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Off-the-beaten-track Japan in 14 days: from the Sea of Japan to Shikoku

Japan's hidden side in two weeks: Kinosaki Onsen, the Tottori dunes, Izumo, the Shimanami Kaido and the Iya valley.

Compiled by Kylian, updated on Sep 6, 2026

The Tottori sand dunes dropping into the Sea of Japan under an overcast sky
  • 14 days
  • 44 places
  • 13 nights
  • fast pace
Start
Osaka
End
Osaka
Main transport
Car
Recommended season
April to November; the mountain roads of Iya are tricky in winter

What you get

  • The complete itinerary: 14 days sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening / Hotel
  • The card of every hotel, with the address and a direct booking link
  • Quota tickets, fixed-date tickets and surcharges flagged in advance
  • The country quick guide: weather, transport, formalities, budget
  • A PDF file of 36 pages

What the price does not include

  • Flights
  • Hotel nights
  • Tickets and admission fees
  • Travel insurance
  • On-the-ground assistance during your trip

The itinerary preview

The free day in full, with its hotel card. This is the sample.

Day 11

Matsuyama and the Dōgo bath

Morning

Imabari Castle

Built in 1602 by Tōdō Takatora, the greatest fortification engineer of his time: it is one of the few Japanese castles whose moats are filled with seawater, fed by the tide, and which had an inner harbor to receive boats directly inside the walls.

Matsuyama Castle

An hour's drive. Completed in 1602, also by Takatora, it is one of the twelve Japanese castles whose keep is original, and the last great keep built in Japan in its 1854 form. It stands on a 132-meter (433 ft) hill at the exact center of the city, with twenty-one listed buildings. A cable car and a chairlift climb to the top, or twenty minutes on foot.

Afternoon

Bansuisō and Isaniwa-jinja

The Bansuisō, a French-style villa built in 1922 by a count of the Hisamatsu family who had lived in France, is the oldest reinforced-concrete Western-style building in Ehime. The Isaniwa-jinja, from 1667, is one of only three shrines in Japan in the hachiman-zukuri style listed as national treasures: you climb one hundred and thirty-five steps to reach it.

Ishite-ji and the Shiki museum

The Ishite-ji, fifty-first of the eighty-eight temples of the Shikoku pilgrimage, has a gate from 1318 listed as a national treasure and a strange tunnel dug behind the temple, filled with statues, which comes out on a hill. The Shiki museum is devoted to Masaoka Shiki, born here in 1867, who reformed the haiku.

Evening

Dōgo Onsen Honkan

The oldest bath still in use in Japan, mentioned in the chronicles of the 8th century. The three-story wooden building dates from 1894, with its drum tower on top; it holds the Yūshinden, the only imperial bath in existence in Japan, open to visitors. Sōseki came to bathe here when he taught in Matsuyama, and the place inspired the sets of Spirited Away.

Good to know

Dōgo Onsen Honkan: the lower bath, Kami-no-yu, opens from 6:00 AM to 11:00 PM, ticket office closing at 10:30 PM, ¥700; the packages with a resting place on the 2nd floor or a private room on the 3rd close at 10:00 PM, ticket office at 9:00 PM, up to ¥2,000 depending on the package, some including tea, cake and a visit to the Yūshinden imperial bath. Paid parking lot.

Hotel · Night 11

Comfort Hotel Matsuyama

One hundred and ninety-seven rooms over thirteen floors in central Matsuyama, about ten minutes' walk from the JR station and on the tram line that leads to Dōgo. English-speaking 24-hour reception, buffet breakfast and free bicycle loan, which is handy for reaching the castle.

Address
· 3-18 Hanazono-machi, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-0005
Website
· choice-hotels.jp/matsuyama (new tab)
Check-in
3:00 PM · Check-out 10:00 AM
Book this hotel (new tab) affiliate link

Buy this itinerary

€39 incl. tax

that is €2.79 per day of travel

Billed in euros. If your card is in another currency, your bank converts at its own rate.

  • Secure payment through Stripe, bank card, Apple Pay and Google Pay
  • Available immediately in your customer account: online reading with clickable booking links, downloadable PDF for offline use
  • Method: what is checked, and when

A hotel in the itinerary closed or impossible to find, a place to visit permanently closed?

Within 12 months of purchase, email contact@etaperia.com

Itinerary corrected within 7 days, or refunded in full. Terms in article 12 of the terms of sale, on top of the legal warranty (new tab)

€39 incl. tax · 14 days

Buy

A question before buying? Email Kylian, reply within 2 business days.

