A Treasure Trove of Scenic Film Locations: 10 Select Attractions on Shodoshima

Here is how to reach Shodoshima from the major transportation hubs of Tokyo and Osaka.

Local buses connect the island's ports and sightseeing destinations, making it easy to visit the attractions on your list.
Sightseeing taxis offer information about Shodoshima's history, specialties, and latest news, adding another dimension to your tour.
Rental bicycles are also widely available and are a great way to explore while feeling the sea breeze.

The Twenty-Four Eyes Movie Studio occupies about 2.5 acres along the coast overlooking the Seto Inland Sea.
Created from the renovated open-air set of the film “Twenty-Four Eyes,” this movie and literature theme park evokes the atmosphere of Japan's Showa era.
“Twenty-Four Eyes” is a classic story set in a poor village on the Seto Inland Sea. It portrays the bond between newly appointed teacher Miss Oishi and her 12 students, as well as the tragedy of war that tears them apart.
In addition to sets from the film, the grounds feature many places where visitors can experience Showa-era Japanese architecture and culture alongside Shodoshima's beautiful scenery.
You can easily spend a full day here, with relaxing venues such as Café Cinema Club, known for its nostalgic Showa-era school lunch set, and the Kaifudo Book Café, where books and DVDs about film are served up alongside aromatic coffee.

This popular park is known for its Mediterranean-style scenery and wide range of facilities.
It offers many photogenic spots, including a white windmill on a hill overlooking the Seto Inland Sea and an English garden blooming with about 120 varieties of herbs and roses.
Shodoshima served as a filming location for the live-action movie “Kiki's Delivery Service.”
A building used as a film set remains on the grounds and now operates as a shop selling handmade accessories and sundries.
Many visitors borrow a broom for free and pose like the movie's young witch, creating photos that look as though they are flying through the air.

Located in southwestern Shodoshima, Angel Road is a sandy path that emerges from the sea at low tide twice a day, connecting four islands to the mainland.
Its popularity grew from a legend that couples who walk across hand in hand will find happiness together. It is also frequently used as a filming location, drawing many visitors.
Climb the small hill before Angel Road for a panoramic view of the calm Seto Inland Sea and the sandbar from the observation deck.
It is also known as a filming location for the movie “Rebirth.”

Kankakei Gorge is located on Shodoshima in Kagawa Prefecture, at the heart of Setonaikai National Park.
Andesite, agglomerate, and other rocks formed by volcanic activity about 13 million years ago were shaped over time by crustal movement and erosion into today's dramatic landscape of towering rock formations.
It has been selected as one of Japan's three most beautiful gorges, three most remarkable scenic formations, and 100 most scenic places, as well as one of the “100 Natural Landscapes of Japan to Preserve for the 21st Century.”
The ropeway is the only one in Japan offering simultaneous views of the sky, sea, and gorge.
It connects Koun Station at Kountei with the summit station and departs every 12 minutes. The ride takes 5 minutes.

Since its founding in 1907, Marukin Soy Sauce has continued making soy sauce suited to changing tastes while preserving traditional methods in naturally fermented brewing warehouses for more than a century.
In 1987, to commemorate its 80th anniversary, the company opened one of its factories built in the early Taisho era as a museum.
The gassho-style building, the largest of its kind in Japan, is also registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property.
Actual tools and informative panels provide an easy-to-understand introduction to the history and production of soy sauce.
The museum shop sells the company's signature products as well as limited-edition items available only here.
Also recommended is the soy sauce soft-serve ice cream, made with raw soy sauce brewed in wooden barrels in a natural fermentation warehouse.

This wildlife park is located in Choshikei Gorge, known alongside Kankakei as one of Shodoshima's scenic areas.
About 300 provisioned wild Japanese macaques live in the park.
Designated a natural monument by Kagawa Prefecture, the monkeys can be seen up close grooming one another and huddling together for warmth. Visitors can also feed them.
In winter, the monkeys gather in adorable ball-like clusters known as “monkey balls” to keep warm.

Near Shodoshima's popular Angel Road, the Yokai Art Museum is located in the Maze Town district, an area of irregular narrow alleys. The museum comprises four old buildings repurposed to display yokai art.
More than 900 works are on display, presenting stories of yokai passed down to the present day as visitors explore with an audio guide.
Viewing the art at night by flashlight may make you feel as though you have wandered into the world of yokai.
At the adjoining café and bar, “Yokai Bar Where the Invisible Becomes Visible,” you can try mysterious yokai-inspired drinks such as the “Mononoke Highball” and “Yokai Fortune Juice.”
Yokai have long been said to appear at boundaries.
At the Yokai Art Museum, on the boundary between the ordinary and the extraordinary, you might encounter yokai with mysterious powers.

Nakayama Senmaida consists of about 800 terraced rice paddies arranged like steps across slopes at elevations of 150–250 meters.
Believed to have been built between the 14th and 19th centuries, these historic terraces offer beautiful rural scenery that changes with the seasons.
The landscape is so impressive that it was selected as one of Japan's 100 Best Rice Terraces.

This roadside station on Shodoshima offers a wide variety of activities, including sea kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding amid the Setouchi seascape, craft workshops using driftwood, sea glass, and olive branches, and strawberry picking.
The café serves island specialties and dishes made with local ingredients.
Among its staple somen dishes, the limited-quantity fresh somen stands out for its exceptionally smooth texture. Soft-serve ice cream topped with the village's original strawberry sauce or olive oil, as well as plum soft-serve, are also popular.
Do not miss the shop selling island specialties such as olive oil and soy sauce, or the adjoining Hand-Stretched Somen Museum, where you can observe the noodle-making process.
After a full day of activities, unwind while watching the sun set over the Seto Inland Sea, a view selected as one of Japan's 100 Best Sunsets.

