Shikoku grand tour (Okayama → Kagawa → Tokushima → Kochi → Ehime) — 7 days, car

A full loop of Shikoku through Okayama, Kagawa, Tokushima, Kochi and Ehime: Kōraku-en and Kurashiki, Ritsurin Garden and Kotohira-gū, the Iya Valley, Kochi’s castle and market, the Shimanto River, Matsuyama Castle and Dogo Onsen, and the Shimanami Kaido.

Don't miss

an authentic jikamori Sanuki udon lunch near Kotohira.

• Day 1 — Osaka → Okayama: Kōraku-en garden + Okayama Castle (Crow Castle) + Kurashiki (Bikan canal) (drive ~3h). Stay Okayama. — Route map
• Day 2 — Okayama → Seto Ohashi Bridge → Kagawa: Ritsurin Garden → Kotohira-gū (Konpira-san, 785 steps) + Sanuki udon lunch (drive ~2h). Stay Kagawa. — Route map
• Day 3 — Kagawa → Tokushima: Oboke Gorge → Iya Valley (vine bridges) (drive ~3h). Stay Iya. — Route map
• Day 4 — Iya → Kochi: Katsurahama (Sakamoto Ryoma statue) + Kochi Castle + Hirome Market (katsuo tataki, yuzu) (drive ~3h). Stay Kochi. — Route map
• Day 5 — Kochi → Shimanto River (Japan’s last clear stream, chinrinkyo bridges) → Matsuyama: Matsuyama Castle + Dogo Onsen (drive ~3.5h). Stay Matsuyama. — Route map
• Day 6 — Matsuyama → Mt. Ishizuchi / Omogo-kei Gorge (foliage) full day → Imabari (drive ~2.5h). Stay Imabari. — Route map
• Day 7 — Imabari Castle (one of Japan’s 12 original) → Shimanami Kaido → Onomichi → evening shinkansen from Fukuyama (drive ~2h). — Route map

Note: Kankakei Gorge (Kagawa) requires a ferry to Shodoshima — swapped for Kotohira-gū (main island). Don’t chain Shimanto → Mt. Ishizuchi in one day (breaks 4h).

Highlights

🌿 Kōraku-en garden — one of Japan’s three great gardens

🌿 Ritsurin Garden — a strolling garden framed by Mt. Shiun

⛩️ Kotohira-gū (Konpira-san) — 785 stone steps to the sea-gods’ shrine

♨️ Dogo Onsen — Japan’s oldest bathhouse, the Spirited Away inspiration

🌉 Shimanto River chinrinkyo — sunken bridges over “Japan’s last clear stream”

🏙️ Kurashiki Bikan canal — white-walled Edo storehouses along the willow canal

Local food & drink

• Sanuki udon — Kagawa’s chewy hand-kneaded udon, eaten self-serve (jikamori)
• Katsuo no tataki — Kochi’s straw-seared skipjack at Hirome Market
• Tai meshi — Ehime’s sea-bream rice pot
• Okayama barazushi — scattered seasonal-fish sushi
• Kibi dango — Momotaro’s millet rice-cakes
• Kochi dry sake — crisp breweries for red-fleshed fish
• Ehime mikan juice — #1 mandarin region, fresh-pressed
• Setouchi lemon chuhai — the Inland Sea citrus highball Don’t miss: an authentic jikamori Sanuki udon lunch near Kotohira.