Unfortunately, from here the coastline is too rugged for roads, so the rest of the route goes inland all the way to Nakamura, the last city of any size before Cape Ashizuri. Nakamura offers plenty of accommodations, but I elected to shoot straight down to Ashizuri, where there are plenty of minshuku and a youth hostel. The narrow road leading from the highway to the cape was quite a bit more hilly but lovely in the setting sun, and the waves crashing on the rocks at the cape in the morning were just as dramatic as you've heard.

Just north of Ashizuri, the rugged scenery and violent forces of nature at the Cape suddenly turn into coastline that is at times amazingly pastoral. While the eastern coast of Shikoku alternates between steep, rugged coastline and totally flat roads, the western coast is more uniform: quiet bays and moderate inclines all the way from Ashizuri to Uwajima.