Welcome to Shikoku and beyond in Japan

Dear fellow travellers,

Objective of this blog

It is written as a guide for non-Japanese travellers who cannot speak nor write Japanese, and who love to DIY travel by car, to visit Japan easily and enjoy this country. 

Why is it easy ? 
The Japanese are so clever that when they design the car GPS system, they think of the ease of use for drivers. Without knowing how to input any Japanese word or character, all you need is to key in the telephone number of any establishment, eg a restaurant or hotel, and the GPS will take you there. Moreover, over the years, they have enhanced the system to incorporate an English menu interface for non-Japanese users, so it gets better and better.

Availability of internet resources

There are also more and more sites being translated into English for non-Japanese, including practical websites like hotel booking, car rental booking and foodie sites, making Japan more accessible for foreigners.

My travel experience

I am of course not a know-all on Japan. So far, I have travelled twice to Hokkaido, once in Kyushu and recently in Shikoku. I shall detail the recent travel first and go on to elaborate on the rest as I go on. 

Content of this blog

My focus in this blog is mainly on nature attractions, shopping and food and practical information. I hardly visit any place of historical interest nor art, as I could not comprehend the language.

How to navigate this blog

1. The Tripadvisor name and Airbnb name are both clickable and will bring you to their respective webpages or App page for mobile. You may need to install Tripadvisor or Airbnb mobile app for the link to work.
2. For mobile users only :

• Touch the Top Home button or top right arrow down button to select and navigate to a specific area of interest.

If you're interested in Europe, you can also read my blog at DIY travel by car in France and Europe.

email : sunnymuguet@gmail.com

Planning your holiday itinerary

Research
In general, I do a lot of research on the internet, using Tripadvisor, the Japanese tourism sites, tour agency brochures for highlights of any locality, personal experiences by internet users on walking trails, and many others.

The rule of 3
Japan is a heavily populated country, so you will not really see much of rural country as you drive. It's highly urbanised and sometimes the suburbs spread far and wide. It's natural for the Japanese to own cars (they are a car-manufacturing country) to commute. It's therefore impossible to drive at high speeds, due to the number of cars, the high suburban density(many traffic junctions) and the car speed limit (max 50 km/hr) imposed on national expressways.
So as a rule of thumb (for non toll roads) :

• In Australia, you need 1 hr to travel 100 km (driving speed at 100km/h).
• In France, you need 2 hrs to travel 100 km.
• In Japan, you need 3 hrs to travel 100 km.

With the distance and estimated time for the travel, you could then plan the places of visit, taking all these into consideration.

Weather forecast
Whenever possible, we check the weather forecast on TV or internet. This is to enable us to plan outdoor activities like walking, cycling and taking good photos on sunny weather days.

Duration of stay
We do not like to move around from accomodation to accommodation, as we hate having to pack and unpack. We would therefore pick a location as base to stay for several days, and move around from the home base.

Shikoku Itinerary

For my travel itinerary, please click Itinerary Map.

For restaurants that I have visited and are worth mentioning, please click Restaurant Map.

Summary of Attractions/Activities from Imabari

1. Cycle, walk and drive across the Kurushimakaikyo bridge 
2. Oboke Gorge and Iya Kazura bridge
3. Mt Ishizuchi 
4. Seaside walk on the western coast at Roadside Station Kazahaya no sato Fuwari at sunset
5. A-Coop supermarket
6. HALOWS 24 hr supermarket
7. AEON Mall
8. DAISO
9. UNIQLO Emiful

Summary of Attractions/Activities from Uwajima

1.  The seafood market どーや市場 at the Roadside Station Yawatahama Minatto 八幡浜みなっと.
2. Cycle to Sada no Chinkabashi 佐田の沈下橋 at Shimanto
3. Yusumizugaura Terrace Field 遊子水荷浦の段畑
4. Tatsukushi Coast 竜串海岸 and Cape Ashizuri Lighthouse 足摺岬灯台
5. Cape Koumo Misaki 高茂岬 (Ainan area)
6. Roadside stations in Uwajima and Ainan area and along route 441 from Uwajima to Shimanto
7. Fuji Grand Shopping Centre, Fuji supermarket
8. Uniqlo Uwajima

Summary of Attractions/Activities from Kochi

1. Hirome Market
2. Kochi Castle garden early in the morning
3. Sunday Market
4. Katsurahama Beach
5. Godaisan

Summary of Attractions/Activities from Matsuyama

1. Matsuyama Castle
2. Seaside walk at Futami Seaside Park
3. Emiful Masaki Shopping Centre
4. AEON Mall Matsuyama
5. Wonderful sushi dinner at Sushiro スシロー 松山衣山店.

