is the smallest of the four main islands of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separ ...

and northeast of

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), ''Iyo-shima'' (), and ''Futana-shima'' (), and its current name refers to the four former

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

that made up the island:

Awa Awa (or variants) may refer to: People * Awa (given name), notable people named Awa or Hawa * Awá (Brazil), an indigenous people of Brazil * Awa-Kwaiker, an indigenous people of Colombia and Ecuador Languages * Awa language (China) or Wa (Va) ...

, Tosa, Sanuki, and Iyo.

Geography

Shikoku Island, comprising Shikoku and its surrounding islets, covers about and consists of four

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

Ehime is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Tokush ...

Kagawa may refer to: * , the smallest prefecture of Japan by area, located on the island of Shikoku * , a district in Kagawa Prefecture * , a town located in Kagawa District * , train station in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture * Kagawa (surname) Kagawa (w ...

, Kōchi, and

Tokushima is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

. Across the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshū, Shikoku, and Kyūshū, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka ...

lie

Wakayama Wakayama may refer to: *Wakayama Prefecture, a prefecture of Japan *Wakayama (city) Wakayama City Hall is the capital city of Wakayama Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 351,391 in 157066 househol ...

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, Hyōgo,

Okayama is the capital city of Okayama Prefecture in the Chūgoku region of Japan. The city was founded on June 1, 1889. , the city has an estimated population of 720,841 and a population density of 910 persons per km2. The total area is . The city is ...

Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 1,199,391. The gross domestic product (GDP) in Greater Hiroshima, Hiroshima Urban Employment Area, was US$61.3 billion as of 2010. Kazumi Matsui h ...

, and

Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...

s on

. To the west lie Ōita and

Miyazaki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Miyazaki Prefecture has a population of 1,073,054 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 7,735 km2 (2,986 sq mi). Miyazaki Prefecture borders Ōita Prefecture to the north, Kuma ...

s on

Shikoku is ranked as the 50th largest island by area in the world. Additionally, it is ranked as the 23rd most populated island in the world, with a population density of 193 inhabitants per square kilometre (500/sq mi). Mountains running east and west divide Shikoku into a narrow northern subregion, fronting on the

, and a southern part facing the Pacific Ocean. The ''

Hydrangea hirta ''Hydrangea hirta'', also known as the "nettle-leaved hydrangea", is a species of flowering plant in the family Hydrangeaceae that is native to East Asia. Due to the beauty and sturdiness of the species' flowers it can be found outside of its ran ...

'' species can be found in these mountain ranges. Most of the 3.8 million inhabitants live in the north, and all but one of the island's few larger cities are located there.

Mount Ishizuchi is a mountain on the border of Saijō and Kumakōgen, in Ehime, Japan. This mountain is one of the 100 famous mountains in Japan. It is the highest mountain in Western Japan and the island of Shikoku. Outline Mount Ishizuchi is the high ...

() in Ehime at is the highest mountain on the island. Industry is moderately well developed and includes the processing of ores from the important Besshi copper mine. Land is used intensively. Wide alluvial areas, especially in the eastern part of the zone, are planted with rice and subsequently are double-cropped with winter wheat and barley. Fruit is grown throughout the northern area in great variety, including citrus fruits, persimmons, peaches, and grapes. Because of wheat production,

Sanuki udon Sanuki udon () has been the type of udon noodle most popular in the Kagawa prefecture in Japan, but is now easily found throughout the neighboring Kansai region and much of Japan. It is characterized by its square shape and flat edges with rathe ...

() became an important part of the diet in Kagawa Prefecture (formerly Sanuki Province) in the

Edo period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characteriz ...

. The larger southern area of Shikoku is mountainous and sparsely populated. The only significant lowland is a small alluvial plain at Kōchi, the prefectural capital. The area's mild winters stimulated some

truck farming A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumers and restaurants. The diversity of crops grown on a small area of land, typically from under to so ...

