Kagawa

The province

Get to know Kagawa

Kagawa, in northeast Shikoku, is the smallest prefecture in Japan by area. It faces the Seto Inland Sea, with dozens of islands, and has low rainfall; irrigation reservoirs dot the countryside. The prefecture presents itself as the land of udon, the thick wheat noodle, served in hundreds of simple restaurants.

In Takamatsu, the capital, Ritsurin Garden, created by the local feudal lords in the Edo period, has six ponds and thirteen hills in front of a pine-covered mountain, with boats and a tea house. The ruins of Tamamo Castle have moats filled with seawater, and the Yashima plateau offers views of the islands.

Naoshima and Teshima are less than an hour away by boat and welcome visitors for contemporary art: the Chichu Art Museum by Tadao Ando, built under the ground; outdoor works such as Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkin on the pier; and the Teshima Art Museum, a concrete shell on the fields. The Setouchi Triennale, every three years, occupies several islands. Shodoshima has olive trees, the Kankakei Gorge with a ropeway, and a sandbar that connects islets at low tide.

In Kotohira, Konpira-gu Shrine, dedicated to sailors, sits atop a staircase of several hundred steps, and the town has Kanamaru-za, the oldest surviving kabuki theatre in Japan. Marugame Castle has an original keep atop high stone walls, and Zentsu-ji marks the place where the monk Kukai was born.