Originally Posted by
abmj-jr
I have done all of this in the last 10 years or so, except I did Shikoku in reverse of the above and skipped the ferry, and can recommend consideration for all of it. For folks who like to hike, visiting a couple of the 88 temples on the pilgrimage route would make for a memorable visit. A plus would be fall color along the way. Things may have changed recently but I also noticed few foreign visitors on Shikoku except at well known places like Ritsurin-koen or Dogo Onsen. Kochi was delightful.
I also have done the same type of trip. Pretty well the only westerners were in Matsuyama.
I was a little surprised in Kochi. I decided to have a quick meal in a local mall (not in the main tourist area) and turns out I was viewed as quite a novelty by some local children shopping with their parents. They literally stopped, pointed and stared at me with amazement as if I were the first westerner visitor they had even seen.