坂出

Sakaide is a port city on the north coast of Kagawa Prefecture, Shikoku, and it is where the Great Seto Bridge comes ashore from Honshu. The crossing defines the town: rail and road decks stack together over a chain of islands in one of the longest bridge systems in the world.

Seto Ohashi Memorial Park lays out the engineering story beneath the span, with viewpoints along the shoreline for watching trains cross the sea. Climb the Goshikidai plateau east of town for wide views over the Inland Sea, its lava tablelands dotted with pilgrimage temples.

This is Sanuki udon heartland, and no-frills noodle shops around Sakaide serve bowls that justify the pilgrimage, often selling out by early afternoon; go before noon. Marine Liner trains between Okayama and Takamatsu stop in town, so the bridge view comes to you. Udon first, scenery second.