Shodoshima on the Seto Inland Sea, with No Art Festival

Before heading to my next work-exchange spot (Himeji), the Setouchi Triennale was on this year for the first time in a while, so I stopped by Shodoshima for a trip.

I'd never taken a ferry and wanted to try one. I'd planned to leave from Kobe and even considered an overnight sailing to save on accommodation, but it happened to be on a ferry maintenance day, so I switched to leaving from Himeji Port, a 3-hour trip. Buses on Shodoshima aren't very frequent, and I had to transfer too, so I left Himeji by boat a bit after 11 and didn't reach my lodging on Shodoshima until 4 or 5 in the afternoon.

Sen Guesthouse

The place I chose is a home that doubles as a guesthouse, with a kitchen, a living room and a balcony, decorated very cozily, and there's even a hammock by the sea a short walk away. The dorm room had only 4 beds, and I wasn't bothered by roommates at all these days, so it was very peaceful and comfortable.

Having just come off a week of nonstop, intense socializing, cooking and wandering around at random were truly the best rest for me. Making breakfast and dinner for myself every day, and even going out on trips, felt too heavy for me these days.

On my last evening I met another guest, a Brazilian girl named Hanna, and we soaked our feet, shared dinner and said goodbye to Shodoshima together. Another day, while waiting for a bus, an elderly couple who had retired and moved to Shodoshima gave me a ride. Thank you to the lovely, kind people of once-in-a-lifetime encounters.

Notes

• From about 4,000 yen per person
• Near the Twenty-Four Eyes Movie Village, and rather hard to reach (though you can ask the bus driver to stop at the guesthouse door, which is already very convenient). You also have to climb about two stories of stairs to get to the house.
• Update: this summer (2026) they actually installed a cargo lift on the stairs...!
• @senguesthouse

It's not art festival season, huh

The funny thing is that only on the night I arrived, while planning where to go the next day, did I realize it wasn't the art festival period at all right then. (The Setouchi Triennale has spring, summer and autumn sessions, with a stretch of non-exhibition time between each.) It was a total blunder, but there were more places to go than I expected (though some spots I found pretty ordinary), and I didn't even go to the farther parts of the island (I was really tired).

I visited all the sightseeing spots I should have, but what I liked most was still wandering through small alleys and zoning out.

Meiro no Machi and the Angel Road

It's in Tonosho, next to the "Dobuchi Strait". As a lover of poking around narrow alleys, I really liked it! This area has some festival art sites (though they were all closed when I went), plus quite a few restaurants and cafés, good for eating and resting. On the way to the seaside spot "Angel Road", I also liked passing Saiko-ji Temple (in May 2026 they welcomed a branch image of Mazu from Beigang Chaotian Temple! So cool!), where you can look out over the town and the sea from above.

Twenty-Four Eyes Movie Village and Olive Park

Twenty-Four Eyes Movie Village: a village built for filming a movie and then kept, where you can feel the atmosphere of an early Showa fishing village. I'd already been to quite a few rural places and different kinds of buildings, so it was only moderately appealing to me.

Shodoshima Olive Park: good for photos and buying all kinds of souvenirs. About 80% of the visitors are (Taiwanese-speaking) Taiwanese XD It was a filming location for the live-action Kiki's Delivery Service, so there are some facilities for taking photos, and you can rent (magic) brooms for free.

Notes

• Twenty-Four Eyes Movie Village: 8:30 to 17:00, 1,000 yen per person
• Shodoshima Olive Park: 8:30 to 17:00

Yamaroku wooden-barrel soy sauce

For food on Shodoshima, the main specialties are olive oil, somen and soy sauce. I had the olive oil, somen and soy sauce flavors of soft-serve ice cream. The soy sauce one I had at "Yamaroku Shoyu": it's just regular milk flavor with soy sauce poured right on top plus black beans, but surprisingly it goes well together, and I liked it! They even give you a jar of soy sauce to use freely.

They brew soy sauce the traditional way in giant barrels made of cedar. You can go inside to look, take photos with the barrels, and there's a simple tour, all free, so when you leave there's a pressure of "I guess I should buy some soy sauce" (I'm thin-skinned...), but I still thought it was well worth it, and that keeping traditions alive really isn't easy.

Notes

• 9:00 to 17:00
• 20 minutes on foot from the bus stop, soy sauce products from 750 yen. It's a big Japanese-style house, and you can have an ice cream and rest.

Moriguni Sake Brewery

Another place worth noting is Shodoshima's only sake brewery, "Moriguni Sake Brewery". I came because I really wanted somewhere to rest and there weren't many options (so casual!). By the time I arrived it was 4 in the afternoon, and I only had a cup of sake and a dessert, and sadly didn't get to try the sake lees bread and the food. But the atmosphere was nice (and I was the only customer...!), and I got a great rest.

Notes

• 9:00 to 17:00, closed Thursdays; the bakery is closed Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
• Somebody please try their bread on my behalf!!!

Wrap-up

Overall, the three or four days on Shodoshima were very chill, and the cozy hostel gave me a great first impression. The sights on the island are some very touristy, some very traditional and some natural, and every day you see a different sea view from a different angle. Recommended. (Poor vocabulary.)