2 Best Sights in Shikoku, Japan

Just east of the castle park, this museum contains exhibits about Kagawa's history and art. A third-floor exhibit chronicles regional history from ancient to modern times; the second floor displays art from the museum's permanent collection and presents special exhibitions; and the ground floor has an art-books library and a hands-on area where kids can play with traditional Japanese toys. Free English audio guides are available, but you needn't know a lick of Japanese to enjoy walking inside a Neolithic hut, sitting in a 19th-century schoolroom, or crawling with a magnifying glass on the giant photo map of Kagawa.

During the turbulent times before the Meiji Restoration, Sakamoto Ryoma was a radical and a revolutionary. The political changes he instigated were enough to get him killed, as you'll learn in this museum jutting fabulously over the sand and surf near Katsurahama Beach. After seeing the blood-splashed screen from the room where he was assassinated, you'll finally know who the cowboyish samurai plastered on every street corner in Kochi is.