Flights

Choice of Airline Carrier

1. There is no direct flight from Singapore to Shikoku yet.
2. My own preference is JAL, as it has always been known to be prompt.
3. I also book directly on the JAL Singapore website.
4. However, whichever airline you choose, there is a major consideration when transiting in Tokyo : I never like to have to transit from Tokyo Haneda to Tokyo Narita airport(or vice-versa) just for the domestic flight. It's quite troublesome.

Choice of airport in Shikoku

1. There are 4 main airports in Shikoku, as it’s the island of 4 countries, so why did I choose Ehime Prefecture as the starting "country" of destination ?
2. After research, Matsuyama is the only city where big names like Mitsukoshi and Takashimaya are present, showing perhaps that this prefecture is gaining importance. In actual fact, the population density in Ehime is higher than in other prefectures in Shikoku.
3. Ehime prefecture is also doing better than Kochi for example, in attracting tourists. It offers free WIFI (at most 1 hr per day) at many locations bearing the sign Ehime_Free_WIFI.

Choice of JAL flight

Example of outbound JAL flight 

21 :50 Singapore , Changi
Arrival 05:50 Tokyo ,Tokyo International Haneda

Second flight Departure 07:25 Tokyo , Tokyo International Haneda
Arrival 08 :50 Matsuyama

1. Notice that both the airports are the same for transit.
2. In Singapore, you are issued all the boarding passes.
3. At Haneda Airport, you have to check out your luggage, proceed quickly to the JAL Domestic Airline check-in counter just to drop your bags. Here, the queue and check-in may be long, so if you feel you’re running short of time, ask the counter staff. They also sometimes check with the queue for people with imminent departure flights.
4. Then proceed to the bus shuttle area to take a bus to the domestic terminal. The bus leaves every 20 minutes.
5. At the domestic terminal, it could be a long walk to the departure gate. We were the last to board that flight that morning.
6. The transit time is slightly less than 2 hours, barely sufficient and a bit stressful. So make sure the transit time should be longer than 2 hrs.

Example of inbound JAL flight

07:35 Matsuyama
Arrival 09:05 Tokyo ,Tokyo International Haneda

Second flight Departure 11:30 Tokyo , Tokyo International Haneda
Arrival 17:35 Singapore ,Changi

1. At Matsuyama Airport, you are issued all the boarding passes.
2. On the return flight, your luggage is automatically transferred to the international flight.
3. Upon arrival at Haneda domestic terminal airport, we had to ask where to take the bus shuttle. At the bus stop, there is a big automated screen telling you the destination of the coming bus. Make sure it’s for the International Terminal.
4. The bus leaves every 6-8 minutes, so very good.
5. We had plenty of time to shop both outside and inside.

DIY driving

Which car rental company ?
1. There are many car rental websites, but for English users, there are probably just a few :
    (a)    Rakuten travel
    (b)    Times Car Rental
    (c)    Tocoo
    (d)    Japanese car rental websites in English, where you have to fill in a form, and then they reply to you in email, eg Nippon Rent A Car.
2. I have used Rakuten travel to book a car and Times Car Rental directly. When booking with Rakuten, I also chose Times Car Rental for my car rental, as I am familiar with them.

Car rental pickup and return at airport

1. The car pickup/return office is usually not located at the airport but nearby. 
2. The car rental counter at the airport, if it exists, will receive you and then arrange for a van/car shuttle transfer for you to go to the car pickup office, or vice-versa, when you return your car to the pickup/return office, they will transfer you back to the airport.
3. In Kyushu Fukuoka airport, the car rental office is situated at the domestic terminal, so you have to commute by free shuttle bus from the international to the domestic terminal, and then walk a short distance to the rental office located opposite the terminal.
4. For Matsuyama Airport, Times Car Rental had a van/car shuttle to bring us to/from the car rental company.

