A Week in Kagawa
Slow down. Look Closer. Meet the People.
Seven days. Two home bases. One gentle journey from an old pilgrimage town to farming country and the shores of the Seto Inland Sea.
This is not a race around Kagawa. It is an invitation to stay long enough for places to open up—to learn from local makers, walk with people who know the stories and leave space for the unexpected moments that make regional Japan memorable.
Itinerary
DAY 1
My Kotohira
Arrive in Kotohira and settle into KotoVegas, a “town-wide hotel” created from restored homes and former shops.
Begin with coffee at Sando Sand. Stand, part café, part gallery and part neighbourhood living room. Wander without an agenda before gathering at DONZO Brewing for locally brewed beer, regional flavours and an easy first introduction to the people reshaping Kotohira.
KotoVegas, Kotohira
Experiences
DAY 2
Beyond the Konpira Steps
Join a local guide for the ascent to Kotohira-gū. The 785 steps are only part of the story. Along the way, uncover pilgrimage traditions, hidden details and the shrine’s centuries-old relationship with travellers and the sea.
After a long lunch and time to rest, step inside Kanamaruza, Japan’s oldest surviving complete kabuki theatre. Explore its timber stage, dressing rooms, trapdoors and ingenious human-powered machinery.
KotoVegas, Kotohira
Experiences
DAY 3
Made by Hand
Make lunch yourself at Nakano Udon School. Knead, roll and cut Sanuki udon before sitting down to eat the noodles you created.
Later, visit Kotohira Yoshinoya, the town’s last traditional dye workshop. Work with locally grown indigo and a Sanuki norizome craftsperson to create a tenugui carrying the marks of your own hands.
KotoVegas, Kotohira
Experiences
DAY 4
The Land Behind the Town
Walk into the bamboo forest around Sabumi Terrace with community organiser Keita Kitayama. Learn how neglected bamboo forests affect the satoyama landscape and how local people are turning the problem into craft, light and new community connections.
Continue to Sunnyside Fields for lunch, chocolate, coffee and time outdoors among fields and mountains.
In the afternoon, travel west to Hako and settle into HAKOYA, a restored traditional house in a small fishing village on the Shonai Peninsula. Take a quiet walk through the village before dinner.
Hakoya, Shonai Peninsula
Experiences
DAY 5
The Temple by the Sea
Pick up bread from Sea to Sky, the peninsula’s small local bakery, before continuing to Byōbugaura Kaigan-ji.
Explore the coastal temple with Joto-san and hear its connections to Kūkai, his mother and the beginnings of the Shikoku pilgrimage. Walk between its seaside and hillside precincts, meet its unusual sumo-wrestler guardians and finish beside the beach overlooking the Seto Inland Sea.
Hakoya, Shonai Peninsula
Experiences
DAY 6
Follow the Inland Sea
Meet Captain Sue at Suda Port and head onto the Seto Inland Sea. From the water, the Shonai Peninsula becomes a landscape of fishing settlements, wooded headlands and islands shaped by generations of maritime life.
Return to HAKOYA with time to rest, share a local meal and watch evening settle over the village.
Hakoya, Shonai Peninsula
Experiences
DAY 7
Mountain, Sea and Sky
Travel to the summit of Mt Shiude, where the Shonai Peninsula and the islands of the Seto Inland Sea unfold below. Explore the observation deck and traces of a settlement dating back more than 2,000 years.
Pause for lunch at Cafe de flots, where local produce is seasoned with salt made from nearby seawater.
Keep the afternoon free before heading to Chichibugahama Beach. As the tide retreats and the light softens, shallow pools reflect the evening sky.
Watch the colours change. Stay after the photographs are taken. Let the journey end slowly.
Hakoya, Shonai Peninsula
Experiences
Ready to explore more?
Share your email to receive your Spring 2027 itinerary: