Hiking the cliffs above Kashiwajima

About Kashiwajima

Kashiwajima is part of Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park - a small photogenic island off the southwest coast of Shikoku, connected to the mainland by a single bridge and known for diving and snorkeling in its clear water.

The Kashiwajima cliff walk

We visited Kashiwajima twice. On our first stay, coming from Cape Ashizuri, we parked by the main road and walked up to Odo Observatory along a paved road — pleasant, but nothing remarkable. From there, we drove to Kannon Rock Observatory, parked, and walked out to the viewpoint, where we found out a hiking trail connected the two. It looked impressive enough that we made a point of coming back for it, during the stay in Sukumo, one year after that.

The trail runs from Kannon Rock Observatory to Odo Observatory across the headland, passing above sheer cliffs and rock formations with views over the coast and out to Kashiwajima.

It is about 3.8 kilometres long, took us around 1½ hours, and climbs roughly 250 metres in total. The terrain is steep in places, and the path runs close to the cliff edge for long stretches and ends up in the woods.

We found no information about this trail online — no blog posts, no GPS tracks, nothing on hiking apps. The only reference is a map posted at the trailhead. There are trail markers on the way and it's a pretty simple, straightforward hike. We definitely advise it.

Lunch at Kashiwajima Village

After the walk, we drove on to Kashiwajima itself and reached via the Kashiwajima Shin-ohashi Bridge, with a large free parking area just after it. Beyond diving and snorkeling, there isn't much else to do — the village and harbour stay quiet.

We arrived shortly after 2 p.m., past the lunch closing time, but the staff at Kashiwajima Village let us sit outside and order anyway.

The restaurant specialises in locally aged raw bluefin tuna. We ordered a fully aged tuna bowl for ¥6,600 and a regular bluefin tuna bowl for ¥3,300 — well above a typical Japanese lunch, but the tuna is aged on site, and the waitress brought out the cut itself to show us before serving.