Shikoku Tours

Unique Accommodation of Shikoku

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8

days

¥338,000

starting price

4

People max.

Matsuyama

starting place

Pricing

Gallery

Overview

Shikoku has some wonderful accommodation – places that alone are worth travelling to see, with heartwarming hospitality. This tour takes you to all four prefectures of Shikoku, staying in the most characterful kominka and ryokan accommodation. This is one of our more relaxed tours – at two of the places, you stay for two nights, allowing you to settle in and enjoy the feeling of being at home.

The tour visits many of the main attractions of the island, as well as some lesser known treats. You visit castles, gardens, mountain hamlets, and historic towns. Both the Seto Inland Sea and the Pacific Ocean are on the itinerary. You visit shrines and temples, sake breweries and tea houses. There are many opportunities to meet and talk to the people of Shikoku.

You travel in a comfortable minibus. There’s no guide, but your driver speaks English. The private vehicle allows you the flexibility to change the pace and saves you lugging luggage.

This private tour can be booked year round at your own convenience.

Who is this tour for?

This tour is for groups of two to four people. It’s ideal for families. The tour makes a good introduction to Shikoku (and Japan for that matter). Some of the places visited can only be accessed by climbing a lot of steps, so you’ll need to be reasonably fit.

Price

From

¥598,000 / person with 2
¥448,000 / person with 3
¥398,000 / person with 4
¥338,000 / person with 5

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Itinerary

Your private vehicle picks you up in Matsuyama and takes you to explore the Shimanami Kaidō, crossing the dramatic bridges between the islands. On Ōmishima, you visit one of Japan’s most celebrated Shintō shrines. Tonight’s accommodation is Japanese-Western fusion ryokan, with an onsen rotenburo overlooking the Kurushima Straits. It’s known for its excellent seafood and friendly staff. Dinner is included.

Included: Dinner
After breakfast (included), you drive to Matsuyama, where you visit the hilltop castle with its amazing view over the city. From here, you drive to Uchiko, with its lovely historic streets of merchant’s houses. Here you can try making washi paper by hand. You can choose to stay in a traditional home in town, or an old farmhouse out in the countryside. Dinner (included) is served at your accommodation.

Included: Breakfast, Dinner
After breakfast (included), you go to nearby Ōzu and visit Garyū Sansō, a villa whose elegant décor tells a story. Next stop is the Ehime Museum of History and Culture with its engaging recreations of Shikoku throughout the ages. Then the journey takes you to the idyllic Shimanto River where you embark on a covered boat to glide over the calm, reflective water. You stay at a luxurious ryokan on a hill above the river mouth where the Shimanto flows into the Pacific. Dinner (included) is at your accommodation.

Included: Breakfast, Dinner
After breakfast (included), you explore the southwestern coastline of Kōchi, with its dramatic rock formations, plunging cliffs, and pilgrimage temples. For a change of pace, you can try your hand at preparing Kōchi’s signature cuisine, katsuo no tataki. Lunch (included) is what you make. In the evening, you visit a popular local izakaya for dinner (not included). Your accommodation is the same as Day 3.

Included: Breakfast
After breakfast (included), you travel along the coast of the vast Kōchi bay, visiting the fishing port of Kure with its traditional market. From here you drive into Kōchi city and visit pilgrimage temple No. 31 Chikurin-ji, a lovely leafy temple with a tall red pagoda. Then you head into Tokushima Prefecture, to stay at a remote farmhouse on the mountain slopes of Oku-Iya. If you like, you can help your hosts with chopping wood, harvesting vegetables, and preparing meals. Dinner (included) is at your accommodation.

Included: Breakfast, Dinner
After breakfast (included), you tour the sites of Iya from your base at the farmhouse, visiting the famed vine bridge, exploring the mountainside hamlet of Ochiai, and the deep gorge at Ōboke. You stay another night at the farmhouse. Dinner (included) is at your accommodation.

Included: Breakfast, Dinner
After breakfast (included), you say farewell to your hosts in Oku-Iya and head into Kagawa Prefecture, to Kotohira. Here you climb the many steps to Konpira Shrine, visit the Kinryō Sake Museum, and have fun making Kagawa’s favourite food, udon noodles. Tonight’s accommodation is a traditional townhouse in Tadotsu, which was once a geisha teahouse. Dinner (included) is at a local restaurant.

Included: Breakfast, Dinner
After breakfast (included), you visit Ritsurin, one of Japan’s most celebrated gardens, where the feudal lords of Takamatsu once took their leisure. Here you can enjoy tea overlooking one of the many lakes. From here, you head to Naruto, taking a boat out into the famous whirlpool under the massive Naruto Straits Bridge. The tour ends in Tokushima city.

Included: Breakfast

Highlights

Matsuyama

The largest city in Shikoku, Matsuyama has maintained its vitality and cultural traditions across the centuries.

Shimanami Kaidō

The Shimanami Kaidō is a chain of islands across the Seto Inland Sea, joined by a series of bridges which carry an expressway and cycle paths.

Ōmishima Island

Island of artistic and religious significance in the Seto Inland Sea, and last major island on the Ehime side of the Shimanami Kaidō.

Kurushima Straits Bridge

A bridge on the Shimanami Kaido connecting the island of Oshima to Shikoku. It’s the world's longest suspension bridge structure.

Matsuyama Castle

Matsuyama Castle is a hilltop castle standing on the summit of Mt. Katsuyama, an imposing hill in the middle of Matsuyama.

Uchiko

Uchiko is a historic town of elegant houses and commercial buildings in an unspoiled rural setting.

Uchiko Paper Making

In the old town of Ikazaki, Uchiko, you can try your hand at making traditional washi paper.

Kamihaga Residence

One of the biggest and finest buildings in Uchiko is the Kamihaga Residence, the former home and workshop of the Kamihaga family.

Ōzu

Ōzu is a charming small town known for its a spectacular castle in a river setting with mountains towering nearby.

Ōzu Castle

Ōzu Castle is unique in having a keep recreated using authentic materials and techniques.

Garyū Sansō

An elaborate “mountain hermitage” created by a wealthy trader in Ōzu during the Meiji Period

Ehime Museum of History and Culture

One of the most impressive museums in Shikoku.

Shimanto River

The Shimanto River boasts some of the most beautiful river scenery in all of Japan and offers a wide range of activities.

Kōchi City

Kochi City is the capital of Kochi Prefecture known for its castle, its historic tram system, its food and the friendliness of its inhabitants.

Temple 31, Chikurin-ji

Chikurin-ji is temple No. 31 on the Shikoku pilgrimage, or Henro. It’s located on Mt. Godai, a fairly high hill within Kōchi city. Chikurin-ji means ‘bamboo forest temple’, although today, Mt. Godai is more broad-leaf and pine forest than bamboo. What to see Chikurin-ji has many beauties. There’s a long approach to the main compound...

Included

- Private vehicle
- English-speaking driver
- Accommodation
- Meals
- Basic insurance

Excluded

- Travel to and from Shikoku
- Drinks
- Comprehensive personal insurance

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