Car rental return at Matsuyama airport

1. The Times Car Rental Office only opens at 7 am. So how did we manage to return our car, knowing that our departure time is at 0735 hrs ?
2. Upon initial arrival, we checked with JAL counter staff that the check-in time starts at 0640 hrs for that morning flight.
3. So that morning, we first made it to Times Car Rental’s recommended petrol station near the airport to fuel it to full tank. At early morning hours however take note that most petrol stations are unmanned. Luckily there was 1 staff inside the office at this station Solato. I approached him to assist me at the auto-pay machine for fueling. I really thank all Japanese service staff for being so helpful.
4. We then arrived at the airport at about 0620 hrs and unloaded our luggage at the waiting area. My wife got the trolleys while I went to park my car, which is just in front of the terminal.
5. We were the first to queue at the check-in counter.
6. We checked in our luggage and then we drove off to Times Car Rental office. The parking cost 150¥.
7. The staff took a cursory look at the car exterior, checked the fuel gauge and whatever, and asked us to hop into the car. He drove us back to the terminal in this same car. Japanese service !!!

Car insurance
1    To reduce your liability for any car accident, the car rental company will tell you of your risks if you don’t buy additional insurance coverage against any accident or damage.
2    For Times Car Rental for example, depending on the category of car you rented, you are liable for a NOC (Non-operation Charge or excess) charge, from 20000 to 100000 yen.
3    So it all depends on your travel insurance coverage for car rental excess and how comfortable you are with the coverage provided by your travel insurance as compared to the liable excess charges you will incur in an accident.

Road Safety

1. The overhead red light may be placed behind the junction so you may end up stopping wrongly beyond the designated stop line, so be careful when stopping at red light.
2. In urbanised areas, the traffic lights come in 2 sets. The top row of 3 lights may show a red light, while the bottom row of 3 lights shows green arrows, left, straight ahead or right. So do not be confused.
3. In urbanised areas, before a traffic light, you may see orange lines being painted instead of the usual white lines. No changing of lanes is permitted before the traffic light.
4. When turning left or right, whether at junctions or for parking at supermarket or restaurant, watch out for cyclists.
5. The Japanese driver may turn out from a shop or supermarket onto the main road you're driving on and expect you to give way. 
6. The Japanese driver in the opposite direction may turn right in front of you quickly or at cross-junctions.
7. Do not honk unnecessarily, unless your life is in danger, or on narrow hilly roads to signal your car coming.
8. If you are driving a bit slowly or normally and you find someone tailgating you (bullies exist all over the world), you might want to let it pass by stopping at a road shoulder if possible.
9. Do not anyhow use hazard lights (like most Asians do) to stop. People think you are in trouble and need assistance.
10. If you hear emergency vehicles from behind or in front, be prepared to stop by signalling hazard lights and stop as quickly and as close to whichever roadside possible to let them pass. Even at traffic lights when you have the right of way, all vehicles will attempt to stop to give way.
11. On mountain or hilly roads, you might want to switch on headlights, even if Japanese don’t have this habit.
12. Switch on headlights in tunnels.
13. Do not overtake unless necessary. Very few Japanese drivers overtake.
14. Driving at night is relatively safe in urban or suburban areas, although there may not be street lights. However, narrow hilly or mountainous roads are to be avoided as there will be no street lights at all in these areas.
15. Sometimes, you may come across roads undergoing construction, and cars from each side are only permitted to travel at any one time obeying automated un-manned signalised traffic lights. Watch out for these traffic lights, because you may miss them while driving and not notice whether you have the right of way at that time.
16. When driving along small roads, at cross junctions when there are no traffic lights, there is no international traffic "Stop" sign telling you that you don't have the right of way. For those who understand Mandarin, the word "止 。。。" is inscribed on the road at the cross junction so you know you have to stop. Otherwise, take heed when driving across these small road cross junctions.
17. A flashing amber light is placed usually over a pedestrian crossing, so drive through but stop if necessary for a pedestrian or cyclist crossing.