, specializing in growing out-of-season vegetables under plastic covering. Two crops of rice can be cultivated annually in the southern area. The

pulp and paper industry The pulp and paper industry comprises companies that use wood as raw material and produce pulp, paper, paperboard and other cellulose-based products. Manufacturing process The pulp is fed to a paper machine where it is formed as a paper web an ...

took advantage of the abundant forests and hydroelectric power. The major river in Shikoku is the

Yoshino River The Yoshino River (吉野川 ''Yoshino-gawa'') is a river on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It is long and has a watershed of . It is the second longest river in Shikoku (slightly shorter than the Shimanto), and is the only river whose watershe ...

. It runs from its source close to

, flowing basically west to east across the northern boundaries of Kōchi and Tokushima Prefectures, reaching the sea at the city of Tokushima. The Yoshino is famous for Japan's best white-water rafting, with trips going along the Oboke Koboke sections of the river. Shikoku has four important capes: Gamōda in

Anan, Tokushima 270px, Japan National Route 195 in Anan 270px, Kuwano River in Anan 270px, Aerial View of Anan 270px, near Byōdō-ji 270px, Kamodamisaki Lighthouse is a city in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 70,28 ...

on the easternmost point on the island, Sada in

Ikata, Ehime is a small peninsula town located in Nishiuwa District, Ehime Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 8,497 in 15638 households and a population density of 90 persons per km². The total area of the town is Following a rec ...

on the westernmost point. Muroto in

Muroto, Kōchi 270px, Muroto City Hall 270px, Muroto city center aerial photograph is a city located in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 12,121 in 7079 households and a population density of 49 persons per km2. The total ar ...

and Ashizuri, the southern extreme of Shikoku, in

Tosashimizu, Kōchi 270px, Tosashimizu City Hall 270px, AerialView of central Tosashimizu City is a city located in the southwest of Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 12,407 in 7004 households, and a population density of 47 perso ...

, jut into the Pacific Ocean. The island's northernmost point is in

Takamatsu 270px, Takamatsu City Hall 270px, Aerial view of Takamatsu city center 270px, View from Yashima to Takashima port is a city located in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 414,134 in 190120 households and a popul ...

. Unlike the other three major islands of Japan, Shikoku has no active volcanoes, and is the largest of Japan's islands to completely lack them. But Shikoku did experience volcanic activity in the distant prehistoric past; a major volcanic

caldera A caldera ( ) is a large cauldron-like hollow that forms shortly after the emptying of a magma chamber in a volcano eruption. When large volumes of magma are erupted over a short time, structural support for the rock above the magma chamber is ...

in the area of Mount Ishizuchi was active during the

Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...

around 14 million years ago. File:Mount_Ishizuchi.jpg,

is the highest mountain in Shikoku File:Ashizurimisaki Cape.JPG, Cape Ashizuri is at the southernmost tip of Shikoku File:Shimanto_sada_chinkabashi_fukin.jpg,

Shimanto River The is a river in western Kōchi Prefecture, Japan. 196 km in length, it has a watershed of 2,270 km². Its name is written with kanji meaning "forty thousand and ten". Since the river is remote from major cities and does not have an ...

File:Seto-Inland-Sea-Photo.jpg, Seto Inland Sea

Population

Shikoku has a total population of 3,630,320 in 2022. The largest city is

Matsuyama file:Matsuyama city office Ehime prefecture Japan.jpg, 270px, Matsuyama City Hall file:Ehimekencho-20040417.JPG, 270px, Ehime Prefectural Capital Building is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku in Japan ...

(population: 507,137) and is the capital of

Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Ehime Prefecture has a population of 1,342,011 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 5,676 km2 (2,191 sq mi). Ehime Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the northeast, Toku ...

