Yashima Through the Seasons: From Cherry Blossoms and Sea Views to Harbour Lights

Cherry blossoms in spring, the sea in the lingering daylight of summer, kawarake throwing in autumn, and harbour lights in winter. I won't forget how the blossoms and harbour came together in spring, or the harbour lights in winter. Start with whichever season catches your eye.

At Shishi no Reigan on Yashima in spring, a woman in a pale purple jacket and mint sweater holds up a smartphone with both hands, ready to photograph the cherry blossoms and Takamatsu's harbour. Blossoms fill the top of the view, with the city and Seto Inland Sea beyond.

SpringA clear morning in early April, around 10 a.m.

I wanted the blossoms and harbor in one shot

In early April, I boarded the ferry from the Tokyo Port Ferry Terminal in Ariake to Tokushima with my red convertible, setting off on a 4-day trip around Shikoku. I got off in Tokushima the next afternoon and stayed there that night. On the clear morning of day 2, I stopped at Yashima on my way to Takamatsu because I wanted to get the cherry blossoms and harbour in the same shot.

I followed the curves of Yashima Skyway up to Yashima Summit Tourist Car Park, then walked to Shishi no Reigan. I stopped when I caught sight of the sea through the cherry branches. I'd come for the blossoms, but I hadn't expected Takamatsu and its harbour to spread out so far below. Still in my pale purple jacket, I pulled out my phone straight away.

I held my phone in both hands and raised it to just below eye level. When I filled more of the frame with the nearby blossoms, the harbour slid to the edge of the screen. I widened the shot to bring in more sea, and the flowers shrank. I kept changing the composition from the same spot, trying to find a way to fit both in.

The blossoms were lovely on their own, but with the harbour beyond them, I'd have a photo that would always remind me I'd taken it at Yashima. I tilted my phone slightly to catch the branches along the top and lined up the edge between sea and city in the frame. I was already torn over the framing before I even took the shot—there was so much I wanted to include.

They say Shishi no Reigan got its name from a rock below the lookout that resembles a lion. I looked down from beside the railing to see if I could spot it. With every change of angle, it looked as if it had a mane, then went back to looking like an ordinary rock. I pointed when I thought I'd found it, but a gust shook the cherry branches and I lost sight of it again.

The islands out across the water are Ogijima and Megijima. They're just beyond the harbour, but in the soft spring light they look a little hazy. There's also a local legend that Kobo Daishi prayed here and the sun, which had already set, rose again. Hearing that makes the sea and sky around me seem a little more magical. One cherry petal drifted off toward the water.

After taking a few photos, I lowered my hands and the view opened up again, much wider than my screen. Cherry blossoms nearby, then the sea and islands in the distance. I could feel that distance better than when I was trying to squeeze everything into a tiny frame. I slipped my phone into my pocket and let my gaze travel straight from the branches out to the islands beyond the water.

A little after 11, I took a break at Reigan Chaya, right beside Shishi no Reigan. Then I paid my respects at Yashima-ji, Temple No. 84 on the Shikoku Pilgrimage. I'd spent the morning taking photos of the blossoms; as I brought my hands together, the excitement I'd felt on the walk over gave way to a quiet calm. That's Yashima: a place for both the view and a moment of prayer up on the mountain. There were cherry blossoms in the temple grounds too, and I took just one photo after paying my respects.

Back at the car park, I opened the photos and there it was: the harbor and sea tucked beneath the cherry blossoms. I was so glad I could take home everything I'd hoped to see in one frame that I made it my home screen. Now it was just a drive back down the mountain to Takamatsu, where I was staying tonight.

At Shishi no Reigan on Yashima on a summer evening, a woman in a white spaghetti-strap dress with a small floral print holds a plain water bottle by her hip and looks out over Takamatsu's harbour and the Seto Inland Sea. The city is still bright, and evening light reflects on the water.

SummerA clear July evening, around 6:30 p.m.

I made out the islands while daylight lingered

It was day 5 of my week-long summer trip around Shikoku. I'd taken the ferry to Tokushima and seen the whirlpools at Onaruto Bridge on day 2. It was Friday in July; after a day driving the coastal roads, I stopped at Yashima in the evening before heading back to my lodgings in Takamatsu. Yashimaru stays open into the evening on Fridays, so I planned to visit after watching the sea while there was still some daylight. I parked at Yashima Summit Tourist Car Park and walked to Shishi no Reigan. There was still light in the evening sky.

I took a sip of the water I'd brought and lowered the bottle to my hip. A breeze caught the shoulders of my little floral dress, and I could feel myself unwinding after the walk. With Takamatsu and the sea spread out below, I turned my gaze farther out to sea.

