Mikado Valley

Mikado ValleyTen Views of SanukiMannoriversummer

Kagawa · Manno

34.1266°N, 134.0039°E

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.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Open access | Daylight only

Closed: Open year-round

Entrance Fee

Free | Free parking

Best Season

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

Visit Duration

60–90 minutes

Getting There

Access Information

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.

Insider Guide

Premium

**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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