The enormous Chinese juniper on the grounds of Hoshoin Temple is designated a National Special Natural Monument.
Although it looks like a small forest, it is a single tree, measuring about 16.9 meters around its base and approximately 20.9 meters tall. Its majestic appearance has also drawn attention as a spiritual site where visitors can sense a mysterious power.
More than 1,600 years old, this giant tree embodies the power of nature cultivated over many centuries.

Shodoshima somen has a history spanning more than 400 years and is known as one of the island's signature products.
Nakabuan specializes in hand-stretched somen made by hand using traditional methods enhanced with a modern touch.
Its signature product is fresh somen, whose uniquely springy texture comes from the shop's own innovations.
Also highly regarded is the fresh olive somen, made generously with juice and extra virgin oil from olives grown on the company's own farm and sourced 100% from Shodoshima.

MINORI GELATO is a popular gelateria serving gelato made with Shodoshima ingredients. It occupies a retro building styled like a traditional Japanese house, right by the Kusakabe Port local bus stop.
The stylish interior, renovated from a rice storehouse, displays colorful gelato that satisfies both the eyes and the palate.
Try its popular gelato while enjoying the pleasant sea breeze and views of the Seto Inland Sea.

This restaurant and café is located in Shodoshima's mountainous interior, surrounded by nostalgic Japanese countryside scenery, including the Nakayama Senmaida Rice Terraces.
Popular dishes make generous use of ingredients nurtured by Shodoshima's natural environment. These include the Rice Terrace Onigiri Set Meal, featuring fluffy rice harvested from the terraces and gently shaped into rice balls with side dishes and soup, as well as Shodoshima somen.
The interior, renovated from an old rice mill, is filled with the warmth of wood, while terrace seating overlooks the rice fields.
Here, you can savor an excellent lunch amid the island's relaxed pace of life.

Located about 1 km from Sakate Port, where ferries from Kobe and Takamatsu arrive and depart, this resort hotel is a convenient base for exploring Shodoshima.
Its varied room types all feature ocean views, including modern twin rooms inspired by Asian resorts, a Royal Suite on the highest guest-room floor, and Japanese-style rooms recommended for families. The top floor has a panoramic public bath whose glass ceiling and windows offer views of the Setouchi scenery and starry sky.
The hotel's natural Shodoshima Onsen, drawn from its own source and known for its moisturizing and skin-beautifying properties, is also highly regarded.

This resort hotel enjoys a convenient location just a 3-minute walk from Angel Road, one of Shodoshima's most popular attractions. Every guest room offers sweeping views of the Seto Inland Sea's graceful islands and the imposing form of Yashima in Shikoku, framed like a masterpiece.
There are 100 rooms in a wide range of styles, including rooms with open-air baths, suites, and Japanese-Western rooms, allowing guests to choose according to the purpose and members of their trip.
The Executive Room with Open-Air Bath, overlooking Angel Road, and the well-appointed Top-Floor Suite offer a luxurious stay likely to become a lifelong memory.

This inn stands in Hishio no Sato, a distinctive district lined with soy sauce breweries.
Its spaces are modern yet nostalgic and calming, including a dining room housed in a registered Tangible Cultural Property and guest rooms converted from storehouses.
All 8 guest rooms have free-flowing hot spring baths. Each has its own character, including De-no-Ma, which overlooks a garden from its enclosed veranda.

The itinerary begins at Tonosho Port, home to the symbolic “Gift of the Sun” artwork.
Stop by the Tonosho Port Tourist Center, which provides information and facilities useful for a trip around Shodoshima, then head to the next destination, Angel Road.

Angel Road is about 11 minutes from Tonosho Port by bus.
Among Shodoshima's many attractions, it is especially popular as a romantic destination for couples.
It is said that if you cross the sandy path that appears with the tides while holding hands with someone special, your wish will come true.
Check when Angel Road will appear and take a walk across it together.

Shodoshima Olive Park is a 24-minute bus ride from Angel Road.
The beautiful Seto Inland Sea viewed from a hill, combined with olive groves, herb gardens, and a Greek windmill, creates scenery so striking that you may feel as though you have traveled to the Mediterranean.
Have an early lunch at the café, where you can sample olive oil and local specialties while gazing at the calm Seto Inland Sea.

Take the bus for 17 minutes and get off at Kountei.
Kankakei is so scenic that it is ranked among Japan's three most beautiful gorges.
The dramatic rock formations and seasonal nature create a captivating landscape.
Ride the Kankakei Ropeway for a 5-minute journey through the air with simultaneous views of the sky, sea, and gorge.

From Kankakei, walk 53 minutes to Kusakabe Honmachi, then take a 30-minute bus ride to the museum.
The museum consists of four old buildings repurposed to display yokai art. One floor can be explored with a flashlight in hand, creating the sensation of wandering into the world of yokai.
After viewing the exhibits, head to “Yokai Bar Where the Invisible Becomes Visible,” where yokai are said to gather.
Take a break over drinks such as Fortune Juice with an omikuji fortune slip or cocktails served with protective paper charms.
Since buses will have stopped running by the time you leave, take a taxi back to your accommodations.
Finish the day with a leisurely soak in a hot spring to soothe your body after sightseeing.