Shikoku, between the Seto Inland Sea and the Pacific: What Kind of Trip Would You Like to Take?
Shikoku is an island to the south of Honshu, Japan’s main island. It consists of four prefectures: Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, and Kochi.
The Seto Inland Sea lies to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south, while mountains stretch across the island’s interior. There are bridges crossing the sea, hot spring towns in the mountains, and the “Ohenro” pilgrimage route linking 88 temples.
You might travel along the coast or visit temples. You can also enjoy a leisurely journey, tasting the food of each area along the way.
If you have been here before, think of the hotels or other places you stayed. If you are planning a visit, imagine somewhere you would like to stay.
Take a moment to picture your own journey.
How have Shikoku’s hotels and ryokan—traditional Japanese inns—changed through the pandemic?
We will compare guest nights in 2019, before the pandemic; 2021, during it; and 2025, after it, through a map and a data card.
As a way to get to know Shikoku, shall we explore together how its hotels and ryokan have changed?
Explore Hotels and Ryokan in Shikoku on the Map
Select a prefecture on the map to see total guest nights, the share accounted for by foreign nationals, establishments, guest rooms, room occupancy, and other figures. Switch between 2019, 2021, and 2025 to compare changes through the pandemic.
You can also search by prefecture name, use voice search, or move to other regions using the buttons at the bottom of the screen.
Start with a prefecture you have visited or somewhere you would like to go.
How Have Guest Nights Changed in Shikoku?
Total guest nights in Shikoku’s four prefectures fell from 14,516,430 in 2019 to 8,316,930 in 2021. This was just under 60% of the 2019 level. They then rose to 14,771,430 in 2025.
The recovery rate for 2025 compared with 2019 was 101.8%. Across Shikoku as a whole, guest nights exceeded the pre-pandemic level.
Guest nights for foreign nationals exceeded the 2019 level, and their share of total guest nights increased. Meanwhile, guest nights for Japanese nationals remained below the 2019 level.
The number of hotels and ryokan declined compared with fiscal 2019, while the number of guest rooms increased.
Switch between the data card’s tabs to see the breakdown of guest nights, establishments and guest rooms, and licenses issued and closures across the lodging industry as a whole. Comparing the card with the map reveals differences between the figures for Shikoku as a whole and those for each prefecture.
What I Noticed While Making the Map
Guest nights in Shikoku as a whole exceeded the pre-pandemic level. Yet some prefectures were above their earlier level and others below it, and room occupancy did not follow the same pattern.
Guest nights for foreign nationals exceeded pre-pandemic levels in all four prefectures. Comparing the overall figures with their breakdown reveals different aspects of change in each area.
From places you remember to places you would like to visit next.
Shall we explore how hotels and ryokan in Shikoku have changed, moving between the map and the data card?
Sources: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Report on Public Health Administration and Services; Japan Tourism Agency, Accommodation Survey.
- Accommodation figures cover the calendar years 2019, 2021, and 2025 (January–December).
- Figures for establishments, guest rooms, licenses issued, and closures cover fiscal years 2019, 2021, and 2024.
- Guest nights count each guest for each night of their stay. One person staying for three nights counts as three guest nights.
- The maps and data cards use the Japanese labels “日本人” (“Japanese”) and “外国人” (“foreign nationals”) to reflect the statistical categories. Guest nights for Japanese nationals are calculated by subtracting guest nights for foreign nationals from total guest nights.
- The recovery rate is calculated as total guest nights in 2025 ÷ total guest nights in 2019 × 100.