Shikoku Karst walk

Shikoku Karst

Shikoku Karst is a limestone plateau that stretches for about 25 km along the border between Ehime and Kochi prefectures. At 1,000 to 1,500 meters above sea level, it feels open and spacious, with rolling grassland, white limestone outcrops, and long views across the mountains.

The ridgeline road, prefectural road 383, is known as the Shikoku Karst Longitudinal Line. You can explore it by car, by bicycle, or on foot, but walking gives you more time to take in the changing views and the quiet farm scenery along the plateau.

The walk

We drove from Yusuhara, following Route 197 before turning at Takadoki-yama onto the Higashi Tsuno Shirokawa Rindo forest road. This is the easiest access route, with a broad two-lane asphalt road, and the drive took about 30 minutes. We parked at the free Hotel Tengu Hoshifuru parking lot, where we planned to return for lunch later.

From Hoshifuru Village Tengu, we walked to Mezurudaira, a 4.5 km ridge route that took about an hour. Some sections are reserved for pedestrians and bicycles, and because we visited on a quiet weekday, there was very little traffic.

At Mezurudaira, we stopped for coffee at the small Kast Coffee stand before returning along the quieter side path. This route is also scenic and is mostly used by local farmers.

For us, Shikoku Karst was a special place: wide views, open grassland, white limestone, and an easy walk despite the asphalt. Comfortable walking shoes are enough.

Lunch

Hoshifuru Village Tengu Hotel serves lunch to visitors from 11:30 AM to 1:30 PM, so it is worth arriving on time. We had a very good lunch here, with a broad menu, excellent service, and a beautiful view over the plateau.

More activities

If you have more time, there are two short forest walks nearby:

• Therapy Road: a 5 km loop through the forest.
• Keyakidaira Hike: a one-hour return walk from Keyakidaira parking lot to a group of large horse chestnut trees.

If you have two days, it is worth spending more time in this area. We had to skip these walks because of a rainy day, but they would combine well with the ridge walk.