Rail or drive Shikoku

Hello!
For my future visit to Japan I hoped to go off the beaten path visiting Shikoku island. I plan to explore not only the typical touristy areas but perhaps the capes in the south and west as well, hence renting a car came to mind.

But not sure about road conditions and distances compared to taking the train instead. Maybe renting a car in rural areas and do the longer distance travel by train?

Have any suggesions? Or maybe someone did the same idea before?

A self-drive road trip would indeed offer more flexibility, especially if you want to go for less accessible places like Cape Muroto and Cape Ashizuri. For our 2-week Shikoku trip we took bus from Osaka to Takamatsu and used public transports to tour Takamatsu, Kotohira and the outer islands of Naoshima and Shodoshima. Then we pick up a rental car from Marugame and did a clock-wise loop drive of the island before returning to Osaka by bus from Takamatsu.

It will depend on how quickly you wanna move around. The south and the west a accessible by train. But they are infrequent services.

If you have a limited time to explore, a car would be better/quicker.

When preparing the itinerary for upcoming Shikoku trip, most of the sightseeing places are recommended to go by car. Even when there's public transportation, it is infrequent and takes longer time (unless if you want to do island hopping where ferry is obviously the best option).

In crowded (even in Shikoku) cities such a Matsuyama, where there's still a lot to see, public transportation is more convenient and safer. You can also consider renting a bicycle or hiring a taxi for a day.

If you prefer to go to the little islands off sea (Shikoku itself is considered too huge to be a real island), you would be taking ferries that offer space for your rent-a-car if.

But if you usually drive on the right-hand side of the road, keep in mind that driving on the other side is tricky.

I'd probably stay off the bigger cities, or stay in the outskirts with the car if so. I know driving where there are street cars can be tricky enough. Not like being run into by a car, being hit by a streetcar could be a disaster...

That's why I suggested maybe renting a car in the specific prefecture or area, like when exploring Iya or the capes (or that long island in the west near Yawatahama (?). Doing the long transport on train to rest or so during the early or late hours.

Or would it be too much hassle you think? I know the rental companies are not open 24 hours a day so it is not too flexible in that sense. Having to get up the early next morning returning the car before setting off again I mean.

But everything can be solved I suppose.

I fear that long distance driving can be too tireing. I went on vacation this summer travelling a total of 65 km one way, and the roads are probably much straighter than in Shikoku. Isn't the circle distance around Shikoku like... 1000 km?

Ultimately it depends on where you start/stop your travel, plus specifically what you are going to see.

The main cities are connected by rail, but since you wrote you want to get off the beaten trail, a car can be a godsend. Other trips can be very convenient by car as well - I went from Kochi City to Uwajima, but it was agonizingly slow by train - ultimately I was the only passenger on a 'one man' train car, and it took a lot of time.

And while going to see the Ryugado Cave was possible by train/bus, the schedule was so infrequent that I just splurged for a taxi from the train station to the cave. It was well worth it though.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXClyRaiuio

I think your original idea of using the train for long distance travel, and then renting a car for more isolated and scenic coastal areas would serve you best.

Ken-san,
Yes I saw the train ride from Kochi to Uwajima was very slow when looking at Hyperdia, it would take me too much time going that way. It even recommended going from Uwajima through Kotohira to Kochi than the other way... wow

I'll put up a map and find some spots and see the time etc for train.