Speed limit
1.    40 km/hr in urban or city areas
2.    50 km/hr in suburban areas or on national or toll-free expressways
3.    70 or 80 km/hr on toll expressways
4.    Remarks
•    Generally, Japanese drive beyond these limits, 10 to 20 km/hr higher.
•    Fortunately, Shikoku is still not as populated as compared to mainland Honshu or Kyushu. There are less cars on the roads, so the ride might be smoother or shorter as compared to Honshu or Kyushu.
•    My experience is that my ride is about 30 minutes less than the GPS estimated time in Shikoku, driving accordingly to the speed limit or 10 km/hr higher in better traffic conditions.
 
Parking駐車場

1. In many suburban or countryside areas, parking is generally free, in front of shops, supermarkets or restaurants. It’s generally not true in city areas, even in city hotels.
2. Do not park anywhere at places which don’t look like car parks. You don’t want to face any embarrassment or worse still, trouble trying to retrieve your car from don’t know where your car has been towed to. The car rental agency also reminds us against indiscriminate parking.
3. The general rate is about minimum100 yen per 30 mins.
4. For coin operated parking, you park first in a lot that you like. When you return, you find that a lever clamp has lifted against the car undercarriage to prevent you from driving away. Usually, you key in the car park lot number in the automated parking machine and it will tell you the amount. Pay and the lever clamp will unlock.

Understanding Expressways and using Toll expressways
1.    The toll-free expressway is called “国道” and the signboard is blue with the expressway number on it.
2.    The toll expressway is called “IC” and the signboard is green.
3.    When entering toll booth, head towards the lane which has a green sign “一般”, if you don’t have a ETC card reader nor ETC card to pay with.
4.    Prepare to take a toll ticket which comes out automatically from a machine when your car approaches the toll gate.
5.    When exiting the toll expressway, again head towards the green sign lane.
6.    Give your toll ticket to the toll staff and pay in cash.
7.    Remarks :
•    We hardly use the toll expressways, as we don’t believe in paying and furthermore, we like to take the “国道”, as the roads are well-paved and we could stop whenever we want when we see something interesting along the way.
•    We use the toll expressway only when we need to cross the Shimanami expressway from Shikoku to Honshu, because there are no toll-free roads.

Fuelling up at petrol station
1    Try to avoid early morning and late evening hours. Most stations become unmanned.
2   Stop only at manned petrol station. You cannot manage the complexity of unmannd self-service auto-pay station by yourself.
3   Ask for “regular”, and full tank(“mantan”). If your car rental company has written down all these on paper for you, show it to the staff.
4    Pay in cash.
5    Remarks :
      I have stopped twice at self-service station, but as it is manned, the staff at the self-service auto-pay station helped me throughout. Some of these stations are manned by 1 or 2 staff, while others are totally unmanned.

How to use the car GPS

Introduction
    When you request for a English GPS with the rental car, it’s a misconception. Everything is still in Japanese, only the menu options and the voice instruction are in English.

Ways of getting to the destination with the GPS 
There are 3 ways of reaching the destination :
1.    By keying in telephone number of establishment
2.    By keying in postal code of establishment
3.    By keying in Mapcode of establishment
•    I have tried method 2, but it got me somewhere nearby but not correctly.
•    I have not tried method 3, but I will show you how to get Mapcode. It’s to be used for places without telephone numbers, like mountain summit, national park entry point, lake entrance point, etc.

By keying in telephone number of establishment
1.    When you power up your car, the GPS screen switches on automatically, press close button on the screen if necessary.

2. Press the home button on your steering wheel :

3. You will see the home screen, press “Dest. Search” :

 
4. Press “Number” and key in the telephone number :

5. The search results appear :

•  As you can see, the search results are in Japanese, so when you research your destination, you have to note it in Japanese, so that you recognises it in the GPS (I will show you how to do this in another section).

• The GPS is also sometimes so good that it shows your destination, same distance, same name, but with the car park words  駐車場. For drivers, it’s good, so pick this if you are going to the carpark.

