5-Day Shikoku Trip by Train via Takamatsu Airport

Day 1　Takamatsu Airport → Takamatsu Station
Day 2　Takamatsu Station → Ritsurin Garden → Takamatsu Station → Kotohira Station → Kotohira-gu Shrine → Kotohira Station → Kochi Station → Hirome Market
Day 3　Kochi Station → Tosa-Kure Station → Kure Taisho Town Market → Tosa-Kure Station → Nakamura Station → Shimanto River Basin Cycling　
Day 4　Nakamura Station → Kubokawa Station → Uwajima Station → Nanrakuen → Uwajima Station → Matsuyama Station → Dogo Onsen
Day 5　Botchan Train → Matsuyama Castle → Matsuyama Station → Takamatsu Station → Takamatsu Airport

Day 1

Takamatsu Airport
40min bus ride

Takamatsu Station

Day 1

Overnight stay in Takamatsu City

*The images of the accommodation facilities are for illustrative purposes only

Day 2

Takamatsu Station
5min train ride

Ritsurin Garden North Entrance

Day 2

Ritsurin Garden

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”.

Ritsurin Garden North Entrance
5min train ride

Takamatsu Station
1hr train ride

Kotohira Station
About a 30min walk

Day 2

Kotohira-gu Shrine

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.

About a 30min walk

Kotohira Station
1hr 40min train ride

Kochi Station
About a 20min walk

Day 2

Hirome Market

Try lots of Kochi specialties and have a few drinks with locals at this friendly indoor market

Hirome Market feels like a festival every day of the year! Kochiites and visitors alike come here to check out the food shops and grab a table to enjoy an array of local and international cuisine. Nicknamed "Kochi's kitchen", this is one spot you simply cannot miss!
Located just a short walk away from Kochi Castle, Hirome Market is home to around 65 stalls. This is a great place to try a wide range of Kochi specialties, as you can buy food and drinks from the stalls and enjoy them at one of the many large tables set up around the market. Hirome Market is open from morning to late in the evening, but no matter what time you visit there are sure to find plenty of friendly folks chatting, eating, and sipping some of Kochi’s smooth dry sake.

Address	高知県高知市帯屋町2-3-1　（2-3-1, Obiyamachi, Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture, Japan）
Telephone Number	088-822-5287
Open	10:00-22:00 on weekdays, Saturdays & national holidays 9:00-22:00 on Sundays （reduced business hours）
Closed	New Year's Day *plus around 6 days per year (For more information, please see the official homepage)

Day 2

Overnight stay in Kochi City

*The images of the accommodation facilities are for illustrative purposes only

Day 3

Kochi Station
1hr train ride

Tosa-Kure Station
About a 5min walk

Day 3

Kure Taishomachi Ichiba Market

Taste delicious seafood at this retro fish market

For over 100 years, the Kure Taishomachi Ichiba Market in the town of Nakatosa has been the community’s beloved shopping arcade for all kinds of foods, including freshly-caught seafood, home cooked side dishes, vegetables and fruit.
Take a stroll through the quaint alley lined with 9 shops decorated with large colorful fishermen’s flags, traditionally flown on fishing boats to indicate a successful catch. Make sure to visit the market after 11:00am, to see the fish caught that morning being sold and experience the lively atmosphere. If you’re also not sure what type of fish you’re looking at, feel free to ask the friendly shop owners. Interacting with the community is part of the beauty and fun of the market!
For lunch, try the market’s most popular dish called Kure-don, a bowl of rice topped with the fresh seafood of your choice. We highly recommend trying katsuo-no-tataki (seared bonito), which is the universal soul food of Kochi Prefecture.

Address	高知県高岡郡中土佐町久礼6372　（6372, Kure, Nakatosa Town, Takaoka Gun, Kochi Prefecture, Japan）
Telephone Number	0889-59-1369
Open	Weekends and Public Holidays: 9:00-16:00 Monday to Friday: 10:00-16:00
Closed	January 1 to 3

About a 5min walk

Tosa-Kure Station
1hr train ride

Nakamura Station

Day 3

Shimanto River Basin Cycling

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.

1hr of cycling

Day 3

Overnight stay in Shimanto City

*The images of the accommodation facilities are for illustrative purposes only

Day 4

Nakamura Station
40min train ride

Kubokawa Station
2hr train ride

Uwajima Station
40min bus ride

Day 4

Nanraku-en Garden

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!

40min bus ride

Uwajima Station
1hr 30min train ride

Matsuyama Station
30min train ride

Day 4

Stay at Dogo Onsen

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.

Day 5

15min train ride -Botchan Train

Okaido
About a 20min walk

Day 5

Matsuyama Castle

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!