6 Best Restaurants in Shikoku, Japan

Aisunao is centrally located and famous for its healthy and predominantly vegetarian lunches. Situated in a traditional Japanese guesthouse, diners sit on raised tatami mats overlooking a garden. Perfect for recharging your batteries between exploring the various art sites of Naoshima.

This delightful café-restaurant sits just off the main drag between Harimaya-bashi and the castle. Choose a table by the window and people-watch on the cobbled lane, or head indoors to the quirky third-floor dining area. The cake, incidentally, is excellent.

Connected to a small gallery a few doors down from the I ♥ Yu baths in Miyanoura, this rickety looking restaurant serves up traditional, simple teishoku set meals for lunch and dinner. With the classic combo of rice, miso soup, and pickles, expect super-fresh sashimi and other seafood options. When the weather is nice, enjoy your meal on the restaurant's wooden terrace. 

Delicious handmade custards and crepes and a two-story dining area with corner views of Matsuyama's busy night scene make this coffee-and-pastry shop a perfect part of any evening out. Extremely popular and open into the wee hours, it's a great place to meet Matsuyamans.

Locals take fierce pride in Kagawa's culinary specialty, sanuki-udon noodles, traveling distances that defy common sense to sample the ones served at this restored riverside house at the base of Shikoku Mura. Stop here for lunch and enjoy the rustic waterwheel. If you're with a party of three or more, choose the family-size noodle barrel for the most bang for your slurping buck. Or to elevate simple slurping to something more decadent, opt for noodles with a topping of shrimp tempura. Either way, you'll eat well for less than ¥1,000.

In Hyogo-machi, the northern part of Takamatsu's warren of arcades, Yoridorimidori is one of those places locals tell you to go to try Takamatsu soul food. It doesn't disappoint. The specialty is honetsukidori, garlicy chicken thigh grilled on the bone. Staff suggest trying both types, the young chicken and the mature chicken, the first of which is superbly tender under its crispy skin, the latter firmer but more flavorful. Also on the menu is a selection of izakaya staples, plus sake and beer to wash it all down with. It's worth getting there early or having your hotel book a table, as it fills up quickly.