Japan · Areas
Shikoku
Four prefectures south of the Seto Inland Sea. Awa Odori and Yosakoi are the big summer festivals, and the island art of Naoshima, the vine bridges of Iya and a seaside unstaffed station each have their own appeal.
Prefectures · Tokushima · Kagawa · Ehime · Kochi
Places to explore
Shikoku
Chichibugahama Beach
'Japan's Uyuni': a sky mirror on the tidal flats at low tide
_22_Nov%2C_2014_-_panoramio.jpg?width=800)
Shimonada Station
An unstaffed little station facing the Iyo Sea: waiting here for a tangerine-coloured dusk
%2C_zenkei-1.jpg?width=800)
Kashiwajima
'Boats floating in the air': a hidden sea in Shikoku as clear as Okinawa's
Iya Valley and the Vine Bridge
One of Japan's three great hidden regions: crossing a swaying vine bridge into the legend of the fleeing Heike
Tokushima Awa Odori
August 11 – 15, 2026
A 400-year-old 'fools' dance' — 'the dancers are fools and the watchers are fools; if we're all fools, we might as well dance' — tens of thousan…
Kōchi Yosakoi Festival
August 9 – 12, 2026
The 'youngest national festival', born in 1954: dancers hold naruko clappers, with music and costumes completely free, and about 200 teams dance…
Naoshima
An art island in the Seto Inland Sea: Tadao Andō's architecture, Monet's water lilies at the Chichu Art Museum, and light on the sea.