By Lee Sun-ho

Shikoku, literally meaning four hometowns, is an often-forgotten island in Japan. The smallest (18,800 square kilometers) and the least populated (4.3 million) of Japan���s Big Four, it indeed consists of four prefectures, conveniently arranged around the compass points. Each prefecture, namely, Tokushima (east), Ehime (west), Kochi (south) and Kagawa (north), also has an old provincial name, respectively, Awa, Iyo, Tosa and Sanuki, still widely used in various proper names throughout the region.

In late October I had an opportunity of surveying a glimpse of Shikoku���s historical legacies and cultural heritages of ``Real Japan��� as a member of 30-person tour group composed of my college classmates and their spouses guided by Mirae Japan. The group strolling around many natural endowments and artificial achievements on the island gave me a convincing introduction to varied aspects of unique Japan, both ancient and modern.

Mt. Ishizuchi in Ehime at 1,982m is the highest point on the island while the Yoshino River, running 194km from its source close to Mt. Ishizuchi, is the major river whose watershed spreads over the four prefectures. The only significant lowland is a small alluvial plain in Kochi. It is notable that Shikoku has no volcanoes unlike the other three major islands of Japan.

The rich ``onsen��� (hot springs) at Dogo are be an unavoidable feature to mention. I could soak myself in the soothing sulfur onsen baths at the Okudogo Hotel compound. Dogo Onsen Honkan (main building) which has been visited by millions from all over the world was designated as an important Japanese cultural asset on its centennial in 1994. The atmosphere created by its gushing water and mist was selected as one of the Best 100 Sounds of Japan.

Among 12 original castles left in Japan, Shikoku is home to four of them. Matsuyama Castle originally erected by Yoshiaki Kato in 1627 is located on the 132m peak of Mt. Katsu. Being destroyed, rebuilt, expanded, and restored, the castle���s medieval fortification tower allowed me a fantastic bird���s-eye-view of Matsuyama from the top.

Shikoku is also famous for its pilgrimage of 88 temples once associated with Kobo Daishi. Most modern-day pilgrims travel the grueling 1,647km course by bus, rarely choosing the old-fashioned method of going by foot. At the Ishite Temple (No. 51), I noticed many pilgrims pray for the eternal peace of victims from earthquakes, tsunamis and wars throughout the world. They wore white jackets emblazoned with the characters reading ``dogyo ninin��� meaning ``two traveling together.���

Shikoku is primarily an agricultural island, and each prefecture is famous for something. Owing to wheat production ``Sanuki oodon��� (noodles) have been an important part of the diet in the Kagawa Prefecture since the Edo period. Sanuki oodon at Yamada-ya in Takamatsu, the largest city in Shikoku has attracted many curious travel gourmets.

It was impressive for me to note that some heroic figures in Shikoku from the Meiij Restoration of 1868 and a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan have been honorably respected by Shikokuans. Ryoma Sakamoto from the Kochi Prefecture who was assassinated at the age of 32 in 1867 must be the eternal hero of the century in Japan. Other symbolic figures, in my eyes, seemed to be the Akiyama brothers born in the Ehime Prefecture, known for their exploits as military officers during the early 20th century. Yoshifuru (the elder brother, an army general) and Saneyuki (the younger, a navy key staff) have been immortalized in the form of bronze statues quietly gazing out at the Seto Inland Sea near Baishinji Park. The novel, ``Sakano-ueno-Kumo (The Cloud Over the Hill)��� written by Ryotaro Shiba deals with the experiences in Meiji of the Akiyama brothers. As a NHK drama, the story is scheduled to start broadcasting on Nov. 29.

The four-century-old Ritsurin Koen (Garden), a prefectural daimyo (feudal lord) park was designated as a special beauty spot in Japan in March 1953. It is the largest outdoor display among 23 classified public landscape gardens for strolling through. In contrast, The Otsuka Museum of Art (TOMA) located in the Naruto Koen was built as an indoor exhibition landmark during 2000 at Naruto City, in the Tokushima Prefecture by the Otsuka Pharmaceutical Group in celebration of its 75th anniversary. TOMA���s collections consist of over 1,000 image reproductions of masterpieces in Western art from antiquity to the 20th century. TOMA is a unique contributing work both in artistic and technical aspects.

Shikoku is connected to Honshu by three bridged highways: the oldest Nishiseto Expressway (western), the Seto-Chuo Expressway (central) connected by the Seto Ohasi Bridge network since 1988 both for ground vehicles and JR trains, and the Kobe-Awazi-Naruto Expressway (eastern), the gateway through the Onaruto Bridge connecting Naruto Strait to Shikoku since 1998. In 2000, the bridge built a see-through area for viewing violent whirlpools caused by the ebb and flow of the tides. It is locally called ``Uzuno-Michi (The road to whirlpools)��� annexed underneath the vehicle passage of the expressway.

To all my fellow travelers, it was one of nature���s most exciting spectacles looking down at the thrilling waves from 45 meters above the sea level.

The writer is an outside director of Kunwha Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd. in Seoul. He can be reached at kexim2@unitel.co.kr.