. Shikoku is the main island with the third largest population density, at . File:松山 Matsuyama - panoramio.jpg, Matsuyama City File:Takamatsu-M3687.jpg, Takamatsu City File:高知城天守からの景色3 Kochi Castle - panoramio.jpg,

Kōchi City Kochi is a city in Kerala, India. Kochi or Kōchi may also refer to: People * Kochi people, a predominantly Pashtun nomadic people of Afghanistan * , a Japanese surname: ** Arata Kochi (born 1948 or 1949), Japanese physician and World Health Org ...

File:Tokushima City Shiroyama distant view.JPG,

Tokushima City is the capital city of Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku island in Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 249,865 in 122085 households and a population density of 1305 persons per km².The total area of the city is . Geography The ci ...

Per Japanese census data, and, Shikoku region's peak population was at 1950 and has had negative population growth from 1950 to 1970 and 1990 onward.

Culture

Society and architecture

Shikoku has historically been rather isolated and therefore it has kept the original characteristics of Japan for a longer period, especially in regards to vegetation and some architectural techniques. There are many Buddhist temples. The "lost" Shikoku has been described by an American writer, Alex Kerr, who lived in a remote mountain village near Oboke (大歩危) for many years from 1970 onwards.

Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park is a national park at the southwestern tip of the island of Shikoku, Japan. The park is spread over small areas on the western side of Shikoku between Ehime and Kōchi prefectures. The main feature of the park is Cape Ashizuri, the southernmo ...

is located in the south-western part of Shikoku.

Traditions

Yosakoi Performers at Kochi Yosakoi Matsuri 2008 40

Shikoku is also famous for its 88-temple pilgrimage of temples. The pilgrimage was established by the Heian-period Buddhist priest

Kūkai Kūkai (; 27 July 774 – 22 April 835Kūkai was born in 774, the 5th year of the Hōki era; his exact date of birth was designated as the fifteenth day of the sixth month of the Japanese lunar calendar, some 400 years later, by the Shingon sec ...

, a native of present-day Zentsūji-cho in Kagawa prefecture. According to legend, Kūkai still appears to pilgrims today. Most modern-day pilgrims travel by bus, rarely choosing the old-fashioned method of going by foot. They are seen wearing white jackets emblazoned with the characters reading ''dōgyō ninin'' () meaning "two traveling together". Tokushima Prefecture also has its annual

Awa Odori The is held from 12 to 15 August as part of the Obon festival in Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku in Japan. Awa Odori is the largest dance festival in Japan, attracting over 1.3 million tourists every year. Groups of choreographed dancers and mu ...

running in August at the time of the

Obon or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people retu ...

festival, which attracts thousands of tourists each year from all over Japan and from abroad. Kōchi Prefecture is home to the first annual

Yosakoi Yosakoi () is a unique style of dance that originated in Japan and that is performed at festivals and events all over the country. The first Yosakoi festival was held in 1954 in Kōchi, Japan, on the island of Shikoku. Yosakoi-style dancing has ...

festival. The largest festival in Kōchi, it takes place in August every year and attracts dancers and tourists from all over Japan.

Food

Kama-age sanuki udon by sekido in Takamatsu, Kagawa

One of the major foods of Shikoku is

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

Udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

is often served hot as a noodle soup in its simplest form, as ''kake udon'', in a mildly flavoured broth called '' kakejiru,'' which is made of

dashi is a family of stocks used in Japanese cuisine. ''Dashi'' forms the base for miso soup, clear broth soup, noodle broth soup, and many simmering liquids to accentuate the savory flavor known as umami. ''Dashi'' is also mixed into the flour ba ...

, soy sauce (

shōyu Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...

), and

mirin is a type of rice wine and a common ingredient in Japanese cooking. It is similar to sake but with a lower alcohol content and higher sugar content. The sugar content is a complex carbohydrate that forms naturally during the fermentation pro ...

. It is usually topped with thinly chopped scallions. Other common toppings include

tempura is a typical Japanese dish usually consisting of seafood, meat and vegetables that have been battered and deep fried. The dish was introduced by the Portuguese in Nagasaki through fritter-cooking techniques in the 16th century. The word ''tem ...

