5-Day Shikoku Trip by Train via Takamatsu Airport

Ritsurin Garden is a daimyo (feudal lord) garden, which was completed in 1745 over a period of one hundred years. Designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty, this spacious garden features 6 ponds and 13 landscaped hills. While strolling you can enjoy the changing landscape, therefore it is said that the variety of scenery has the attraction of "ippo ikkei" or a change in scenery with every step. In the garden there are buildings, such as Kikugetsu-tei teahouse, where you can have matcha (powdered green tea) while viewing the picturesque landscape, and the Sanuki Mingeikan (Folk Craft Museum), where Sanuki folk crafts are exhibited. You can also enjoy a ride on a Japanese boat, the “Senshu maru”.

This is a popular shrine, commonly known as Konpira-san. It is the head shrine of "Kotohira" or "Konpira" shrines in Japan and has been worshiped since ancient times as "the God of the Sea".
There is an extremely long staircase, consisting of 1,368 steps. The area around the shrine is crowded with many shops such as cafes, teahouses, souvenir shops and udon restaurants. You can rent a walking stick and go for a stroll or take a ride in a "kago" palanquin and enjoy the sights as you are carried around.
At the mid-way point, you will find the Main Shrine. The shrine is dedicated to many gods including the gods of agriculture, livestock, medicine and marine safety. There are wonderful paintings on the ceiling of the main shrine. On certain festival days you can see the priests and shrine maidens dancing in traditional clothes. You can also purchase a beautiful Kofuku no Kiiroi Omamori (Yellow Charm of Happiness).

A food market that feels like you're at a festival!
Hirome Market is a facility where both Kochi Prefecture residents and tourists alike come to enjoy an array of food, from local specialties to international cuisine.
As it's located next to Kochi Castle and packed with approx. 65 stalls, Hirome Market is always full of people. The recommended way to enjoy the market is to buy food and drinks from several stalls and bring them to one of the many tables set up around the market.
Kochi locals are known for their love of drink, so it's not unusual to see people drinking from noon here.
There is also a bar corner called “Hirome Bar” where Italian, Spanish and French food and drinks are also available.
Nicknamed "Kochi's Kitchen", this is one spot you simply cannot miss!

The Kure Taisho Town Market, has been popular with locals for well over 100 years. The most popular item at the retro market is the ultra-fresh seafood bowl (Kure-don), which is topped with your favorite ingredients. Another touch of retro that colors the market is the fishing flags that adorn the ceilings and stores. Called tairyo-bata in Japanese, these bright and festive flags were flown by fishing boats returning to port with a good haul.

The Kure Taisho Town Market came about after the fishermen's wives began to gather and sell the caught fish. The fish caught that morning by the local fishermen are displayed out the front of each store by 11:00am, so this is the best time to see the market in action. If you're not sure what type of fish you're looking at, feel free to ask the store staff - communication with the friendly locals is part of the fun of the market! While seafood is the main attraction, there are also stores selling local fruit and vegetables, handmade side dishes and even bags and aprons made from the vibrant tairyo-bata fishing flags.

The Shimanto River Basin will make your heart soar!
Take a scenic bike ride through Nakamura, a Kyoto-esque village, or one of its low-water crossing bridges.
Kick back and relax as you watch the clear water of the Shimanto River flow by.

Nanraku-en is the largest Japanese garden in Shikoku, over four times as large as the Hanshin Koshien baseball stadium. The garden was created using the pre-eminent techniques of modern garden design. Designated as one of the “Best 100 Urban Parks in Japan”, the garden presents beautiful scenery based on the themes of “mountain, village, city, and the sea”. Come and experience the beauty of Japanese nature through each of the four distinctive seasons. The 30,000 irises in bloom around May are a particular visitor favourite!

Dogo Onsen Honkan is thought to be the oldest hot spring in Japan is mentioned in the ancient texts of the Kojiki and Manyoshu. The main building, a three-storey castle-style wooden structure has been designated an Important Cultural Property. The bathhouse is an iconic feature of Matsuyama in the novel “Botchan” and many other masterpieces of literature and film. After enjoying the smooth hot spring water, put on a Yukata robe, stroll around the local streets full of culture, and get into the spirit of this Onsen town. A new annex “Asuka-no-Yu”, adopting the architectural style of the 6th to 8th centuries, will be opened in September 2017.

Matsuyama Castle, in the style of the Momoyama period, is one of Japan’s few original surviving castles. Its 21 buildings are listed as Important Cultural Properties, and the castle is regarded as one of the three best ‘Renritsu-shiki Hirayama-jiro’ (Renritsu-shiki: an architectural style where the top castle tower is in the centre with smaller towers on either side; Hirayama-jiro: a castle built on a hill on a plain). The towers are all connected to defend the main castle building. The castle is a well-known symbol of Matsuyama and is written about in the prologue of the novel, “Clouds Above the Hill” by Ryotaro Shiba. It has been and will be guarding the city of Matsuyama for centuries!