6. Select the desired destination out of the many choices and press “Set Destination” :

7.  Your route is shown :

 •    The first route is always the recommended route by the GPS. Observe the colour just beneath the word Recommend on the button and the colour of the actual route. It’s the same colour.

•    Observe the amount under “Fee”. If it’s zero, then the GPS takes you through non-toll roads. Press “Start” to begin.

•    If the amount under “Fee” shows a certain number in yen, then if you do not want to use toll roads, press “Local”. The amount under “Fee” becomes zero, and you will see a different GPS route. Note that the colour code on the Local button should correspond to that of the new non toll route.

•    I have never used the button “Distance”, but I think it corresponds to the shortest distance, which I would strongly discourage, as it might take you through narrow or hilly roads.

8. For advanced usage of the GPS :

•    Before you press “Start”, you could press “Route Information” button just above the “Start” button. It would then display all the roads or expressways used by the GPS route.

•    You might want to have a national road map of Shikoku on paper at hand, so that you know the route taken by the GPS.

•    Why is “Route Information” useful or important ? Sometimes, the GPS takes you through narrow or winding roads, so having a road map gives you the advantage of over-riding the GPS, as you could continue on the toll-free expressway ”国道” that you are on, since you know it’s a good road and you are aware that it would be in the right direction. It would automatically re-calculate anyway, so you don’t have to worry.

Example of the above using Google and which I have put to use myself on the GPS :

•    I wanted to go to Emiful Masaki Shopping Centre from Imabari and Google shows 2 to 3 alternative routes.
•    Upon arrival the first day at Matsuyama, I have travelled route 317 and I knew it to be hilly towards Imabari.
•    I have also used route 196 to go to the western coast from Imabari on another day and knew it to be a good easy drive.
•    On the day in question, it was raining, so I decided not to take route 317 (winding, narrow, raining) and opted for the route 196.
•    As you can see, even Google shows the 2 estimated times do not differ much, so why take a more difficult route ?

First way of choosing your route using the GPS :

•    So how do I choose the route I want on the GPS unlike Google which shows us several routes at once ?
•    So just set the GPS for the first destination on the western coast, which is a roadside station, and upon arrival at this via point, set your next destination for Emiful Masaki.
•    All these means of course that you must have the telephone numbers of both the destinations.


2nd way of choosing your route using the GPS :

•    Set your destination for Emiful Masaki and press Start.
•    Then do all over again to select your coastal destination and at the final screen, do not press Set Destination, instead set via point to tell the GPS that you are going to Emiful Masaki via the coastal destination.

Where to get the paper road map of the country ?
By asking at any TIC (Tourist Information Centre), hopefully they have one.

Estimated time of arrival by the GPS
The car GPS bases its estimated time of arrival on the local speed limits when calculating, so the estimated time might be longer/shorter depending of course on traffic conditions.

How to derive Mapcode of a place for the car GPS

Using Mapcode for the Car GPS
1. Mapcode is useful for places where telephone numbers are not applicable, like parks, gardens, mountain summit, etc...

2. I will show you an example of how to get Mapcode for this particular place called “面河渓” in Ehime Prefecture, which is a waterfall cascade.

3. Go to http://www.mapion.co.jp/.
4. Click on Shikoku on the map of Japan :

5. Then click on Ehime :

6. Enter 面河渓 in the search bar, click the blue button next to it to search. There will be a list of possible places (in other prefectures as well) shown below. Click on the 1st option or the right option :

7. Scroll down the page till you see the map. Take note of the Mapcode which takes normally the 1st nine numerical digits.

8. Finally, on the car GPS screen, in the Destinaton Search screen, click on Mapple Code on the GPS screen and key in the nine digits Mapcode.

