Shikoku: Japan's Smallest Island, Steeped in Pilgrimage

Shikoku is Japan’s smallest of the four main islands, four prefectures built around mountains, river valleys, and the 88-temple Buddhist pilgrimage that has drawn walkers for over a thousand years. It’s a region of quiet coastal towns, dramatic gorges like the Iya Valley’s vine bridges, and Naoshima’s contemporary art scene just off the coast in the Seto Inland Sea. Matsuyama offers one of Japan’s oldest hot spring baths at Dogo Onsen, while Kochi’s rugged Pacific coastline and Tokushima’s summer Awa Odori dance festival round out a region defined less by big cities and more by tradition, nature, and pace.