Beyond the harbour's angular shoreline, the water stretched out into a wide expanse. When I'd been looking only at the city, all those buildings had surprised me. Seeing the city and sea together, I felt I had a slightly better sense of where Takamatsu sits. It's fun when a city I've only seen on a map becomes a real view right in front of me.

I followed the shimmer on the water from the harbour toward the islands. I thought about taking a photo, but the band of reflected light kept drifting toward shore, and I couldn't bring myself to lift my phone. It grew thinner near the islands, then spread sideways against the seawall near the harbour.

While there was still light in the sky, I stopped by Yashimaru too. It opened in summer 2022, and its glass walls make it look like a long, curving corridor; you can see the sea from the lookout area as well. As I walked through its gentle curves, the view outside shifted little by little through the glass. The harbour I'd just seen from Shishi no Reigan now looked like a picture in a frame from inside the building.

Yashimaru is open into the evening on Fridays. Knowing I could stay on the mountain after dark meant I didn't have to keep an eye on the time, which was a relief. But today I'd come to see the sea while there was still light in the sky, so I stepped back outside and returned to Shishi no Reigan.

Back at Shishi no Reigan, the sky had begun to change, little by little. In the evening light, Ogijima and Megijima stood out clearly across the water. It felt like I was finally seeing the shapes of the islands properly—something I hadn't noticed while driving earlier.

Beside the railing, the evening breeze stirred the hem of my dress. The heat of the day had eased, and the air up on the mountain seemed to be getting ready for night. I checked my map app to see which of the two islands was Ogijima, then stood quietly watching the harbor change as the light faded.

Waiting for the city lights to come on sounded lovely, but I wanted to remember this view with a little daylight left. Back at the car park, I checked the route for tomorrow before starting the engine. There were just 2 days left on my week in Shikoku.

At Shishi no Reigan on Yashima in autumn, a woman in a lavender off-the-shoulder knit looks down at a small, shallow earthenware disc in her palm, steadying its rim with her other hand. Takamatsu, the harbor's angular shoreline, and the Seto Inland Sea stretch out behind her.

AutumnA calm afternoon in October, around 2 p.m.

I got surprisingly serious about the kawarake in my palm

On a 3-night autumn trip around Shikoku, I came off the ferry in Tokushima and drove west. I reached Yashima on the calm afternoon of day 3. I wanted to try kawarake throwing at Shishi no Reigan, so I parked at Yashima Summit Tourist Car Park. I'd heard you throw a small, shallow earthenware disc and pray for good luck or protection from misfortune. I was glad there was something to try for myself, not just a view to look at.

I rested the disc in my palm and lightly steadied its rim with the fingertips of my other hand. As I looked at its thin, saucer-like shape, I started wondering how you were supposed to throw it so it would fly. My hands were still peeking out from the sleeves of my lavender knit, but instead of looking back out to sea, I found myself studying the little disc.

I got more serious before the throw than I expected. I wasn't trying to launch it with all my strength, but somehow I was overthinking even how to hold it. I had to smile at myself. I wanted to let it go cleanly, so I checked that my fingertips weren't tensing up.

When I looked up from my hands, the same harbor and sea were still there. Watching them took some of the tension out of my shoulders; I'd been thinking too hard about how far I could throw it. I decided the moment of letting go in this landscape mattered more than how far the disc flew.

The story told here about Kobo Daishi is apparently linked to another legend: that he completed Yashima-ji in a single day. People must have been sending their wishes out over this sea for a long time. Thinking of that, I wanted to put a real wish into the little disc in my palm.

I took a breath, turned my wrist lightly, and let it go. The small disc spun out toward the sea and disappeared from view almost at once. I couldn't tell whether it had flown well, but the instant I released it, something in my chest seemed to lift. I found myself smiling toward the water. I hesitated over throwing a second one, but decided one was enough for today.

Afterward, I followed the trail toward Hokurei to Dankorei Observatory. From there you can take in the bay where the Genpei War was fought. The view was different from the harbour at Shishi no Reigan: a quiet inlet came into view. It was hard to imagine a battle taking place here on such a calm autumn afternoon.

Back near Shishi no Reigan, I stopped at Reigan Chaya for matcha and something sweet. After the walk, the matcha's gentle bitterness and the sweetness of the treat were just what I needed. Once I stepped outside, I looked down toward the sea and tried to guess how far my kawarake had flown.

I left Yashima with more than photos of the view; I could still feel the little disc resting in my palm. As I walked back to the car park, I found myself opening and closing that hand.

At a lookout on Yashima on a winter night, a woman in a white coat, pink scarf, and cream gloves looks out over Takamatsu and its nighttime harbour. Beyond a wooden railing, the dark sea spreads between the harbour lights.

