Shikoku
Contents |
Geography
Shikoku is the smallest of Japan's Big Four islands, it lies to the south of Honshu. Particularly the mountainous inner regions offer some good hiking and a glimpse of the elusive Real Japan. It is also the home of the 88 Temple Pilgrimage of the Shingon sect of Buddhism.
Climate
"Seto Inland Sea region"
A part of Tokushima, the whole part of Kagawa, and the northern part of Ehime, which faces the Seto Inland Sea, belongs to the Seto Inland Sea system climate, which is a warm weather with not much rain. Comparatively to the rest of Japan, the typhoon doesn't hit the area directly, which brings the prosperity of cultivating olives and oranges. On the other hand, the large-scale rivers flow into the Pacific Ocean or the Kii Channel so the area is not blessed with water resources, which caused many shortage of water. Because of this, many irrigation ponds like Manno pond has been made.
"Pacific Ocean area"
Most of Tokushima, Ehime's southern part, and the whole part of Kochi, which faces the Pacific Ocean, belongs to the Pacific Ocean climate. Because of the Kuroshio Current that flows the coast of the Pacific Ocean, the area is warm, Spring comes earlier, and the first announcement of the blooming of cherry blossoms frequently happens to be in Kochi city or Uwajima city. Therefore, especially in Kochi prefecture, they make use of the warm climatesuch as cultivating the out-of-season crops, and makeing training camps for baseball.
Economy
Prefectures
Major cities and towns
Kochi — home of "Yosakoi" and many local sights
Matsuyama — best known for the venerable hot springs of Dogo Onsen, inspiration of princes and poets
Takamatsu — the largest city in Shikoku
Tokushima — home of the Awa Odori festival in August
Uwajima — (barely) on the tourist map due to an interesting fertility shrine and wrestling bulls
Naruto — the east gate of Shikoku.
Other destinations
Cape Ashizuri — a scenic cape at the southernmost point of Shikoku
Dogo Onsen — Japan's oldest hot spring
Iya Valley — a remote but beautiful mountain valley
Kotohira — the site of the Kompira-san shrine
Mount Ishizuchi — the tallest peak in Shikoku
Oboke and Koboke — rafting on the Yoshino river
Things to do
88 Temple Pilgrimage — a famous but exhausting 1,647-kilometer hike around the entire island
The white-water rafting in the Yoshinogawa river around Oboke and Koboke is arguably the best in Japan.
See the Original Japanese Castles. There are 12 original castles left in Japan and Shikoku is home to 4 of them. Marugame Castle in Kagawa Prefecture, Kochi Castle in Kochi Prefecture, Matsuyama Castle and Uwajima Castle in Ehime Prefecture.
Specialties
Bocchan Dumplings
Katsuo-no-Tataki (lightly roasted bonito served with grated radish)
Dorome Ryori (Fried Courses)
Sanuki Udon (Noodles)
Sudachi Citron
Places to stay
ANA Hotel Matsuyama
Hotel Dormy in Takamatsu
ANA Hotel Clement Takamatsu
Richmond Hotel
Nishitetsu Inn Kochi
Hotel Sunroute Tokushima
Getting in
If coming from Kansai or eastern parts of Japan, buses through Awaji Island are the fastest way of getting to Shikoku.
There are numerous ferries that run to Shikoku that can be taken from major cities like Kobe and Hiroshima. From Hiroshima to Matsuyama city expect to spend 2700 yen. The ferry takes around 2 and a half hours.
Getting around
The JR train network connects the larger towns together fairly well, but regular trains are slow and expresses are expensive.
The main lines are:
- JR Yosan Line (予讃線) on the west coast, from Okayama to Takamatsu and Uwajima via Matsuyama
- JR Dosan Line (土讃線) across the center of the island, from Okayama and Takamatsu to Kubokawa via the Oboke gorge (near Iya Valley) and Kochi
- JR Kōtoku Line (高徳線) on the east coast, from Takamatsu to Tokushima
See also
Links
Some content adapted from Wikipedia.org.