Cycle, Walk or Drive on top of the ...Kurushimakaikyo Bridge

Visited 14 Jun 2016

Name of Attraction : Kurushimakaikyo Bridge
Tripadvisor Name : Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge
Name of Shop : Sunrise Itoyama Bicycle Hire サンライズ糸山
Tripadvisor Name : Sunrise Itoyama
Address (住所) : 〒794-0001 愛媛県今治市砂場町2丁目8番1
AREA : Imabari 今治市 
TEL : 0898-41-3196  
Website :  http://www.sunrise-itoyama.jp/
Opening Hrs : ... 
Parking (駐車場) : limited lots 30 available

Bicycle Hire Cost
Adult : 1000¥ per day
Primary School kid and below : 300¥ per day
Deposit
Adult : 1000¥ per day
Primary School kid and below : 500¥ per day 

Cycle
1.    The bicycle rental info is in English and the counter staff speaks a bit of English as well. Take the mountain bike option (it’s lighter and easier).
2.    The cycling staff ensured that we knew how to change gears, what gear to use for easy cycling and offered us helmets, which we refused.
3.    The bicycle shop will tell you how to get to the cycling lane : it's to the right after exiting the shop and carpark. The cycling path is well marked in blue on the roads.
4.    It was relatively easy, except for the part going up the ramp to the bridge on both sides(when we walked the bike), and for Oshima Island, where it is slightly uphill after the Roadside Station Yoshiumi Ikiiki-kan よしうみいきいき館.
5.    We didn’t eat at the Roadside Station, as it was closed for maintenance.
6.    All in all, we spent a few hours doing about 20+ km. I believe the bridge itself is about 4+ km long. We didn't even know we had cycled the world's longest suspension bridge (LOL), only after we showed our friends a photo of it on Whatsapp. We were rewarded with breathtaking views of the surrounding inland sea, the small islands and of course, this amazing structure on a beautiful day ! We took our time to cycle, as we had only the intention to cycle to the next island Oshima Island, until our legs were tired, and head back.

Walk 
1.    We came here again at night after dinner, to take a nice cool walk up the bridge. We did not walk any length of the bridge. The night view simply cannot compare with the day view !

Drive 
1.    Finally, we drove across the whole Shimanami expressway, to stop over at 2 or 3 islands for another day of outing on a fine day.
2.    The highlight was the view from Kirosan Observation Park 亀老山展望公園 on Oshima Island.
3.    We drove from island to island, and we stopped at Omishima Island Roadside Station Tatara Shimanami Park 多々羅しまなみ公園 for a good lunch. 
4.    The other islands did not offer any interesting attractions and we were mainly out for a day drive across the islands.
5.   This trip cost us the most, in terms of paying for the toll from island to island :

• 1st bridge : 1750¥
• 2nd bridge : 570¥
• 3rd bridge : 460¥
• 1 way return : 2620¥ 

Going up the bridge from the Bicycle Hire shop

Going down the bridge at Oshima Island

 

Finally !

Remarks
1.  The Sunrise Itoyama is not only a bicycle rental hire shop but a hotel as well.

Iya Kazura Bridge かずら橋

Visited 15 Jun 2016

Name of Atraction : Iya Kazura Bridge かずら橋
Tripadvisor Name : Iya Kazura Bridge
Area : Miyoshi 三好市  
Opening Hours : Everyday, sunrise to sunset 
(For visitors to see its fantastic form, “Kazurabashi” bridge is lit up every night from 19:00 – 21:00. During these hours, the bridge cannot be crossed)
Admission : 
Adults 550¥
Elementary school students (7-12 years old) 350¥


Name of Shop : Kazurabashi Yumebutai かずら橋夢舞台
Tripadvisor Name : Kazurabashi Yumebutai
Address (住所) : 〒778-0102 徳島県三好市西祖谷山村今久保３４５－１
TEL : 0883-87-2200 
Opening Hrs : 
9 am to 6 pm (Apr - Nov)
9 am to 5 m (Dec to Mar)
Parking (駐車場) : 300¥

