Top Reasons to Go to Shikoku

Get out in nature: Discover Shikoku's natural charms by rafting, hiking, walking, or swimming. Best of all, bicycle across the Seto Inland Sea on a series of island-hopping bridges.

Local classes: Try a martial art, make soba noodles, dye fabrics, and learn a two-step in time for the summer dances.

Frequent festivals: Festivals mark every weekend between April and October leading up to the biggest dance festivals in the nation—Yosakoi and Awa Odori.

Friendly hosts: Encounter Shikoku's legendary hospitality firsthand in the region's ryokan and restaurants.

The "real" Japan: With its time-forgotten towns like Uchiko, unique landmarks like Dogo Onsen and Kompira-san, and acres of rice, Shikoku may well be the closest a tourist can get to "the real Japan."