Shodoshima Beyond the Art – Gorges, Olives & Craft Beer

What?
Shodoshima (小豆島) is an island in the Seto Inland Sea (瀬戸内海), best known for its olives, the famous Angel Road sandbar, the Shodoshima 88 Temple Pilgrimage and the spectacular Kankakei Gorge (寒霞渓). The latter is considered one of the three most beautiful gorges in Japan, with dramatic rock formations and lush vegetation that make it an attractive destination throughout the year, although autumn is particularly popular for its colourful foliage. Other landmarks include Olive Park (小豆島オリーブ公園 ), with its olive groves and somewhat unexpected Greek windmill, and the enormous Shodoshima Daikannon (小豆島大観音), a 50-metre-tall statue overlooking the island. And if, like me, you enjoy a good beer, there's also Mamemame Brewery (まめまめビール), a local craft brewery producing some rather interesting and characterful beers.
Where?
Shodoshima is located in the Seto Inland Sea and belongs to Kagawa Prefecture (香川県). Several ferry routes connect the island with both Honshu and Shikoku, including the Jumbo Ferry (ジャンボフェリー) from Kobe (神戸) and services from Uno Port (宇野港) in Okayama Prefecture. (岡山県) Getting around the island by public transport is possible, with local buses connecting most of the main sights. However, services can be infrequent, so visiting several places in one day requires careful planning. I'd definitely recommend renting a car if you want the freedom to explore the island at your own pace, especially if you plan to visit some of the more remote attractions.
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Japan Guide Mamemame Beer

Apart from all the art on Shodoshima, the island is actually better known among Japanese visitors for a few other places.
First and foremost, there's Olive Park. I completely misinterpreted the word “park” here, because it's no more than a roadside station with a shop and a small eatery. It's surrounded by olive groves that are freely accessible (but please don't pick the olives!) and features a Greek windmill, the origins of which elude me. What eludes me even more is the connection between the windmill and Studio Ghibli's animated movie Kiki's Delivery Service, which makes almost every visitor borrow a broom and jump up and down to take a picture that creates the illusion of flying on a broom… in front of a Greek windmill… in Japan… near an olive shop…
While pretty, the whole idea raises more questions than its prettiness will ever answer. I assumed that there would at least be restaurants or eateries nearby making abundant use of the local olive produce, but whatever such places exist, they seem to open pretty much only at weekends or for group reservations. Eventually, we found our way to a small bakery nearby for lunch, which served some excellent sandwiches that we could enjoy on a small terrace with a view. This little bakery, called Café La Mauve, was more interesting than everything Olive Park had to offer combined, save for the Hilltop Terrace, perhaps.

Another famous tourist attraction on the island is Kankakei Gorge, which is considered one of the three most beautiful gorges in Japan. The high season would be in about two weeks, when the leaves start changing colour, but I can assure you that the ravine is also impressive in bright green.
A short cable car ride connects the two stations, offering an aerial view of the gorge. We actually drove to the upper station and walked down (around 3 km / 1 hour), passing Sekimon-do Temple, a temple carved into the rock face and named after the nearby breathtaking rock arch. The vibrant green vegetation made any attempt at decent photography rather difficult, so you'll just have to see the impressive sight with your own eyes.
Continuing down the road, we eventually reached the lower cable car station and took the cable car back up to our car at the top. Although short, the ride offered fantastic views of the ravine. I can imagine, though, that when the car is full, enjoying the beauty below becomes quite difficult. Hence, I recommend visiting very early on a weekday.

Enjoying the ferry ride.

Shodoshima coastline.

Walking underneath the Sekimon.

Kankakei Gorge as seen from the cable car.

On our way to the Yokai Museum, we first stopped at the Shihozashi Sightseeing Tower, which was a complete waste of money and probably just a means of appeasing the construction lobby.

Afterwards, we also took a small detour to Shodoshima Great Kannon, a temple with a 50-metre-tall statue. I had imagined something like the Ushiku Daibutsu, but this one is considerably less impressive, both inside and out. I wouldn't try to convince you not to visit, though, as approaching it by car does leave an impression of awe, and it certainly doesn't do any harm.

Last but not least, we visited the local Mamemame Brewery daily – either at the brewery itself or at the NEIW event space next to Sakate Harbor. They have some pretty interesting beer profiles here. While not all of them were to my taste, every beer certainly had character and flavour, avoiding the usual pitfall of stubbornly sticking to an alcohol percentage of 5% and ending up with watery brews.

We skipped some of the island's other major attractions, such as Angel Road (the tide times didn't fit our schedule), the Movie Village (I have no clue what that movie is about), the soy sauce breweries and all but one of the temples that make up the Shodoshima Pilgrimage (I might come back for this). All in all, though, I feel I succeeded in my goal of showing my brother another side of Japan, while relaxing at the same time.