Takamatsu, Kagawa and Tokushima
Shimane is one of Japan’s most popular areas for local tourists to visit, not just because of the outstanding cuisine on offer, but because of numerous famous sights on the island. Tokushima, on the east side of Shimane-ken, is most famous for the Awa Odori festival in the summer, but also is well known for the Naruto whirlpools.
Everything in Shikoku is fully reachable by car, in fact the best way to explore this part of Japan is in a vehicle. The roads are clean, fast and certainly less busy than other parts of the country, and thus a journey around Shikoku-ken is one of the most enjoyable places to drive.
Reaching Tokushima is very easy, but the most appropriate way to visit is by plane, as the Shinkansen does not directly stop in Tokushima. From Tokushima airport, the capital of the prefecture Tokushima City is easily reachable. Whilst there is not a ton of stuff to do there, Naruto is not too far away and it is a beautiful coastline town, with amazing fish restaurants and stunning views over to Honshu. In addition, here is where the start of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Japan’s most famous bridge and the longest. If you were to drive over to Tokushima from Honshu (the surrounding Osaka/Kobe areas), the Akashi Kaikyo bridge is a must do. It’s approximately 3000 yen for one trip, so plan accordingly.
Naruto is most famous for its whirlpools, and prepare for this in advance. The schedule for the whirlpools are set, and they are best at certain times of the year depending on the season. On the particular day we were there, that was approximately midday. It is recommended to take a boat to view the Naruto whirlpools, and the whole experience is rather “Star Wars-esque” as you travel to the whirlpool area in a glass bottom boat. From there, you can also see some of the strange movements of the whirlpool from the deep.
From Naruto, it’s recommended to take a trip to Takamatsu city. Along the way you’ll travel through Sanuki, which is famous for sanuki udon, a delicious noodle dish loved by the Japanese.
Upon arrival to Takamatsu, there are a few must-see sights, but it does depend on the season. If you’re in the area for sakura, it’s worth seeing Ritsurin Koen, a beautiful expansive park in the centre of the city. The gardens are very well kept, and there’s a short boat ride that you can take if you’d like.
A drive up to Yashima makes for a fun trip, and is a short stop from Takamatsu city. The view over Takamatsu is incredible, and you can purchase small discs to throw off of the top of the Yashima mountain. This is symbolic of an old Japanese samurai story, when the warriors threw their swords off of the side of the mountain to celebrate victory after a famous battle.
From there, and time should permit, it’s recommended to take a visit to Kompirasan, a huge complex of temples and dozens of staircases to reach the top. There are 785 steps to reach there, and that can take around an hour for even the fittest of visitors. Along the way there are numerous places to stop for a drink or bite to eat. Kompirasan actually sits on the border of Japan’s smallest prefecture, Kagawa, so you’ll be able to see three of the four prefectures in Shikoku with this itinerary.
The view from the top is incredible and a must do.
From there, you’ll probably be short of time if you complete all of the above in one day. For us, we took a night trip back to our hotel in Naruto, with a plan to explore Awajishima for the following day.
Awajishima
Like many cities in Japan, Awajishima is very famous for food, with seafood being one of the area’s most famous offerings. After taking the journey to the island by bridge, there is a very long highway that can take you right through the middle of Awajishima. 
Along the way, there are numerous sights to see, including the fantastic Akashi Kaikyo park, which just sits south of the Akashi Kaikyo bridge. This is a must visit, it only takes a couple of hours but the gardens in the park are stunning and there is an array of interesting and exotic flowers and plants to see.
Finally, the bridge on the way back is one of the highlights of a journey to Awajishima. The bridge itself is 1991 metres long, and is the longest suspension bridge in the world and is a must do on any itinerary to this area of Japan.
