Japanese terraced rice paddies, Shodoshima, Kagawa, Japan

Beautiful beaches of Shodoshima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Kagawa, Japan

Beautiful lush green landscape of countryside Japan, Kankakei Gorge, Shodoshima

Scenic landscape of Shodoshima Island, Seto Inland Sea, Kagawa, Japan

Wild Japanese monkeys, Naoshima Island, Kagawa, Japan

Rugged dynamic landscape of countryside Japan, Kankakei Gorge, Shodoshima

Rugged and lush green landscape of countryside Japan, Shodoshima Island, Seto Inland Sea

Lush green landscape of Shodoshima from above, Seto Inland Sea, Japan

Rice terraces in Japanese countryside, Shodoshima Island, Kagawa

Shodoshima Island

Shodoshima Island is a great one-stop island to have a first-hand experience of a rural Japanese lifestyle. Shodoshima has one of the most famous volcanic gorges in Japan (Kankakei Gorge) for its dynamic rocky landscape covered in Japanese maple trees. Shodoshima is also a good place to experience one of Japan’s “Senmaida” (one-thousand-rice-terraces), a rice terrace area which is a truly beautiful rural mountain scene. Shodoshima is also known for its olives (it is the origin of olive cultivation in Japan), soy sauce, wild monkeys (Japanese Macaques), and beautiful beaches. There are also typical fisherman villages and Seto-island-sea cultural places to learn about the island’s history and the laid-back island life.
For those who are interested in delicious local island food, there is an interesting cafe called Komame Cafe (Komame Shokudo) in a renovated old wooden house. They also run sea-kayaking tours.

PrefectureKagawaSize153 sq kmPopulationApproximately 28,000AccessShodo Island is accessible by ferry from numerous locations; 70 mins from Okayama Port, 90 mins from Uno Port, 4.5 hours from Osaka Port, 1 hour from Takamatsu Port (Shikoku), etc. Getting aroundCar rental