1. Navigate to this grocery/souvenir shop using the telephone number given.
2. This shop is only 900m away from the Iya Kazura bridge.
3. We walked to the starting point and as we reached, we could see the bridge from this path. It's a suspension bridge, but one of its kind and unique. Some were struggling to walk across, and we also discovered why soon enough.
4. We then started our walk across. Well, if you are wary of height, you should not attempt this crossing. The gap in between the planks is wide so you could easily see the stream below. It was apparently not the tourist season yet and so not too crowded. It also seemed that not too many people are allowed on this bridge at any one time.
5. There were just a couple of us and so we took our time, literally, in crossing. My wife is nimble and could still snap photos and videos while clinging on to the side. I imagined Japanese wearing their kimono and getai slippers and trying to cross it...in feudal times.
6. There wasn't much else to see after crossing, and as we didn't know, we attempted to cross the bridge back. Then a loudspeaker came on, of course we didn't understand, until finally a Japanese guy shouted : One way only ! Well, now we know !
7. We have cycled the world's longest suspension bridge at Shimanami, the Kurushimakaikyo bridge, from Imabari, and we were glad to have done the shortest, this particular bridge, and that they have kept it, until today, for us to experience a feudal bridge.

Kazura Bridge

Stream below

View upstream

Mt Ishizuchi 石鎚山

Visited 17 Jun 2016

Name of Atraction : Mt Ishizuchi 石鎚山
Tripadvisor Name : Mt Ishizuchi


Name : Mt Ishizuchi Ropeway Station
TEL : 0897-59-0331 
Area : Saijo 西条市  
Opening Hours : generally from 9 am to 5 or 6 pm
For details, refer to http://www.ishizuchi.com/rw
Admission(Round trip) :
Adults 1950¥
Elementary school students (7-12 years old) 980¥
Parking (駐車場) : 500¥ or 700¥

1. Upon reaching the destination, the first car park costs 500¥. Park here as it's only 50m from the beginning of the walk-up to the Ropeway Station. If you park right opposite the walk-up, it costs 700¥.
2. The cable car leaves every 20 minutes and it's a short ride about 6-8 minutes each way. The last cable car to leave from the top is at 5 or 6pm.
3. From the top cable car station, it’s about a 30 min walk to the 1st stop, the Joju shrine (成就社). The walk to Joju is good, and mostly shaded. The view is fantastic !

Map of the walk

Trail is well sign-posted

Walking trail

Remarks
Apparently, the walk from the top cable car station to the summit would take about 3 hours. The elevation change from the top cable car station to the summit is from 1300 metres to 1974 metres. The level of difficulty is graded 4 out of 5. For more information, refer to http://www.ishizuchi.com.

Kirosan Observation Park 亀老山展望公園

Visited 18 Jun 2016
Name of Attraction : Kirosan Observation Park 亀老山展望公園
Tripadvisor Name : Mt. Kiro Observatory Park 
AREA : Imabari 今治市
Parking (駐車場) : limited lots available, free

1.  We drove across the Kurushimakaikyo bridge and the first stop was at this Observation Point on Oshima Island. 
2. It is not difficult to nagivate to this attraction, as there is only one main road on this island after the bridge. Watch out for the sign "亀老山..." and you have to turn right.
3. It was quite a winding drive up the hill, and we noticed many brave cyclists along the way.
4. At the top, simply beautiful and absolutely fantastic, the views overlooking the bridge which we had just crossed, and all the surrounding areas. We also took in the lovely fresh air on this summit.
5. At a souvenir store, my wife was so happy to have found Imabari made cotton scarves, at a good price, that she bought a dozen of them.

Yusumizugaura Terrace Field 遊子水荷浦の段畑

Visited 23 Jun 2016 

Name of Attraction : Yusumizugaura Terrace Field 遊子水荷浦の段畑
Tripadvisor Name : Yusumizugaura Terrace Field
AREA : Uwajima 宇和島 
Parking (駐車場) : limited lots available, free 

1. We were recommended this attraction by the Tourist Information Centre at the Uwajima Road Station Minato Oasis Uwajima Kisaiyahiroba in town and we decided to pay it a visit.
2. From Uwajima, the GPS took us along national expressways 37, 345 and 346. We were out on a lovely afternoon and the coastal drive was beautiful. The views of the bay and the sea were stunningly beautiful and blue.
3. The attraction itself shows the way farmers harvest the land, terraced farming, on whatever little land they have, on the hill slope. 
4. There is just a short walk up, from the right side further away from the information office.

Cycle to Sada no Chinkabashi 佐田の沈下橋

Visited 24 Jun 2016 

Name of Attraction : Sada no Chinkabashi 佐田の沈下
Tripadvisor Name : Submersible Bridge of Sada
Name of Place : Shimanto TIC 四万十市観光協会 
Address (住所) : 〒787-0015高知県四万十市右山３８３番地１５
AREA : Shimanto 四万十 
TEL : 0880-35-4171
Website :  http://www.shimanto-kankou.com
Opening Hrs : ... 
Parking (駐車場) : free

Bicycle Hire Cost
Adult : 500¥ for 5 hrs

Cycle

1. Shimanto River is indeed a pretty long river. We drove from Uwajima taking the inner highland road from Kihoku along route 441 to Shimanto. 
2. Along this route, you will be able to see a couple of bridges cited as attractions in TripAdvisor. 
3. We stopped at the Shimanto TIC (Tourist Information Centre) at about 2 pm for the rental bike. We took a city bike at 500yen for half a day. The gentleman there kindly highlighted the route to take and strongly advised us not to cross the bridge, due to possible flooding in case of rain, and to double back. 
4. And so we set off. We rode 20 mins on city roads, then after the Red Iron Bridge 20 mins along the river, and the final 20 mins uphill on a bumpy road. We figured that if we returned the same way, well, this part would be tough. 
5. We asked a local passerby just before reaching the bridge if it was safe to cross, and he replied that it was. So we took a couple of shots, then we rode on the other bank of the river along a road. Thankfully we returned this way for it was mainly downhill and it's a national road. 
6. Overall, the cycling was relatively easy, about 16 km for 2 hours. On a cool day it's worth it, but I think the bridge means something to them but not to us.

Sada no Chinkabashi

View downstream

 

 

Red Iron Bridge

Tatsukushi Coast 竜串海岸

Visited 26 Jun 2016

Name of Attraction : Tatsukushi Coast 竜串海岸
Tripadvisor Name : Tatsukushi Coast
Name of Place : Tatsukushi TIC 竜串観光案内所
Address (住所) : 〒787-0452 高知県土佐清水市竜串23-8
TEL : 0880-35-4171
Area : Tosashimizu 土佐清水
Parking (駐車場) : free

1. Like some visitors here, this was for us a stopover visit while on the way to Cape Ashizuri.
2. We weren't sure what to expect. We stopped at this tiny Tourist Information Centre and there, were 2 elderly folks. The woman was so kind and tried hard to explain the walk and the way.
3. So we parked and began the walk. Indeed, many queer and bizarre rock formations everywhere, you think you would be on another planet, another time.
4. I believe many would just walk a bit and snapped photos, but my wife noticed concrete slabs which seemed out of place. They are built to guide us for the walk, so we looked out for them and walked the coast...A pretty easy walk and loop, it brought us right back to the car park.
5. A great short 45 min walk, taking photos considered. A good stop if you are going down further south to the Cape.

Cape Ashizuri Lighthouse 足摺岬灯台

Visited 26 Jun 2016
 
Name of Attraction : Cape Ashizuri Lighthouse 足摺岬灯台
Tripadvisor Name : Cape Ashizuri
Name of Place : Tosashimizu TIC 土佐清水市観光協会
TEL : 0880-82-3155 
AREA : Tosashimizu 土佐清水
Parking (駐車場) : free

1. We visited Tatsukushi Coast and then stopped by at the Tosashimizu TIC for some information.
2. We then stopped at a local restaurant for lunch and took national expressway 27, an easy road, to reach Cape Ashizuri.
3. There is an onsite Tourist Information Centre, so we took a map of the place and started our walk to the Lighthouse.
   We didn't have time to do all the attractions so we decided to take the trail to Hakusan Domon (白山洞門).
4. Both attractions are nothing spectacular. It's a great easy drive to this place for a day outing.
5. I rate this as excellent due to the shaded and pleasant walking trails in between. More time, I believe, is needed to explore these paths or attractions at the most southern tip of Shikoku.

Cape Ashizuri Lighthouse

Hakusan Domon