Japan's Shikoku region has been recommended to me as a destination because of small towns, friendly locals, slower pace but also cultural and historical sites as well as gentle hiking and beautiful landscapes. We love doing activities related to local culture (cooking class, paper making etc). We will be planning our own itinerary (no touring groups) and prefer public transportation.
I hear Shikoku is off the beaten path (perfect for us!), so there may not be a lot of folks who have been there or researched it, but I wanted to ask for any and all thoughts, advise, recommendations and feedback on the region, whether you've been there or only researched/found good resources. I am in very early planning stages (narrowing down to the region is about it!).
There will be four of us traveling; my husband and I are in our early fifties and we will be taking our daughters, in their late teens/early twenties. My husband is heat intolerant and one of my daughters does not eat meat; none of us eat much fish.
We are planing to go for two weeks at the end of May / early June 2027. We intend to start in the Kobe area visiting friends for a few days. We are big fans of Studio Ghibli, but could skip it, since we don't want to spend time in Tokyo. I have been to Japan, no one else in my family has. We try to avoid crowds unless there are truly must sees (and we go on off hours).
For budget, we cannot exceed $5,000/person for all costs, including airfare. But definitely would be looking to budget much less. Obviously, since this is RS Forum, we will be traveling very light.
Thank you in advance!!
Mel