, often prawn or ''

kakiage , a Japanese dish, is a type of ''tempura''. It is made by batter-dipping and deep-frying a batch of ingredients such as shrimp bits (or a clump of small-sized shrimp). ''Kakiage'' may use other seafood such as small scallops, shredded vegeta ...

'' (a type of mixed tempura

fritter A fritter is a portion of meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables or other ingredients which have been Batter (cooking), battered or breading, breaded, or just a portion of dough without further ingredients, that is deep-frying, deep-fried. Fritters ar ...

), or ''

aburaage is a Japanese food product made from twice-fried soybeans. It is produced by cutting tofu into thin slices and deep-frying them first at 110–120 °C, and then again at 180–200 °C. ''Abura-age'' is often used to wrap , and is added to miso ...

'', a type of deep-fried

tofu Tofu (), also known as bean curd in English, is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness; it can be ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', ''extra firm'' or ''super firm ...

pockets seasoned with sugar, mirin, and soy sauce. A thin slice of kamaboko, a halfmoon-shaped fish cake, is often added.

Shichimi , also known as or simply ''shichimi'', is a common Japanese spice mixture containing seven ingredients. Tōgarashi is the Japanese name for ''Capsicum annuum'', a red pepper native to Central and South America, and it is this ingredient that ...

can be added to taste. Another specialty is Kōchi's signature dish, seared

bonito Bonitos are a tribe of medium-sized, ray-finned predatory fish in the family Scombridae – a family it shares with the mackerel, tuna, and Spanish mackerel tribes, and also the butterfly kingfish. Also called the tribe Sardini, it consists of ...

. The warm climate of Shikoku lends itself to the cultivation of citrus fruits. As a result,

yuzu Yuzu (''Citrus junos'', from Japanese or ) is a citrus fruit and plant in the family Rutaceae of East Asian origin. Yuzu has been cultivated mainly in East Asia, though recently also in New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Italy, and France. I ...

mikan ''Citrus unshiu'' is a semi-seedless and easy-peeling citrus species, also known as miyagawa mandarin, unshu mikan, cold hardy mandarin, satsuma mandarin, satsuma orange, naartjie, and tangerine. ''Citrus unshiu'' was named after Unshu (Wenzho ...

and other citrus fruits are plentiful on Shikoku and have become synonymous with the regions they are grown in.

Movements

Pioneering natural farmer

Masanobu Fukuoka was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, herbicide and pesticide free cultivation methods from which he created a particular method of agricul ...

, author of ''

The One-Straw Revolution was a Japanese farmer and philosopher celebrated for his natural farming and re-vegetation of desertified lands. He was a proponent of no-till, herbicide and pesticide free cultivation methods from which he created a particular method of agricul ...

'', developed his methods here on his family's farm.

Sports

Historically no Shikoku-based

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, th ...

team has competed in the top Japanese division of

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

or even

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

. Currently the major teams competing in Shikoku's major cities include: *

Naruto ''Naruto'' is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Masashi Kishimoto. It tells the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a young ninja who seeks recognition from his peers and dreams of becoming the Hokage, the leader of his village. T ...

Tokushima Vortis is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J2 League. The team is located in Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. Their home stadium is Naruto Otsuka Sports Park Pocari Sweat Stadium, in Naruto, Tokushima. The name, "Vorti ...

(football,

J. League Division 1 The , known as the for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the system. Founded in 1992, it is one of the most successful leagues in Asian Football Confederation, Asian club football. Contested by 18 clubs, it operates on a system of promot ...

Tokushima Indigo Socks The are a baseball team in the Shikoku Island League plus of Japan. Established in 2005, the Indigo Socks mainly play their home games at Tokushima prefecture Kuramoto stadium in Tokushima, Tokushima Prefecture. They won the 2011, 2013, 2014 20 ...

(baseball,

Shikoku-Kyūshū Island League The is an independent professional baseball league on the island of Shikoku in Japan. (None of the teams in Nippon Professional Baseball are based in Shikoku.) The league currently has four teams, and has its league headquarters in Takamatsu. Th ...