WinterA December night

The sea stretches between the harbor lights

On a 3-night trip around Shikoku in December, my friend and I crossed on the same ferry in our own cars. She had her yellow coupe, and I had my red car. Day 3 fell on a Friday, when Yashimaru stays open into the evening, so we decided to see the night view from Yashima that night. We parked our two cars side by side at Yashima Summit Tourist Car Park and walked to Shishi no Reigan.

When I reached the wooden railing, my breath fogged in front of me, and the city lights spread out beyond it. I pressed my gloved hands together over my white coat, and my friend and I looked at each other, amazed at how far the city seemed to stretch from up here.

My friend pointed to the lights reaching out over the sea. They ran to the edge of the harbour, with dark water between them. I traced their outline and used the gaps to work out how far the sea reached into the city. With the city and sea together in view, I found myself looking beyond the lights themselves.

I pulled my pink scarf closer to my chin, and my cheeks felt a little warmer. Looking out to sea, I felt my gaze drawn farther out than when I'd been looking at the city. My friend stood quietly beside me, taking in the same view. I wanted to let the silence last a little longer instead of breaking it.

When I took my photo, I framed both the harbour and the sea beyond it. I wanted to remember how wide the water was, not just fill the screen with lights. I showed the shot to my friend, and we both turned back to the view in front of us. Now I could make out the shape of the harbour even more clearly than in the photo.

My hands were getting really cold, so I stopped by the CAFE at Yashimaru. I ordered a HOT lemonade made with Yashima honey and wrapped both hands around my cup. I took a sip, and my friend and I both said, “So warm!” at exactly the same time.

Once we'd warmed up, we went back to Shishi no Reigan. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, and now I could clearly make out how dark the sea was between the harbour lights. My breath fogged in front of me; beyond it, the city lights flickered faintly.

My friend showed me the night view she'd photographed on her phone. She'd framed the harbour a little differently from the way I had. We'd been standing side by side in the same place, yet had noticed different things; I liked that, so we set the photos next to each other and compared them. My friend's shot included the lights on the right that I'd left out of my frame.

I flexed my fingers inside my gloves and looked toward the city. Once we drove down the mountain, we'd be back among the lights we'd just been looking down at. I'd heard that honetsukidori is a Christmas favourite in Kagawa, too. It sounded just right for a December night, and we started walking toward the car park, chatting about it.

At the car park, my friend climbed into her yellow coupe and said, “I'll go ahead.” I followed her down the mountain road. The two pairs of headlights ran one after the other, drawing closer to the city lights we'd seen from above.

The story sections are fiction inspired by this location. For accurate information, please consult official tourism and information websites.

Photos of this place4 images

Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture · Spring
Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture · Summer
Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture · Autumn
Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture · Winter

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Local specialty

Kagawa-style roast chicken on the bone

This Kagawa specialty is a whole chicken thigh, roasted on the bone. You can choose between mature and young chicken; I'd like to start with the more tender young chicken. I've heard it's a Christmas favourite in Kagawa, too, and after a winter night view, I can't help wanting to try it.

Highlights

Where the sea and city meet

From the summit of Yashima, you can look out over central Takamatsu and the Seto Inland Sea. At night, I’d love to pick out the harbor’s shape among the lights from Shishi no Reigan.

A roof-shaped lava plateau

Yashima is a roof-shaped lava plateau and the site of a famous battle from the Genpei War. Come up to the mountain next time to see the view after dark.

Getting to the summit

Up to the summit via Yashima Skyway

From Kotoden Yashima Station: About 10 minutes by car
Yashima elevation: 292m

Drive from the station up to the summit, then make the walk to Shishi no Reigan part of your stop.

The mountain's elevation and drive time from the station can help you plan the rest of your trip.

More Spot Guides

If you enjoyed this story, you might like these places too. I've gone back to each of them in different seasons, again and again.

Niihama City and Shikokuchuo City, Ehime Prefecture Besshi-Suiha Hana Road The mountain road leads to a bridge that loops around the valley. I’d seen its shape on the map and wanted to feel those turns from behind the wheel, so I set out along the Besshi-Suiha Hana Road in spring.

Kochi City, Kochi Prefecture Godaisan Observatory Terrace The sky was still blue, but across the river the city was already glowing with lights. At the end of a day driving around Kochi, I wanted to see the city from above. I rested a hand on the wooden railing and waited just a little longer for night to fall.

Takamatsu and Sakaide, Kagawa Prefecture Goshikidai (Goshikidai Skyline) An autumn drive around Goshikidai deserves a sunset stop at a mountaintop inn, too. I want to catch both the sky and its reflection at the reflecting-pool terrace at Kyukamura Sanuki Goshikidai.

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