In Matsuyama the evening begins with the sound of wooden sandals and bathrobes along the lanes near Dogo Onsen, where people walk between the bathhouse and the shopping arcade with their towels. This route links four stops on Shikoku, the island of Ehime, Kochi and Kagawa, for travelers who want hot springs, seared bonito, a landscape garden and a day among museums.
Is 5 Days enough for Japan?
Five days is enough for one slice of Japan, not for the country, and it suits travelers who would rather know one island than touch six cities. This plan stays on Shikoku, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, and moves through Matsuyama, Kochi, Takamatsu and Naoshima at the pace of a person who wants time for a long meal and a second bath.
Shikoku lies southwest of Honshu, across the Seto Inland Sea, and it is made of four prefectures: Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime and Kochi. The route here touches three of them. Matsuyama is the capital of Ehime and the largest city on the island.
Kochi, on the Pacific side, is the capital of its prefecture. Takamatsu is the capital of Kagawa, in the north of the island. Naoshima, the art island, is closer to Honshu but belongs administratively to Kagawa, so it fits the Kagawa day naturally.
What you gain by staying in one region is texture. You eat the local things in the places that make them: sea bream and citrus in Ehime, bonito in Kochi, udon in Kagawa.
You spend your hours in a bathhouse, a garden and a gallery instead of a station. The coastline along the Seto Inland Sea gives the island a scenic edge, and the islands of the Setouchi archipelago have a mild climate, clean beaches and sparkling blue waters.
What the route leaves for another trip is Tokushima, the fourth prefecture, and the longer loops that would take in more of the Pacific coast and the interior. It also leaves out Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka entirely. If you land in Tokyo, a flight from Haneda to Matsuyama is the way this plan begins, which keeps the first day free for the baths instead of the rails.
A trip like this works best for people who like to wander, who are happy with a day that contains one big sight and several small stops, and who do not mind that the island’s pace is slower than the big cities. It is a good fit for couples, for friends traveling together and for repeat visitors to Japan who have already done the classic loop.
The itinerary stage by stage
Days 1 and 2: Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen
You arrive by air at Matsuyama Airport, on a flight from Haneda that takes about 1 hour 30 minutes, and the first afternoon belongs to Dogo Onsen. This public bathhouse is thought to be the oldest in Japan.
Since January 2019, renovation works have partially closed the Honkan, the main building, leaving two small first-floor baths open, one for each gender, while the rest of the building is closed. Even so, the neighborhood around it is worth the walk, with its covered arcade, its sweet shops and the sight of guests strolling in yukata, the light cotton robes. Sleep in a ryokan or a hotel near the springs.
Day 2 widens the view to the rest of the city. Matsuyama is a literary town, tied to the novel Botchan, and the castle on its hill gives a look over the rooftops.
Ehime is known for its citrus, so mikan oranges turn up as juice, jelly and sweets in the shops. At lunch look for taimeshi, sea bream cooked or served over rice, and jakoten, fish cakes with a rough, savory bite. A tram line crosses town, and an evening back in the bath district closes the day.
If it rains, the covered arcades near Dogo give you somewhere to browse, and the baths are a good answer to a gray afternoon. Matsuyama sets the tone for the rest of the trip: unhurried, built around the table and the bath.
Day 3: Kochi and the Pacific side
Kochi sits on the Pacific Ocean, and the mood changes as soon as you arrive. The city is open, a little rougher around the edges than Matsuyama, and proud of its food.
The signature dish is katsuo no tataki, bonito seared over burning straw and served in thick slices with garlic, ginger and citrus. Hirome Market is the kind of place where you sit at long tables, collect small plates from different counters and eat in the middle of the crowd.
Between meals, walk the grounds of Kochi Castle and, if the day is Sunday, wander the long open-air street market, a tradition in the city with stalls selling vegetables, knives, sweets and potted plants. Kochi is the stop where you feel the Pacific, with a coastline and a spirit that differ from the Inland Sea towns on either side. Stay in a business hotel in the center, close to the food streets and the castle.
To reach Kochi from the mainland, the route is the Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to Okayama Station and then the JR Shikoku bus from the west side of the station. Within Shikoku, the move from Matsuyama to Kochi is made overland.
Day 4: Takamatsu, Ritsurin Garden and Yashima
Takamatsu is the capital of Kagawa Prefecture, in northern Shikoku, and its great set piece is Ritsurin Garden, a Japanese garden designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty by the Japanese government. It is spectacular in spring during cherry blossom season and in autumn with its vivid colors. You spend the morning among ponds, bridges and pruned pines, stopping at a teahouse by the water if you like.
In the afternoon, climb to Yashima, the plateau with Yashima Temple and views over the Inland Sea. The temple is free to enter, and it is a place to slow down.
Then take the evening for what Kagawa is known for, sanuki udon, thick noodles served hot in broth or cold with a dipping sauce, often with tempura or a raw egg. Sleep in the center of Takamatsu so you can reach the harbor in the morning.
| Site | Admission |
|---|---|
| Yashima Temple, Takamatsu | Free |
July and August can be quite warm in Takamatsu, so the garden is gentler on the visitor in other months, while January and February are the coldest, with occasional freezing nights.
Day 5: Naoshima, the art island
The last day goes by sea to Naoshima, an island in the Seto Inland Sea known for its contemporary art installations and museums. Part of the experience is that the art is not only inside galleries.
Sculptures stand on the shore, houses in the village have been turned into installations, and you walk from one to the next with the sea close by. Benesse House, the Chichu Art Museum and the yellow pumpkin on the pier are names you will hear.
