Shodoshima Island Bus Tour from Takamatsu

Sightseeing by bus for total 7 hours

The Kankakei Gorge is a breathtaking ravine at the center of Shodoshima Island. It is ranked as one of Japan's three most beautiful gorges and becomes particularly spectacular during the autumn color season which usually takes place in the second half of November. A ropeway runs the length of the gorge between a rather basic lower station and a more developed upper station with a souvenir shop and restaurant. Both stations can be reached by car and offer parking lots. The upper station is near Shodoshima's highest peak and has observation decks with nice panoramic views over the gorge, the island and the Seto Inland Sea. In addition to the ropeway, two hiking trails lead between the two stations. They are easy but steep trails that run mostly through the forest. The western trail is roughly two kilometers long and takes about one hour uphill or 30-45 minutes downhill. The eastern trail does not follow the ropeway as closely and is about three kilometers long.

Nestled up against the mountains in Shodoshima's interior are the Senmaida or "one thousand rice fields". Seemingly hundreds of terraced rice fields are built into the surrounding hills, creating a beautiful rural sight. In the nearby village stands an outdoor kabuki stage on which local kabuki plays have been performed since the Edo Period.

Shodoshima Island’s soy sauce factories are concentrated in an area called Soy Sauce Village, where warehouses and factories built during the Meiji era (1868-1912) line the road from Yasuda to Sakate Port. The buildings, still in use today, create a historic atmosphere with their traditional charred wood cladding and old plaster walls.

Shodoshima is the birth place of olive cultivation in Japan. The island's Mediterranean climate made it an ideal place for growing olives, which was first succeeded in 1908. Since then the island has been a top producer of Japanese olives and olive oil, and has earned Shodoshima the nickname "Olive Island".

Enjoy Art objeccts on the way back (sd60, sd59)