I will (hopefully) be going to Shikoku next month (near Ikata), and could use some FT advice.

I have traveled to Japan in the past, mainly Tokyo, but I saw some of Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and Hiroshima.

I have two questions:

1. What is the best way to get to Shikoku/Ikata, assuming I start on a plane in Pittsburgh? I think that flying into Matsuyama is closest, but so far my corporate travel website is having difficulty selecting flights.

2. I don't know if I will have much free time, but if so, what are the highlights in that region that I should try to make time for?

Thanks!

John

Any way you cut it, this is going to be a long trip. I would guess that your best connections will be at the following airports:
- NRT (with a bus trip to HND for the subsequent domestic flight)
- KIX (potentially with a bus trip to ITM for the subsequent domestic flight)
- NGO
- ICN (with a likely overnight stop at ICN)

I would probably choose something like this:

--- Pittsburgh, PA to Nagoya, Japan (20 hrs 0 min, 7561 miles)

United Airlines Flight UA5814 on a Canadair RJ 700 (jet) (operated by UNITED EXPRESS/SKYWEST)
Departs: Pittsburgh, PA Sat, May 12, 6:00a (1 hr 35 min)
(PIT: Pittsburgh Int'l)
Arrives: Chicago, IL Sat, May 12, 6:35a
(ORD: Chicago O'Hare)

--- Layover in Chicago: 1 hr 25 min ---

United Airlines Flight UA831 on a Boeing 777 (jet)
Departs: Chicago, IL Sat, May 12, 8:00a (4 hrs 24 min)
(ORD: Chicago O'Hare)
Arrives: San Francisco, CA Sat, May 12, 10:24a
(SFO: San Francisco Int'l)

--- Layover in San Francisco: 1 hr 16 min ---

United Airlines Flight UA831 on a Boeing 777 (jet) (lunch, movie)
Departs: San Francisco, CA Sat, May 12, 11:40a (11 hrs 20 min)
(SFO: San Francisco Int'l)
Arrives: Nagoya, Japan Sun, May 13, 3:00p
(NGO: Nagoya Chubu Centrair Int'l)

Note: Although this is published as a "direct" flight, you must change planes at the connection in San Francisco Int'l (SFO). Note: You must change terminals in San Francisco (SFO).

And then ....

All Nippon Airlines
ANA 1827
Departs NGO 16:20
Arrives Matsuyama 17:25

For the return, you can find a return via NGO. There's an ANA 1822 flight from Matsuyama. It reaches NGO at 14:00 - one hour before the UA departure to SFO. That connection might be a little bit tight - but I think it's doable. Better check with a travel agent. (And better buy tickets soon)


Dogo onsen.
Nuclear power plant in Ikata.
Windmills (the modern variety)
Hire a car and drive around...

Thanks! Looks a bit more complicated than originally thought, but we'll get it done!

Dogo onsen sounds interesting - I have tried another bath on the way back from Fukuroda Falls in 2000, which was a very nice outside bath - wish I could remember the name. As for the power plant, I'll be getting to see plenty of that during the day.

valve bouncer made some suggestions of Shikoku highlights in post 4 in this thread: http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=680032

Frankly, if I were doing this, I'd take the shinkansen from either Nagoya or Osaka, leaving out the domestic air connection.

NGO - Nagoya via Meitetsu Deluxe
Nagoya - Okayama - Matsuyama via JR - less than 5 hours with one change at Okayama = 15,500 yen.

JR

I agree, or you can try to train it from KIX to ShinOsaka-Okayama-Matsuyama, though I'd probably want to overnight it in Osaka after arrival and start out fresh the next day.

If the OP wants to PM me with his details I'll be happy to help as I live in Matsuyama. I always use Kansai Airport and there are a lot of different ways to get to Matsuyama. Personally, I've driven, flown, taken the train, taken the ferry and a few other various combinations.

I definitely would not. After flying for the better part of 20 hours to (say NGO), would you want to...

a) take a train from NGO to Nagoya station, find the correct Shinkansen there, travel for hours to Okayama, find the connecting train there, travel for hours to Matsuyama, find the connecting train/taxi there, travel to Ikata, or

b) connect to a direct flight to Matsuyama, then to Ikata

Looks like a no-brainer to me, esp. as the Nagoya-Matsuyama flight is highly unlikely to cost more than Y31,000 return if bought as a part of an international ticket.

Yes.

I don't fly Y on any asian airline. Period. They just aren't made for 6'4".

Since I am not likely to foot the bill for F or C, I will take the train for domestic travel in Japan.

I forgot about this but Asiana fly into Matsuyama 3 times a week, China Eastern 2 times. Something for the OP to consider.

As far as I could tell from my cursory look at the routes, this wouldn't work so well from PA. The incoming flights to ICN appear to arrive after the flight to Matsuyama - requiring the OP to spend a night at ICN.

I haven't been to Shikoku myself, but one of its famous features is a pilgrimage circuit to 88 temples.

Obviously, you don't want to go to all 88 on a brief trip, but here is a guide to doing part of the pilgrimage, which sounds like a great experience for getting in touch with traditional culture:

http://echoes.bluemandala.com/jhguide.html

Just wanted to thank everyone for the replies... I ended up going from PIT-DTW-KIX, overnighting at the airport, then the next day (Sunday) flying KIX-Matsuyama, where my contact met us with a rental car to take us to Yawatahama and Ikata.

Unfortunately, we did not have any time to do much sightseeing, but maybe if I can go back in the fall!

If you do, post your dates. I'll be there in mid-October.

JR

I'm 6'4" and I fly Asian airlines whenever I can. Domestic flights in Japan can be pretty cramped, but most flights around the main islands are under an hour, and I've never had a seat pitch worse than what the average US carrier uses for a 6-hour transcon.