CHUGOKU & SHIKOKU

Western Japan beyond the familiar route

Chugoku and Shikoku occupy either side of the Seto Inland Sea and offer some of the most varied possibilities for travelling beyond Japan's standard Tokyo–Kyoto route.

Hiroshima and Miyajima are the places most international visitors know, but the wider region includes historic towns, contemporary art islands, gardens, castles, cycling routes, pilgrimage trails and small coastal communities.

This is also a part of Japan where the route matters enormously. Islands, mountains and stretches of coastline can make places that appear close on a map surprisingly time-consuming to connect.

Trying to see everything makes little sense. Choosing one or two parts well can add something completely different to a journey.

Hiroshima

Hiroshima is inevitably associated with the atomic bombing of 6 August 1945.

The Peace Memorial Park, Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Museum are difficult but important places to visit. Together they tell both the story of what happened to the city and the experiences of the people who lived through it.

Hiroshima today is a lively, modern city, and allowing time beyond the memorial sites gives a much fuller understanding of it.

The city is also known for its own style of okonomiyaki, layered with noodles, cabbage and other ingredients, and makes a useful base for exploring this part of western Japan.

Miyajima

Miyajima is one of Japan's most recognisable destinations, largely because of the great torii gate of Itsukushima Shrine standing in the water at high tide.

It is also extremely popular.

Many people visit from Hiroshima for a few hours, but the island changes once the busiest period of the day has passed. Staying overnight can allow time to explore at a slower pace, walk beyond the main streets and experience the shrine and waterfront early or later in the day.

Mount Misen rises behind the settlement and offers walking routes and views across the Seto Inland Sea.

Whether to visit Miyajima as a day trip or stay overnight depends on the wider itinerary and how much time you want to give it.

The Seto Inland Sea and the art islands

The islands of the Seto Inland Sea have become one of Japan's most interesting destinations for contemporary art and architecture.

Naoshima is the best known, with museums, installations and buildings closely associated with architect Tadao Ando. Nearby Teshima and Inujima provide different experiences and can be combined with Naoshima when enough time is available.

The appeal isn't simply seeing art in museums. Works are integrated into former houses, villages, coastlines and the landscape itself, making the setting an important part of the experience.

This isn't somewhere we would squeeze into a spare day between Kyoto and Hiroshima. Ferry timetables and museum opening days matter, and the islands become much more rewarding when given proper time.

For travellers with a genuine interest in contemporary art, however, they can justify reshaping part of the journey around them.

Kurashiki and Okayama

Kurashiki's preserved Bikan Historical Quarter grew around canals and warehouses during the Edo period. Former storehouses and merchants' buildings now contain museums, shops and galleries, including the Ohara Museum of Art.

Nearby Okayama is home to Korakuen, one of Japan's best-known landscape gardens.

Both are conveniently located on the route between Kansai and Hiroshima, which can make them useful additions without creating a substantial geographical diversion.

But convenience alone isn't a reason to stop somewhere. They work best when the history, gardens or art genuinely complement the rest of the journey.

Shikoku

Across the Seto Inland Sea, Shikoku has a different character.

Japan's smallest main island is known for mountains, rivers, castle towns, onsen and the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage, a route of around 1,200 kilometres associated with the Buddhist monk Kukai.

Few visitors will undertake the entire pilgrimage, but individual temples and sections of the route can provide an introduction to a tradition that remains very much alive.

Matsuyama is home to Dogo Onsen, one of Japan's oldest and best-known hot-spring areas, while places such as the Iya Valley offer mountain landscapes and a much more rural experience.

Shikoku generally rewards travellers who are prepared to slow down. Public transport is less comprehensive than on the main Tokyo–Kyoto corridor, and private transport or a hire car can sometimes make a considerable difference.

Cycling the Shimanami Kaido

One of the most enjoyable ways to cross between Honshu and Shikoku is by bicycle.

The Shimanami Kaido connects Onomichi with Imabari across a series of islands and bridges in the Seto Inland Sea.

The full route is around 70 kilometres, although it doesn't have to be ridden in a single day. Breaking the journey with an overnight stay allows more time for the islands themselves rather than treating the experience simply as a cycling challenge.

For active travellers, it can provide an excellent change from trains, cities and conventional sightseeing.

How Chugoku and Shikoku fit into a journey

Chugoku fits naturally into journeys continuing west from Kyoto and Osaka towards Hiroshima. The Shinkansen makes the main corridor straightforward, while places such as Kurashiki can be incorporated without dramatically changing the route.

The Seto Inland Sea and Shikoku require more thought.

Ferries, local trains, buses and road journeys become more important, and trying to combine Hiroshima, the art islands, Shimanami Kaido and rural Shikoku in a few days would create exactly the kind of itinerary we try to avoid.

With enough time, however, this part of Japan can provide a wonderful transition from the major cities into islands, coastlines and smaller communities.

Should Chugoku or Shikoku be part of your journey?

Hiroshima and Miyajima can fit very naturally into a first journey through Japan, particularly when travelling west from Kansai.

Going further into the region depends much more on your interests.

Contemporary art might lead towards Naoshima and the Seto Inland Sea. Cycling could make the Shimanami Kaido a defining part of the journey. An interest in Buddhism, walking or rural Japan might instead draw you deeper into Shikoku.

You don't need to include all of these things simply because you're nearby.

The value of travelling further west comes from choosing the experience that gives you a reason to be there.

‍