Sightseeing by bus for total 7 hours

The Kankakei Gorge is a breathtaking ravine at the center of Shodoshima Island. It is ranked as one of Japan's three most beautiful gorges and becomes particularly spectacular during the autumn color season which usually takes place in the second half of November. A ropeway runs the length of the gorge between a rather basic lower station and a more developed upper station with a souvenir shop and restaurant. Both stations can be reached by car and offer parking lots. The upper station is near Shodoshima's highest peak and has observation decks with nice panoramic views over the gorge, the island and the Seto Inland Sea. In addition to the ropeway, two hiking trails lead between the two stations. They are easy but steep trails that run mostly through the forest. The western trail is roughly two kilometers long and takes about one hour uphill or 30-45 minutes downhill. The eastern trail does not follow the ropeway as closely and is about three kilometers long.

An die Berge im Landesinneren von Shodoshima geschmiegt liegen die Senmaida oder „Tausend Reisfelder“. Hunderte von terrassenförmig angelegten Reisfeldern sind in die umliegenden Hügel gebaut und bilden einen wunderschönen ländlichen Anblick. Im nahe gelegenen Dorf steht eine Freiluft-Kabuki-Bühne, auf der seit der Edo-Zeit lokale Kabuki-Stücke aufgeführt werden.

Shodoshima Island’s soy sauce factories are concentrated in an area called Soy Sauce Village, where warehouses and factories built during the Meiji era (1868-1912) line the road from Yasuda to Sakate Port. The buildings, still in use today, create a historic atmosphere with their traditional charred wood cladding and old plaster walls.

Shodoshima ist die Geburtsstätte des Olivenanbaus in Japan. Das mediterrane Klima der Insel machte sie zu einem idealen Ort für den Olivenanbau, der erstmals 1908 erfolgreich war. Seitdem ist die Insel einer der größten Produzenten japanischer Oliven und Olivenöls, was Shodoshima den Spitznamen „Oliveninsel“ eingebracht hat.

Enjoy Art objeccts on the way back (sd60, sd59)