Mikado Valley

Little knownBarely documented in English. This is the kind of place the site exists for.

Researched and written by Hinato

Mikado ValleyTen Views of SanukiMannoriversummer

Kagawa · Manno

34.1266°N, 134.0039°E

What sets Mikado Valley apart from other natural sites in Kagawa is how much depends on conditions outside anyone's control.

Mikado is a gorge on the Myojin river, a tributary of the Doki, in the hills where Kagawa meets Tokushima. It was developed as a scenic site in the Meiji period and is one of the Ten Views of Sanuki, with eight named features along it — a bridge, a lookout, a peak, a paired rock said to bring marital harmony, linked pools, a cauldron falls, a turning-back stone and a cherry grove.

What it actually offers is a cold clear river running over rock in a wooded valley, with a walking path along it, forty minutes from the coast in a prefecture that is otherwise flat and dry. Kagawa people come here in August to get out of the heat. Hiraga Gennai, the Edo polymath, wrote about the hot spring nearby. There is a roadside station at Kotonami close by and free parking off Route 438.

Plan your visit

Time to allow

60–90 minutes

Hours

Open access | Daylight only

Closed: Open year-round

Best time to visit

July–August for the cool water | November for autumn colour

Entry fee

Free | Free parking

Getting out there

Getting there in detail

Kawahigashi, Manno, Nakatado District, on the Myojin river. Car recommended, on Route 438 toward Tokushima. Free to visit, with a car park a short way below Route 438 near the Ishizuchi shrine and further parking spaces along the river. A walking path runs along the gorge. The Michi-no-Eki Kotonami roadside station is nearby. The eight named features are known collectively as the Eight Views of Mikado.

Local knowledge

**August is the season.** Kagawa is hot and flat and this valley is neither. Local families come here to get into cold water. **Walk the path rather than driving through.** The eight named features are spread along the river and only visible on foot. **Parking is scattered.** A main lot below Route 438 plus spaces along the river. On a summer weekend the closer ones fill early. **November for the maples.** The valley turns and it is one of the better autumn walks in the prefecture, without the crowds of Kankakei. **Stop at Michi-no-Eki Kotonami.** Close by on the same road, with food and produce, which the valley itself does not have.

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