Currently, there is a photo contest underway on Shodoshima island. Click here for information on how to enter:


参加方法はこちら

There are 24 spots on the island that have been designated as places to be photographed. In today’s article, I’m going to introduce one of them: Kankakei Gorge is a spectacular natural work-of-art formed over a period of 2 million years.

Kankakei Gorge – Spectacular Beauty

One of the best scenic spots on Shodoshima…

Wild cherry trees, fresh verdant colors, vibrant autumnal tints, magical snowscapes; every season Kankakei offers wondrous scenery. It’s probably the most picturesque spot of all the 24 places to be photographed for this contest. You can access the summit by car, but taking the ropeway is highly recommended.

This is because the view from the ropeway is simply amazing.

Nothing short of breathtaking, on this thrilling trip to the top, you graze the mountainside as the summit grows closer! The climb to the summit (612m above-sea-level) takes about 5 minutes, but as you can’t help being absorbed by the magnificent scenery, it seems like an instant. Do try to not get too caught up in the view and forget to take some photos though! Reaching the top, you find observation platform No.1.

You also find the photo contest sign!

This is the easiest way of getting great shots of Kankakei Gorge!

Capturing Kankakei From Observation Platform No.1

The view from the ropeway is also beautiful, but if you want to capture Kankakei and the Seto Inland Sea and its islands in all their beauty, you really have to go to observation platform No.1.

On clear, sunny days you can see the town of Shodoshima, the sea, the islands, and all the way to Shikoku.

This great shot of the ropeway was also taken from observation platform No.1. Photographs taken from this spot might have the best chance of winning the competition. After taking your prize-winning photo, the next thing to do is the following.

Try your hand at acquiring some good fortune by partaking in a little kawaranage (pottery throwing). There’s a small ring a few meters outside the platform that you have to try and throw the kawara through. It’s incredibly hard, if not nearly impossible. I threw ten kawara, but didn’t manage to get a single one through. Do have a go yourself though. Take a photo right as your kawara passes through the ring, and you might just have the winning photo! (Maybe…)

Shodoshima Cuisine & Popular Souvenirs

Walking through great natural environments searching for award-winning photos makes you very hungry, but luckily there’s a restaurant that serves Shodoshima gourmet cuisine right next to the summit ropeway station. 😉

Here they have everything from classic Shodoshima hand-pulled somen (500 yen), to more unorthodox choices such as Japanese curry somen (650 yen). At the food court outside, you can get olive beef croquette burgers (400 yen) and olive soft ice cream (300 yen). The latter has olives mixed in for a more grainy texture.

At the souvenir shop, they sell rare items such as olive nut chocolate and skin lotion made with olive oil, a product particularly popular among women. How about putting on some skin lotion and taking a beauty-selfie in front of the Kankakei Gorge?

Kankakei Ropeway

●Koun Station
Address: 327-1 Kankakedori, Shodoshima, Shozu District, Kagawa Prefecture
Tel: 0879-82-0904

●Sancho Station (Summit)

Address: 168 Kankakedori, Shodoshima, Shozu District, Kagawa Prefecture
Tel: 0879-82-2171

http://www.kankakei.co.jp/

Photo-contest hashtag:
#09kankakeiropeway

Setouchi Finder Photo-writer: Daisuke Chiba