) *

: Ehime F.C. (J2),

Ehime Mandarin Pirates The are a professional baseball team in the Shikoku Island League Plus of Japan. Established in 2005, the Mandarin Pirates mainly play their home games at Botchan Stadium in Matsuyama, the capital city of Ehime Prefecture is a prefecture o ...

(SKIL) *

Kamatamare Sanuki Kamatamare Sanuki (カマタマーレ讃岐、Kamatamare Sanuki) is a football club based in Takamatsu, Kagawa, Takamatsu, the capital city of Kagawa Prefecture of Japan. They currently play in the J3 League. They entered the J League in 2014 aft ...

( JFL),

Kagawa Olive Guyners The are a professional baseball team in the Shikoku Island League Plus of Japan. Established in 2005, the Guyners play at Olive Stadium in the Kagawa Prefectural Baseball Complex in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. They won the 2006, 2007, 2008, 2 ...

(SKIL) * Kōchi, Kōchi: Kōchi Fighting Dogs (SKIL)

Notable sportspeople

Two time darts Women's World Champion

Mikuru Suzuki is a Japanese darts player. She was a two-time back-to-back British Darts Organisation (BDO) women's world champion. She plays in events of the World Darts Federation (WDF). Career Suzuki is an experienced soft-tip darts player, having competed ...

is a native of Takamatsu in Kagawa Prefecture on Shikoku.

Transportation

Roads

Shikoku is connected to Honshu by three

expressways Expressway may refer to: *Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic. *Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road. *Expressway, the fictional slide ...

, which together form the Honshū–Shikoku Bridge Project. *

Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway The is a tolled expressway that connects Hyōgo and Tokushima prefectures in Japan by crossings of the Akashi Strait and Naruto Strait. Built between 1970 and 1998, it is one of the three routes of the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company ...

(Eastern Shikoku) *

Seto-Chūō Expressway The is a tolled Expressways of Japan, expressway that connects Okayama Prefecture, Okayama and Kagawa Prefecture, Kagawa prefectures in Japan across a series of five small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. Built between 1978 and 1988, it is one of t ...

(Central Shikoku) *

Nishiseto Expressway The , often called the is an expressway in Japan that connects Onomichi, Hiroshima and Imabari, Ehime, going through nine of the Geiyo Islands, including Ōshima, Ōmishima, and Innoshima. The road and multiple bridges crossing across the Set ...

(Western Shikoku) The eastern gateway to Shikoku,

Tokushima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 728,633 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of 4,146 km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, E ...

has been linked to the

since 1998. This line connects Shikoku to the

Kansai The or the , lies in the southern-central region of Japan's main island Honshu, Honshū. The region includes the Prefectures of Japan, prefectures of Nara Prefecture, Nara, Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto, Osaka Prefectur ...

area which has a large population, including the large

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

s of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

, and

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

. Therefore, the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway carries a large traffic volume. Many highway buses are operated between

and

. The central part of Shikoku is connected to Honshu by ferry, air, and – since 1988 – by the

Great Seto Bridge The is a series of double deck bridges connecting Okayama and Kagawa prefectures in Japan across a series of five small islands in the Seto Inland Sea. Built over the period 1978–88, it is one of the three routes of the Honshū–Shikoku Bri ...

network. Until completion of the bridges, the region was isolated from the rest of Japan. The freer movement between Honshu and Shikoku was expected to promote economic development on both sides of the bridges, which has not materialized yet. Within the island, a web of

national highways National Highways, formerly the Highways Agency and later Highways England, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in England. It al ...

connects the major population centers. These include Routes 11, 32, 33, 55, and 56.

Rail

The

Shikoku Railway Company The , commonly known as , is the smallest of the seven constituent companies of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates of intercity and local rail services in the four prefectures on the island of Shikoku in Japan. The company has it ...

