Introducing recommended local information in Kagawa Prefecture. Kagawa Prefecture is home to tourist attractions such as the Seto-ohashi Bridge, Kurokawa Hot Springs, and Kichijoji Temple; sightseeing events such as the Setsubun Festival, Marugame Castle Festival, and Mushifuri; and local delicacies such as Sanuki udon, Wasanbon, and Kamado.
Kagawa Prefecture is one of the prefectures in Shikoku, facing the Seto Inland Sea, and was once known as Sanuki Province, and includes more than 110 islands, including Shodoshima. Although Kagawa Prefecture is the smallest prefecture in Japan in terms of area, it has many historical sites, and many of them have appeared on the historical stage and have become tourist attractions.
Kagawa Prefecture was used as a penal colony during the Kamakura period (1185-1333), but after the fall of the Kamakura shogunate, the Hosokawa clan, a branch of the Ashikaga clan, ruled the area as a guardian feudal lord.
After the Hosokawa clan was defeated in battle during the Nanbokucho period, the area was ruled by various warlords. In the Edo period (1603-1867), the feudal lord changed to the Ikoma clan, and then to Matsudaira Yorishige, the heir to the Mito Tokugawa clan, and the area was divided into three domains.
Marugame Castle, a national historic site and an important cultural property, is a flat mountain castle also known as Kameyama Castle or Horai Castle. Marugame Castle is a sightseeing spot where the castle tower and the Oteichimon Gate still exist, and a park has been established where visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of the Seto Inland Sea from the castle tower.
Kagawa Prefecture is the birthplace of Gennai Hiraga, a Dutch scholar and inventor, and as such has facilities such as the Hiraga Gennai Memorial Museum and the Museum of Gennai Hiraga's Remains, where visitors can see Japan's first friction static electricity generator, the elektron, and other related items.
Since Kagawa Prefecture contains many islands of various sizes, marine transportation is an important means of transportation, and boats such as Shikoku Ferry and Shodoshima Express Ferry, a jumbo ferry, operate in the area, making boat trips enjoyable. Some private fishing boats operate in the area, allowing visitors to enjoy fishing from their boats.
Kagawa Prefecture is famous throughout Japan for its Sanuki Udon noodles. Sanuki udon is a specialty of Kagawa Prefecture and a regional brand of udon. Udon is highly favored in Kagawa Prefecture, and many restaurants serving udon are famous and crowded, with people standing in line to get in.
Kagawa Prefecture is also the largest consumer of udon in Japan, and the Kagawa Prefecture Tourism Association has even campaigned to change the name of the prefecture to "Udon Prefecture" to reflect the image of Kagawa as a place where people think of udon. Sanuki udon has recently become available everywhere in Japan, but the way of eating it is often adapted to the region and may differ from that of the original Kagawa Prefecture.
Data shows that 66.4% of visitors to Kagawa Prefecture ate udon, so if you visit Kagawa Prefecture, you should definitely try the authentic Sanuki udon.
Located at the eastern foot of Mt. Shikun, this garden has a nearly 400-year history and has been designated as a national special scenic beauty spot.It is the largest Japanese garden in Japan, covering an area of approximately 75 hectares, and has six ponds and 13 artificial hills against the backdrop of Mt. The garden is rich in plants and trees, especially black pine, and is dotted with cherry...»
Chibumogahama Beach is a 1 km long beach that attracts many bathers in summer. It is a hot topic on SNS as a place to take pictures like those of Lake Uyuni, where the surface of the water looks like a mirror. It has been selected as one of the 88 scenic spots in Shikoku (No. 70) as "the magic hour of Chichi Hamagahama sunset before sunset. PhotographyBeautiful photos can be taken during the "m...»
Naoshima is known as an island of art in the Seto Inland Sea. The island is not only home to museums that exhibit artists' works, such as Benesse House, the Chichu Art Museum, and the Lee Ufan Museum, but also to a project to preserve and revitalize uninhabited old houses and turn them into permanent exhibition spaces for contemporary art installations, blending the island's traditional landscape...»
