Setouchi is the perfect area for a domestic travel. You can find various activities that make even adults feel playful, as well as scenery which touches your heart.
Here is our selection of places where you can fully enjoy Setouchi with your family or friends.

1｜Not only children but also adults can frolic at “NESTA RESORT KOBE” (Hyogo)

“NESTA RESORT KOBE” is a place where you can have a great time to engaging in various outdoor activities. It is about an hour by train or bus from Osaka, the center of sightseeing in western Japan.
The most popular activity there is “Wild Buggy,” where you can ride a 4-wheeler on 5 wild courses. The route is inside of the park so children can drive a buggy.
There are many other attractions as well, such as an aerial activity called “Sky Jungle” (which makes you scream), the relaxing “Wild Canoe,” and so on.
Please check out the facilities in the park, with the option to stay at a luxurious hotel or experience glamping.

2｜It is so refreshing! “Kojima Jeans Buggies” (Okayama)

“Kojima Jeans Buggies” is an activity in Kojima, Kurashiki City in Okayama, the well-known place birthplace of Japan-made jeans. This 4-wheeler can take you to some areas or roads where general vehicles cannot enter. If you have an ordinary motor vehicle license, you can also ride this buggy on the public roads.
Kojima is a town where you can the “Seto O-hashi Bridge,” which connects Okayama and Kagawa Prefectures, up close.
It is good to experience being so close to the Seto Ohashi Bridge, or to enjoy a ride to Washuzan Mountain where you can overlook the bridge!

more→ Let’s experience riding a 4-wheeler buggy with a tremendous view of the Seto Ohashi Bridge. And check out what it is like in a 360-degree movie! / Kojima Jeans Buggy (Kurashiki-shi, Okayama)

3｜“Mt. Misen Trekking” in Miyajima, Aki (Hiroshima)

Miyajima is the classic Hiroshima sightseeing spot, as it has Itsukushima Shrine, the World Heritage Site. Most people visit the shrine and strolling around the area, but we would like to recommend trekking up Mt. Misen, which is the highest mountain on the island and considered as a holy mountain. You can go nearly to the top of the mountain by ropeway.
On the mountain, there is a temple which has enshrined “an eternal flame” for more than 1,200 years. This is a popular spot for couples, because it is said that the fire of love will burn forever if you visit and pray there.
Also, the view of Setouchi with its many islands from the top of the mountain is superb!

more→　Walking Guide to “Miyajima of Aki”, One of Japan’s Three Most Scenic Spots – Mt. Misen Edition!

4｜“Shimonoseki Cycling” with great views (Yamaguchi)

There are so many wonderful view spots in Shimonoseki City in Yamaguchi, on the westernmost tip of Honshu Island. For example, “Tsunoshima Island” is a very popular tourists spot, “Fukutoku Inari Shrine” is a place where you can see a great view, and “Motonosumi Inari Shrine” is famous for its one thousand Torii gates.
Route 191, which stretches out from north to south along the sea, is the best cycling road for you to enjoy these stunning scenery.
What would be your choice? Starting from Shimonoseki Station – enjoying the slow cycling while staying overnights for a few days on your way, or going to Tsunoshima Island at full-speed to stay at an inn with a picturesque view…? Either way, please fully enjoy the beautiful Route 191.

more→ The Breathtaking 1000 Torii Gates Of Shimonoseki : Fukutoku Inari Shrine (Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture)

more→ Tsunoshima Bridge & Shimado Beach: Swim & Admire!

more→　A Place You’ll Want to See at Least Once in Your Life?! Sea Line with Beautiful Landscapes & Tsunoshima Ohashi Bridge!

more→ Motonosumi Shrine Stands on the Edge of a Cliff!

more→ Motonosumi Inari Shrine – A Gateway Fit for a God

more→ Terraced Rice Fields with Beautiful Sunset Views & Fishing Fires!

5｜Try dancing Japanese Traditional Dance, “Awa-odori Experience.” (Tokushima)

Tokushima is famous for its traditional Bon festival dance “Awa-odori” held in August every year. But if you visit “Awaodori Kaikan,” you can see a wonderful performance of the dance and also experience dancing yourself.
The dynamic performance reveals the history and transitions of Awa-odori, and then, the dancing lesson starts! There is a famous saying about the dance: “the dancing fool and the watching fool, are both fools alike, so you might as well dance.” Groove yourself to the swinging two-beat rhythm, which is called the “invincible duple time.”

6｜Let’s experience “Shorinji Kempo” at its birthplace! (Kagawa)

“Shorinji Kempo” is a modern Japanese martial art based on Shaolin kung fu, and it is said that there are about 220,000 Shorinji Kempo martial artists in around 40 countries in the world. Actually, the birthplace of this martial art is Kagawa.
There is a place where you can experience Shorinji Kempo, “Kongo-zen So-honzan Shorinji Temple.” If you watch the performance closely…, you would be amazed by its acrobatic and powerful movements!
Let’s enjoy learning the basics of Shorinji Kempo, thrusting your fist or twisting your body to some footwork.

more→ Experience “Shorinji Kenpo” in Tadotsu-cho in Kagawa, the birthplace of Shorinji Kenpo! / Kongozen Sohonzan Shorinji (Nakatado-gun, Kagawa)

7｜“Rapid Stream and Tide Watching Ship” at Kurushima Strait, one of the three most rapid tides in Japan (Ehime)

Kurushima Strait is located just off shore of Imabari City in Ehime. This strait was considered as a dangerous spot for navigation and has one of the three most rapid tides in Japan. But you can experience the rapid stream closely on a sightseeing ship called the “rapid stream and tide watching ship.”
You sail under the “Kurushima Strait Bridge,” which is the longest bridge on the Shimanami Kaido, and go into the Seto Inland Sea where the Murakami Suigun, the famous maritime force, was active in the past. You will be surprised at the sound of big whirlpools on the day of spring-tide, which are just like a rapid river stream!
You also can see some small shrines displaying signs from the era of the Murakami Suigun, and some replicas of howitzers which tells you a history of Russo-Japanese War.

more→ Check out the Kurushima Strait, one of 3 in Japan with scary rapids and legendary whirlpools, and the world’s first triple suspension bridge! : Imabari City (Ehime)