Shikoku in Summer

The Yoshino River is one of Japan's three great wild rivers (日本三大暴れ川) along with the Tone and the Chikugo, and the longest river on Shikoku, with the western Tokushima section carving the Oboke and Koboke Gorges (大歩危・小歩危) through the Shikoku Mountains and exposing crystalline schist that was metamorphosed deep in the earth between 200 and 100 million years ago. The Koboke section downstream has continuous Class 3 to 4 rapids and hosted the 2017 World Rafting Championship, with half day and full day rafting tours from local operators running from March to the end of October, a full day on the Koboke section priced by Happy Raft at ¥11,000 in normal season, ¥13,000 in high season and ¥15,500 over Obon. The Oboke section upstream has gentler rapids suited to the Oboke Gorge Sightseeing Boat (大歩危峡遊覧船), a 30 minute cruise at ¥1,500 for adults from Hotel Mannaka that runs the calmer stretches of the river between crystalline schist cliffs of "Awa no Aoishi" blue stone, with the Oboke rock banks designated a National Natural Monument for their geology in March 2014. The wider area is also home to the Lapis Oboke rest area with its Yokai Museum and to the remote Iya Valley further inland with its famous vine bridges. From JR Tokushima Station the Limited Express Tsurugisan runs along the Tokushima Line to Awa-Ikeda, where a change onto the Dosan Line reaches Oboke Station, about two to two and a half hours in total depending on the connection, with hourly Limited Express trains between Okayama and Kochi also stopping at Oboke.

仁淀川 (Niyodo River) rises on Mount Ishizuchi in Ehime and runs 124 kilometres through the mountains of central Kochi to the Pacific just west of Kochi City. It has been ranked first in Japan for river water quality in several recent years, and the clear blue of its upper reaches and side gorges is known as 仁淀ブルー (Niyodo Blue), a colour that shifts towards green through the summer. Like the Shimanto further west, the river is crossed by 沈下橋 (chinkabashi), low concrete bridges without railings that let floodwater pass over the top, among them the 121 metre Asao Chinkabashi in Ochi and the 191 metre Nagoya Chinkabashi in Hidaka. In summer the lower river is the place for swimming, canoeing and paddling from the gravel banks, and up in the mountains of Niyodogawa Town the 安居渓谷 (Yasui Gorge) and 中津渓谷 (Nakatsu Gorge) hold the deepest blue pools. The only yakatabune houseboat on the river runs a 50 minute round trip from Hidaka, about 16 km west of Kochi City, serving grilled ayu from June. Ino, on the lower river, is the easiest base, a short train ride west of Kochi Station on the JR Dosan Line.

Cape Muroto (室戸岬) is the southeastern tip of Shikoku in Kochi and a UNESCO Global Geopark, sitting directly above the Nankai Trough where the Philippine Sea Plate slides beneath the Eurasian Plate and the land around the cape is being uplifted at 1 to 2 metres per millennium, one of the highest rates of tectonic uplift in the world. The coastal walking path around the cape passes through the kigan rock formations that were once on the ocean floor and now stand exposed at the shoreline, where アコウ (Ako) fig trees spread their roots across the rocks. A statue of 中岡慎太郎 (Nakaoka Shintaro), the Tosa loyalist of the 1860s, looks out to sea from the cape, and Mikurodo Cave (御厨人窟) at the base of the cape is the spot where the monk Kobo Daishi practised asceticism at the age of 19 and is said to have achieved enlightenment after seeing only sky and sea from inside the cave, later taking the name Kūkai meaning "sky and sea" from the experience. Hotsumisakiji Temple (最御崎寺) sits on the highland above the cape and is the 24th temple of the 88 temple Shikoku Pilgrimage, founded by Kobo Daishi in 807 AD on his return to the site, with the Cape Muroto Lighthouse next to the temple built in 1899 and equipped with one of the largest first order Fresnel lenses in Japan visible for around 48 kilometres out to sea. From Kochi Station the JR Dosan Line and Tosa Kuroshio Gomen-Nahari Line run to Nahari Station in around 1 hour 30 minutes with a change at Gomen, and a Kochi Tobu Kotsu bus covers the last stretch to the cape in around 60 minutes, so allow about two and a half hours in all.

