippers. Afterwards we will travel to the city of Kotohira. Kotohira is a small town in Kagawa Prefecture, famous for Kompirasan, Shikoku’s most popular shrine. Kompirasan is dedicated to seafaring, and is said to have one of the more challenging shrine approaches in Japan. After visiting Konpira Shrine we will visit the Kanamaruza Kabuki Theater. Kanamaruza Theater is Japan’s oldest surviving, complete kabuki playhouse. From time to time, it still stages kabuki performances, featuring some of the country’s most popular kabuki stars. Later in the day we will return to Takamatsu. Breakfast at the hotel and lunch at local restaurant included.

Travel: 2 1/2 Hours; Walking: Heavy

In the morning, we will travel to Yashima Plateau near Takamatsu. It was the site of a famous battle during the Gempei War in the 12th century between the Taira and Minamoto clans. Here the Taira were defeated in what was to be the last battle before their final destruction. In addition to the many viewpoints providing views of the Seto Inland Sea and the sights related to the battle, we will visit Yashima-ji temple, one of the temples on the 88 Temple Shikoku Pilgrimage. After visiting the top of the plateau, we will visit the Shikoku-mura Open Air Museum. After that, we will enjoy a Sanuki udon lunch. In the afternoon, we will travel to Naruto. Naruto is known for its swirling whirlpools. These can be seen in the Strait of Naruto underneath the Onaruto Bridge connecting Tokushima to Awaji Island. Breakfast and dinner at the ryokan, and lunch at a local restaurant is included.

Travel: 3 Hours; Walking: Medium

In the morning, we will observe the whirlpools. The Naruto whirlpools occur along the coastline, and are created by the large volumes of water moving between the Seto Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean between high and low tide, combined with the unique underwater geography of the narrow strait. In the afternoon, we will travel to Osaka. In the evening we will enjoy an okonomiyaki Sayonara dinner. Breakfast at the ryokan and dinner at a local restaurant.

Travel: 3 Hours; Walking: Light

It’s time to say “sayonara” (Goodbye). You will be told when to meet the sending service. They will take you to the appropriate train station, where you will return on your own to Tokyo’s Narita airport, Tokyo’s Haneda airport or Osaka’s Kansai airport by train on your own. (If you are flying out of Narita or Haneda Airport, be sure to schedule a flight after 15:00 to allow yourself enough time to catch your flight. Breakfast at the ryokan is included.

Travel: 1 1/2 to 4 Hours; Walking: Light