Kagawa

Kagawa is Japan's smallest prefecture, occupying the northeast corner of Shikoku island along the Seto Inland Sea. Small does not mean minor: this is the country's udon capital and the ferry gateway to the Inland Sea's art islands, with one of Japan's finest gardens in its capital.

Sanuki udon shops open at dawn, and locals eat the springy noodles for breakfast. Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu arranges ponds and pruned pines against a wooded mountain backdrop, and the long stone stairway up Mount Zozu climbs to Kotohira-gu, the seafarers' shrine pilgrims have visited for centuries.

Ferries fan out from Takamatsu's port to Naoshima's museums and olive-growing Shodoshima, which makes the prefecture a natural base for island-hopping. Udon-shop crawls and garden mornings fill the time between boats. Spring and autumn bring the best walking weather, and the Inland Sea stays calm most of the year.