2026-10-15

Header image: AI-generated illustration, not a property listing.

Buying a House in Shikoku: A Guide to Four Prefectures for Foreign Buyers

Shikoku has some of the cheapest houses in Japan and the emptiest housing stock. In the 2023 Housing and Land Survey, Tokushima had the highest vacancy rate of any prefecture, 21.3%, and all four Shikoku prefectures were in the top ten (Statistics Bureau of Japan). In our 6 October 2026 snapshot, Tokushima's median asking price of ¥8.8 million (about US$57,000) was tied for the lowest in Japan. The trade-offs are on the Pacific side: typhoons, very heavy rain and the Nankai Trough.

On 15 October 2026 our Shikoku region page listed 1,242 houses for sale. This guide covers the four prefectures one at a time: the stock and daily life, the main practical risk, and where to see the current houses. For the places themselves, start with our overview of Japan's regions.

USD equivalents are approximate, using ¥154 per US$1 for illustration. Yen figures are listed asking prices, not sale prices.

Shikoku at a glance

House counts are the live inventory on 15 October 2026. Medians and building ages come from our 6 October 2026 snapshot, explained in Japan house prices by prefecture, where the national median was ¥17.99 million (about US$117,000). The national vacancy rate in the 2023 survey was 13.8%. Rainfall is the JMA 1991 to 2020 normal at the capital's station. Strong shaking means seismic intensity 6 lower or stronger at the prefectural capital's city hall, from HERP's 2020 national seismic hazard map (HERP). In MLIT's July 2026 land price survey, average residential land was ¥28,600 per m² (about US$186) in Tokushima, ¥33,100 in Kagawa, ¥34,200 in Ehime and ¥31,900 in Kochi (MLIT).

Tokushima: the lowest prices and the emptiest houses

Tokushima faces Kansai across the water and connects to Kobe by road bridges over Awaji Island, so Tokushima city and Naruto work for buyers who want a cheap base within reach of Osaka and Kobe. Kamiyama, in the hills west of the city, has drawn remote workers and small offices for years. Inland, the Iya Valley and the mountain villages are some of the most remote places on Shikoku, and the southern coast around Anan and Minami faces the open Pacific. The median asking price was ¥8.8 million (about US$57,000), with 67 of 239 houses in our snapshot under ¥5 million.

The emptiness is the risk as well as the opportunity: a 21.3% vacancy rate means neighbours, shops and buses can thin out quickly in the valleys. On the southern coast, check the tsunami layer for the exact address: the Cabinet Office's 2025 estimate puts the highest possible Nankai Trough tsunami in Tokushima at 24 m, at Minami (Cabinet Office).

See the current Tokushima houses for sale.

Kagawa: small, dry and full of older houses

Kagawa is compact and flat by Shikoku standards, centred on Takamatsu, with Marugame, Sakaide and Kanonji along the coast and the art islands of the Seto Inland Sea offshore: Naoshima, Teshima and the larger Shodoshima. The rail bridge from Sakaide to Okayama makes it the easiest part of Shikoku to reach by train. It had a median of ¥9.99 million (about US$65,000), 85 of 290 houses under ¥5 million, and old stock: 45% built in 1980 or earlier.

Water and age are the checks. Takamatsu gets 1,150 mm of rain in a normal year, less than half of Kochi's (JMA, Takamatsu), and the plain depends on reservoirs, so ask how the house is supplied and whether it uses a well. For the islands, add ferry schedules and freight to every renovation plan.

See the current Kagawa houses for sale.

Ehime: Matsuyama, the islands and the citrus coast

Matsuyama, Shikoku's biggest city, gives Ehime the island's widest choice of services, with Dogo Onsen and a tram network. Imabari links to Onomichi in Hiroshima by the Shimanami Kaido island bridges, the old towns of Uchiko and Ozu sit inland, and the south around Uwajima is citrus terraces and fishing towns. The median asking price was ¥13.5 million (about US$88,000), with a younger stock than the rest of Shikoku: 30% built in 1980 or earlier.