The Shikoku Karst (四国カルスト) is a limestone plateau stretching about 25 kilometres along the border between Ehime and Kochi prefectures at elevations of 1,000 to 1,500 metres, with its highest point at Tengu-no-mori in the eastern Tengu Kogen area at 1,485 metres, and it is counted as one of Japan's three major karst landscapes alongside Akiyoshidai in Yamaguchi and Hiraodai in Fukuoka. Summer is when the plateau is at its best, with the grasslands at their fullest green, brown Japanese cattle grazing freely across the open pastures, and highland species such as ハンカイソウ (Hankai-sō, a yellow flower of the daisy family) appearing on the slopes. The plateau crosses three main areas connected by Prefectural Route 383, nicknamed 天空の道 (Tenkū no Michi, the Road in the Sky) and listed among Japan's 100 most scenic roads. Tengu Kogen at the eastern end has the highest viewpoints and forest therapy walking trails surfaced with Japanese cypress wood chips. Mezurudaira in the centre is the main tourist hub, with the Mezuruso inn, cottages, a campground and observation points among the pastureland. Ōnogahara at the western end has the most dramatic limestone outcrops, often compared to flocks of sheep, and Genji-gada-ba at 1,402 metres opens out toward the Bungo Strait on clear days. The plateau sits well above the surrounding lowlands and stays noticeably cooler than the Ehime and Kochi coastal cities in August, and its distance from urban light makes it one of the best stargazing spots in western Japan. The drive from Matsuyama takes around 2 to 2.5 hours via National Route 33 and Route 383, public transport is limited, and a rental car is the practical way in. Sections of Route 383 narrow to one lane, so plan to set off in the morning to give yourself time to drive slowly and to be back below the plateau before the late afternoon mist settles in.

讃岐うどん (Sanuki Udon) comes from Kagawa, the smallest prefecture in the country and the one most completely defined by a single food. The noodle is thick and chewy with a firm bite that sets it apart from softer udon elsewhere, a result of high gluten wheat and the kneading. Kagawa calls itself うどん県 (Udon Prefecture) and has the figures behind it. The 2021 economic census counted 5.08 soba and udon shops per 10,000 residents against a national average of 1.99, and households in Takamatsu spend more on udon and soba than those in any other prefectural capital. Summer is when the cold preparations come forward. ざるうどん (zaru udon) arrives chilled on a bamboo tray with concentrated cold broth for dipping. ぶっかけうどん (bukkake udon) has the noodles tightened in cold water and a smaller volume of stronger cold dashi poured straight over them, finished with grated daikon. 生醤油うどん (nama-shoyu udon) is plainer again, cold noodles dressed with soy, ginger and spring onion so the texture carries the dish. Shops divide into three types, the sit down 一般店 (ippanten), the セルフ店 (serufu-ten) where you carry your own bowl, and the 製麺所 (seimenjo), noodle wholesalers that began serving straight from the workshop counter and keep their own ordering rituals, a handful of seats and short hours, closing as soon as the day's noodles run out. Eating through several shops in a morning is normal here, and starting early is the only way to be sure of the seimenjo.

青ゆず (Ao Yuzu) is yuzu picked green and unripe, and it is a summer product in its own right rather than an early version of the winter fruit. Kochi grows 53 per cent of the national yuzu crop, and the open field green harvest runs from July through October, with greenhouse fruit starting earlier. Picked green, the fruit is sharper and more aromatic, with the fragrance concentrated in the peel, and it is used differently from the ripe yellow fruit. The whole green fruit is grated for zest, pressed for 青ゆず果汁 for dressings and ponzu, and worked into 青ゆず胡椒, a green yuzu and chilli paste. 馬路村 (Umaji Village) and 北川村 (Kitagawa Village) in the eastern mountains are the growing areas whose names appear on the bottles. Squeezed over summer fish or into a glass with shochu is how it is used locally, and the yellow winter fruit is a different thing entirely.

すだち (Sudachi) is a small green citrus that Tokushima has almost entirely to itself, at 98 per cent of national shipments, and it carries a Ministry of Agriculture Geographical Indication registered in March 2023. The open field harvest opens in August and runs into October, which is the fruit to look for, since the greenhouse crop runs from March and cold stored fruit fills the rest of the year. It is smaller and sharper than yuzu with a more herbal edge, and the difference in use matters. Yuzu is valued for the fragrance of its peel and goes into ponzu and pastes, while sudachi is cut in half and squeezed fresh over whatever is on the plate. Tokushima puts it on grilled fish, on somen, into soup, over sashimi and into shochu, and the prefecture has made it the prefectural flower. It is sold in nets at every roadside stand in the prefecture from August onwards.