(JR Shikoku) serves the island and connects to Honshu via the

. JR lines include: *

Yosan Line The is the principal railway line on the island of Shikoku in Japan, connecting the major cities of Shikoku, and via the Honshi-Bisan Line, with Honshu. It is operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku), and is aligned approximately pa ...

Dosan Line is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by the Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Tadotsu Station in Tadotsu, Kagawa, and Kubokawa Station in Shimanto, Kōchi. The line links the city of Kōchi with northern Shikoku and t ...

Kōtoku Line The is a railway line in northeastern Shikoku, Japan that connects the prefectural capitals Takamatsu (Kagawa) and Tokushima (Tokushima). Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) owns and operates the line, whose name comes from the characters in th ...

Tokushima Line The is a railway line in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). The Tokushima Line connects Sako Station in Tokushima and Tsukuda Station in Miyoshi from west to east in central Tokushima Pre ...

Mugi Line The is a railway line in southeastern Tokushima Prefecture, Japan, owned and operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects the prefectural capital of Tokushima with the town of Kaiyō in Kaifu District. The line's official nic ...

Naruto Line The is a railway line in Japan operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Ikenotani Station and Naruto Station in Naruto, Tokushima. History In 1916 the Awa Electric Railway Co. opened a line from Nakahara to Naruto, includin ...

Uchiko Line The is the name of a short section of railway line that was originally a branch line before a section of it was upgraded and became part of the Yosan Line. It connects in Uchiko, Kita District to in Ōzu, entirely in Ehime Prefecture on the ...

Yodo Line The is a railway line in Shikoku, Japan, operated by Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku). It connects Station, Shimanto, Kōchi (town), Shimanto, Takaoka District, Kōchi, Takaoka District in Kōchi Prefecture and Uwajima, Ehime, Uwajima in Eh ...

* Honshi Bisan Line * Seto Ōhashi Line Private railway lines operate in each of the four prefectures on Shikoku.

Air travel

Shikoku lacks a full international airport but has four regional/domestic airports (

Tokushima Airport is a joint civil-military public airport in Matsushige, Tokushima, Japan, near the city of Tokushima. In addition to scheduled passenger operations, the airport is the base of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Tokushima Air Training Group ...

Takamatsu Airport is a second class airport located south southwestAIS Japan
of

Kōchi Ryōma Airport Kochi is a city in Kerala, India. Kochi or Kōchi may also refer to: People * Kochi people, a predominantly Pashtun nomadic people of Afghanistan * , a Japanese surname: ** Arata Kochi (born 1948 or 1949), Japanese physician and World Health Org ...

and

Matsuyama Airport is an airport located west southwestAIS Japan
of Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

Nagoya is the largest city in the Chūbu region, the fourth-most populous city and third most populous urban area in Japan, with a population of 2.3million in 2020. Located on the Pacific coast in central Honshu, it is the capital and the most pop ...

Sapporo ( ain, サッ・ポロ・ペッ, Satporopet, lit=Dry, Great River) is a city in Japan. It is the largest city north of Tokyo and the largest city on Hokkaido, the northernmost main island of the country. It ranks as the fifth most populous city ...

, and

Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancie ...

. International flights to

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

are serviced by

Asiana Airlines Asiana Airlines Inc. ( ) is a South Korean airline headquartered in Seoul.Home
." Asiana Airlines. Retrieved 13 September 2 ...

from

and

. There are periodic international charter flights as well. Sea Travel Ferries link Shikoku to destinations including Honshu,

, and islands around Shikoku.

References

External links

Kitaro Shikoku Peace Bell Project
{{Authority control Japanese archipelago Islands of Ehime Prefecture Islands of Kagawa Prefecture Islands of Kōchi Prefecture Islands of Tokushima Prefecture

Geography

Population

Culture

Society and architecture

Traditions

Food

Movements

Sports

Notable sportspeople

Transportation

Roads

Rail

Air travel

See also

References

External links