The gorge stretches 7 kilometers from east to west and 4 kilometers from north to south between Hoshigajo and Uminohara Plateau.The beauty of this valley, one of the most beautiful in Japan, has been designated as a national scenic beauty, and has been selected as one of the three most beautiful valleys in Japan, one of the three most bizarre sights in Japan, one of the 100 most scenic views in Ja...»
Shodoshima Olive Park is a town park, theme park, and roadside station on Shodoshima Island.It is adjacent to an olive grove where olives were successfully cultivated for the first time in Japan during the Meiji Era (1868-1912). On a small hill overlooking the Seto Inland Sea, visitors will find the Olive Memorial Museum, which introduces the history and culture of Shodoshima and olives, a Greek ...»
The Seto-ohashi Bridge spans the Seto Inland Sea and connects Honshu and Shikoku. Six bridges and four viaducts connect Sakaide City, Kagawa Prefecture, and Kurashiki City, Okayama Prefecture. With a total length of 9,368 meters, it is the world's longest bridge that combines rail and road. At the foot of the bridge on the Sakaide side is the Seto-ohashi Memorial Park, which houses the Seto-ohas...»
The four-story stone wall is 60 meters high.The castle was built on the 66-meter-high Kameyama Mountain and surrounded by a moat (inner moat). It is one of the 12 existing castle towers. The four layers of stonewalls piled up from the inner moat where swans play to the top of the mountain are said to be the tallest in Japan, exceeding 60 meters in total.It is called the "fan slope" and is beautif...»
The shrine is located on Mt. Zotou and was called Konpira Daigongen before the separation of Shinto and Buddhism in the early Meiji period.It is the head shrine of the approximately 600 Konpira, Kotohira, or Kompira shrines in Japan. The approach to the shrine is 785 stone steps to the main shrine and 1,368 steps to the inner shrine.The large precincts are dotted with historic shrines and halls, ...»
This is a popular spot where an 800-meter-long road appears and disappears with the ebb and flow of the tide.When the tide is low, you can cross to Yodo Island. Twice a day, at low tide, mysterious sand appears from the sea.Because of this mysterious phenomenon, it is said that if you cross the island hand in hand with your loved one, an angel will descend in the middle of the sandbar and make yo...»
The Kankei-kei Ropeway is a ropeway that allows you to enjoy the scenery of Kankei-kei, one of Japan's three most scenic wonders in the town of Shodoshima.From Koun-tei Station to the top of the mountain, it is a 5-minute aerial walk with a total length of 917 meters and a height difference of 312 meters. Kanxiakei is a large valley between Hoshigajo and Uminohara Kogen, extending 7 kilometers fr...»
Like Benesse House, Chichu Art Museum was designed by architect Tadao Ando. The architecture itself is a work of art. Claude Monet's "Waterlilies" and works by James Turrell and Walter De Maria, two leading contemporary artists who have long been associated with Naoshima, are permanently installed....»
Takamatsu Castle was built in 1590 in the port town, and was the first and largest castle built as a sea castle in the early modern period. Also known as Tamamo Castle. The castle tower does not exist, but the Kitanomaru Tsukimi-yagura, Kitanomaru Mizute-gomon, Kitanomaru Watari-yagura, and the former East Maru Gon-yagura (Ushitora-yagura) still exist and are designated as important cultural prop...»
The sculptor Isamu Noguchi's studio in Mure-cho, Takamatsu City is open to the public in its original state.The exhibition collection, the Isamu family's surroundings, and the sculpture garden can also be viewed. He used Aji stone, a granite produced in Mure Town, Aji Town (now Takamatsu City), Kagawa Prefecture, as the material for his work in the UNESCO garden, which led him to establish a stud...»
Located on the small island of Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea, Benesse House Museum is a contemporary art museum with a hotel. Designed by architect Tadao Ando based on the concept of "symbiosis of nature, architecture, and art," the museum is open to the outside, allowing visitors to always feel the nature outside even when inside. In addition to the works in the museum's collection, site-spec...»
Onigashima Giant Cave is located in the middle of Washigamine in the center of Megijima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea with the legend of Momotaro.Inside the cave is a recreation of the ogre's hall, living room, and an antechamber for the ogre guard. Inside the cave is cool even in summer, creating a mysterious atmosphere.At a souvenir shop near the cave, visitors can enjoy eating kibidango (s...»