Spend the day on foot between villages and museums, with a lunch in a small café, and leave the evening free for the journey out. Naoshima is described as ideal for short getaways from Okayama, Takamatsu, Hiroshima and Kobe, which means you can continue from Takamatsu to Okayama and from there to the rest of Japan.
Getting between stops
| Leg | How |
|---|---|
| Tokyo Haneda to Matsuyama | By air, to Matsuyama Airport |
| Matsuyama to Kochi | By road, within Shikoku |
| Okayama to Kochi | Tokaido-Sanyo Shinkansen to Okayama Station, then JR Shikoku bus from the west side of the station |
| Kochi to Takamatsu | By road, within Shikoku |
| Takamatsu to Naoshima | By sea, across the Seto Inland Sea |
The one timed link in this plan is the flight from Haneda to Matsuyama, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Everything else is done on the ground, and the express bus network is the tool Shikoku offers.
The Shikoku Highway Bus Free Pass allows unlimited rides on express buses within the island and comes as a 2-day, 3-day or 5-day pass. Boarding dates can be set to any days within the validity period, with no limit to the number of rides, so the pass does not have to be spent on consecutive days.
If you prefer the train, the types are worth knowing. Local trains stop at every station. Rapid trains skip the smaller stations and need no supplement. Express trains serve fewer stops, and a supplement may apply. Japanese trains have a reputation for being always on time, which lets you plan to the minute.
Driving is possible but comes with conditions. Traffic moves on the left, road signs are hard to read if you do not know Japanese, and highway tolls can be very high. The cities can be congested, a reason to move between cities by public transport and to keep a car, if you take one, for the stretches that need it.
What to book before your 5 Days in Japan
The first is whether to buy the Shikoku Highway Bus Free Pass, in its 2-day, 3-day or 5-day version, which covers express buses within the island.
The second is an IC card, a rechargeable card that works on trains, buses and boats as well as in vending machines, convenience stores and some taxis. Most require a 500 yen deposit, and although regions have their own cards, they can be used throughout Japan. The third is lodging: a ryokan or hotel near Dogo Onsen for the first nights, then one base each in Kochi and Takamatsu.
Leave the rest open. Meals, markets and the walk through the arcade of Dogo are better unplanned, and Naoshima rewards a day with no fixed schedule beyond the boat.
Adapting the route
For a shorter trip, drop Kochi and keep Matsuyama, Takamatsu and Naoshima, which links the two ends of the island and removes the Pacific detour. You lose the bonito and the open coast, but you gain a slower day in Takamatsu or a second night at Dogo. For a longer trip, add Tokushima, the fourth prefecture, which this plan leaves aside, and give Naoshima a night instead of a day.
Season changes the choices. Ritsurin Garden is spectacular in spring during cherry blossom season and in autumn with its vivid colors, so those months suit the garden day. July and August can be quite warm in Takamatsu, which argues for slower afternoons and more time in museums and covered arcades.
January and February are the coldest months, with occasional nighttime freezing, a good time for the baths at Dogo and for hot udon. The Seto Inland Sea islands have a mild climate, and Naoshima in particular is a good outing when the weather is clear.
For families, the pace is already gentle, and the plan can be split into a base in Matsuyama with a night in Takamatsu. Children tend to enjoy the castle hill, the open-air art and the udon, and nobody needs to rush from one site to the next. For a slower trip, spend all the days in two places, Matsuyama and Takamatsu, and treat Naoshima as a single long day by the sea.
Rain suits Shikoku better than most places. The arcades of Matsuyama, the covered market in Kochi, the museum rooms on Naoshima and a bowl of hot noodles all work when the sky is gray.
Good to know before you go
Money comes down to the IC card and yen in the pocket for the small places, and the card also pays in vending machines and convenience stores. Shoes come off at the entrance of a ryokan, where slippers are provided, and slippers come off again on tatami mats and in the bathroom, where a separate pair is often waiting.
Smoking while walking is prohibited and can bring a fine, and outdoor smoking areas are limited. If you drive, remember the left side of the road, and keep in mind that signs may be in Japanese only.
Sources
- U.S. Department of State, Japan travel information, travel and transportation (https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/Japan.html), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, trains and buses (https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/how-to-travel-by-train-and-bus-in-japan/), checked October 11, 2026
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- Japan National Tourism Organization, manners, etiquette, shoes, bowing, chopsticks, public behavior (https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/understanding-and-mastering-japanese-manners-and-etiquette/), checked October 11, 2026
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- Japan National Tourism Organization, Shikoku (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/shikoku/), checked October 11, 2026
- Tourism Shikoku (https://shikoku-tourism.com/en/), checked October 11, 2026
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- Wikipedia, Takamatsu, Kagawa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takamatsu,_Kagawa), checked October 11, 2026
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- Japan National Tourism Organization, Kochi (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/shikoku/kochi/kochi-and-around/), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Kōchi, Kōchi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C5%8Dchi,_K%C5%8Dchi), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikivoyage, Kochi (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Kochi), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan National Tourism Organization, Naoshima (https://www.japan.travel/en/destinations/shikoku/kagawa/setouchi-islands/), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikipedia, Naoshima (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naoshima), checked October 11, 2026
- Wikivoyage, Naoshima (https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Naoshima), checked October 11, 2026
- Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), Normal values 1991-2020, monthly (https://www.data.jma.go.jp/stats/etrn/view/nml_sfc_ym.php?prec_no=44&block_no=47662), station Tokyo, elevation 25 m, checked October 11, 2026
- Plan de the (duree choisie by the redaction)