Slopes are the main risk. Ehime had 16,334 designated landslide warning zones in March 2025 (MLIT), and many houses on terraced hillsides depend on narrow roads. On the coast the Nankai Trough tsunami check applies too: the Cabinet Office's highest estimate for Ehime is 20 m, at Ikata on the Sadamisaki Peninsula.

See the current Ehime houses for sale.

Kochi: rain, typhoons and the Pacific

Kochi holds most of Shikoku's Pacific coast, from Cape Muroto in the east to the Shimanto River and Cape Ashizuri in the west, with Kochi city and its airport in the middle. Mountains separate it from the rest of the island, and outside the city life is built around the car, the coast road and small fishing and farming towns. It had a median of ¥13.69 million (about US$89,000), 42% of houses built in 1980 or earlier, and a 20.3% vacancy rate.

Weather is the cost. Kochi city's normal annual rainfall is 2,666 mm (JMA, Kochi), and Kochi had 20,014 landslide warning zones, the most in Shikoku. The same Cabinet Office estimate puts Kochi's highest possible tsunami at 34 m, at Tosashimizu and Kuroshio, the highest figure anywhere in the estimate. Look at roofs, gutters, shutters and wall plaster closely, and walk the tsunami evacuation route from the door.

See the current Kochi houses for sale.

Getting to and around Shikoku

Bridges link Shikoku to Honshu from Naruto to Kobe across Awaji Island, from Sakaide to Okayama with both road and rail, and from Imabari to Onomichi across the islands. Each prefecture has an airport near its capital. Away from the coast railways, most towns are car country, and many mountain and island communities depend on a single road or ferry. If you plan to live in Shikoku part of the year, time the full trip from your arrival airport or station to the door, in both directions.

Typhoons and the Nankai Trough

Two regional risks apply across all four prefectures. Typhoons approach Shikoku 3.3 times in a normal year, meaning the storm's centre passes within 300 km of a JMA station in the region (JMA typhoon normals). And the Nankai Trough runs offshore of the whole Pacific coast. The Headquarters for Earthquake Research Promotion (HERP) puts the chance of a magnitude 8 to 9 Nankai Trough earthquake within 30 years at 60% to 90% or more under one model and 20% to 50% under another, and asks people to plan around the higher figure (HERP).

Neither risk rules out a purchase. They decide which houses are worth your time: higher ground, newer or reinforced structure, a roof in good order, and an evacuation route you have walked. Earthquake insurance is a separate add-on to fire insurance in Japan; our insurance guide explains what each covers.

Shikoku buyer checklist

1. Read the tsunami layer for the lot. On the coasts of Tokushima, Kochi and Ehime that face the open ocean, check the estimated inundation and the nearest evacuation building or high ground on the GSI hazard map portal and the municipal map.
2. Inspect for typhoons. Ask the inspector to check roof tile fixing, shutters (雨戸), gutters and signs of water entry, and look for storm repairs in the house's records.
3. Check the slope and the road. Hillside houses need the landslide zone for both the lot and the access road; see the address-level hazard check.
4. Confirm water supply. In Kagawa especially, ask whether the house is on mains water or a well, and what restrictions applied in past dry years.
5. Price the age. In Kagawa and Kochi more than 40% of listed houses were built in 1980 or earlier; read what the 1981 standard means.
6. Plan the empty months. In a high-vacancy area, a house left empty through typhoon season needs someone to check it after storms; write the management plan first.
7. Check support before you sign. Takamatsu's FY2026 grant covers half of renovation, up to ¥500,000 (¥600,000 in its designated residential areas; about US$3,200 to US$3,900), for houses registered on Kagawa's akiya bank, first come, first served (Takamatsu City). Imabari's larger grant for movers had already closed for FY2026 (Imabari City). Prefecture portals list town akiya banks: Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime and Kochi.

How we sourced these figures

House counts were read from our public inventory on 15 October 2026 and change daily. Medians and building ages are our 6 October 2026 snapshot. Vacancy rates are the final results of the Statistics Bureau of Japan's 2023 Housing and Land Survey. Rainfall and typhoon figures are Japan Meteorological Agency 1991 to 2020 normals, and landslide zones are MLIT's count as of 31 March 2025.

Ready to compare real houses? Open the Shikoku region page, or browse houses under ¥10 million across Japan.