The day-by-day rundown

14 stops, 800 km as the crow flies

  1. Day 1 Arrival in Osaka and picking up the vehicle Arrival in Osaka and picking up the vehicle Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  2. Day 2 Kinosaki, the town of seven baths The seven public baths Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  3. Day 3 Basalt, soba and the bridge of heaven Genbudō Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  4. Day 4 The village where the houses stand with their feet in the water Ine and its funaya Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  5. Day 5 The Tottori dunes Tottori dunes Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  6. Day 6 Matsue, the black castle and Japan's finest garden Matsue Castle Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  7. Day 7 Izumo, where the gods gather Izumo Taisha Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  8. Day 8 The silver mine and the crossing of Honshū Iwami Ginzan Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  9. Day 9 Tomonoura and the stairways of Onomichi Tomonoura Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  10. Day 10 The Shimanami Kaidō, six bridges and seven islands The Shimanami Kaidō, six bridges and seven islands Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  11. Day 11 Matsuyama and the Dōgo bath Matsuyama Castle Free
  12. Day 12 Kōchi, the intact castle and Ryōma Kōchi Castle Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  13. Day 13 The gorge and the vine bridge From Kōchi to the Ōboke gorge Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF
  14. Day 14 Konpira-san, Ritsurin and the return to Osaka Kotohira-gū, known as Konpira-san Day reserved for buyers, unlocked in the PDF

1 day is free to read above. The other 13 unlock when you buy. Buy the itinerary, €39

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Country quick guide and logistics

The essentials of the country, scannable in ten seconds.

Weather and when to go

  • April to June, then October and November. The San'in coast is gray and rainy for much of the year, with snow in winter at Kinosaki and Tottori.
  • The Inland Sea, sheltered by mountains on both sides, is one of the sunniest regions in Japan; the Pacific coast of Shikoku is very exposed to typhoons from late August to October.

Transport and permits

  • A rental car is essential for the whole loop: the San'in coast is the least populated region of Honshū, its local trains run far apart and the Iya valley has no service at all. About 1,750 km (1,090 mi).
  • Which document you need depends on the country that issued your license: a 1949 Geneva-format International Driving Permit for a UK, US, Irish, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand or Spanish license, among others; an official Japanese translation for a French, Belgian, Swiss, German or Monégasque license. Without the right document, no agency will hand over the car, and the route needs it from day 1.
  • The roads of the Iya valley are among the narrowest in Japan open to traffic: a single lane, no crash barrier, allow twice the stated time and drive in daylight.

Formalities and safety

  • Visitors from visa-exempt countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and France, enter Japan visa-free for tourist stays of up to 90 days.

Budget and meals

  • Always keep cash on you: the San'in has a great many small establishments, temples and rural parking lots that do not take cards, and ATMs are scarce outside the towns. Withdraw at 7-Eleven and at post offices, the only ones that accept foreign cards.
  • Book early: the Kinosaki ryokan in crab season, the Amanohashidate lodgings in summer, the boat in Ine bay, the canoe in the Ōboke gorge.

Frequently asked questions

What exactly do I receive?

Your Étaperia itinerary, available immediately in your customer account after payment: readable online with clickable booking links, and downloadable as a PDF for the trip. Every day is sequenced Morning / Afternoon / Evening and says where you spend the night, with the address and booking link for each place to stay. Timed-entry tickets are flagged in advance.

How is this better than what an AI gives me?

A generative AI composes a plausible list in seconds, without saying what was checked or when. At Étaperia, every itinerary is compiled day by day, with the booking constraints spotted before it is too late to get them. The Method page says what is checked, against which source and on what date.

Can I adapt it to my dates and my pace?

Yes. The days are self-contained blocks: you can shift the departure, stretch a stage or skip a day without breaking what follows. Only timed-entry tickets require adjusting the dates accordingly, and they are all flagged.

What if a hotel or a place in the itinerary has closed?

Email contact@etaperia.com within 12 months of your purchase. If a hotel in the itinerary is closed or can no longer be found, or a place to visit has closed permanently, the itinerary is corrected in your customer account within 7 days, or you are refunded in full. A hotel fully booked on your dates, a seasonal closure or a change in opening hours or prices is not covered. This guarantee comes on top of the legal warranty of conformity; details in article 12 of the terms and conditions of sale.

Module, classic or complete itinerary: which one should I choose?

A classic is a short trip built to stand on its own, designed for a first visit to the country. A module covers one region in depth. The complete itinerary crosses the whole country, and buying it also unlocks each of its modules in your customer account.

Can I get a refund if the itinerary doesn't suit me?

No. It is digital content delivered right away, and you waive your right of withdrawal at checkout. To judge before you pay, every product page gives one full day for free and the list of every stop. After purchase, the guarantee applies: a closed hotel or a permanently closed place is corrected within 7 days, otherwise you get a refund.

Who is selling you this itinerary

  • Consumer mediator: ANM Consommation
  • Payment handled by Stripe: Étaperia never sees your card number
  • Publisher, not a travel agency: you book flights, hotels and tickets yourself

In the same country

The complete itinerary

The classic itineraries

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