Golf in Matsuyama & Shikoku: Three Courses That Welcome Overseas Visitors
Shikoku is the cheapest good golf in Japan and almost nobody writes about it in English — partly because the hard part isn't finding a tee time, it's finding a club that will take you.
Updated August 2026
The short answer
Matsuyama has good, cheap weekday golf roughly 30–50 minutes from the city, from roughly ¥8,000 per player. The catch isn't availability — it's that not every club in the region accepts overseas visitors or a booking placed on your behalf. We phoned ahead; these three said yes, and all three have riding carts and take credit cards. None of them offer caddies.
Ask a visiting golfer to name a region in Japan and you will hear Tokyo, then Fuji, then maybe Hokkaido. Almost nobody says Shikoku — the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, separated from the mainland by the Seto Inland Sea and about 90 minutes by air from Tokyo.
Which is a shame, because the golf is good, the courses are quiet on weekdays, and it costs roughly half what the same round costs within reach of Tokyo.
There is a reason it stays undiscovered, though, and it isn’t the golf.
The real obstacle in this region
In most of Japan, the thing standing between a visitor and a tee time is language: the booking happens by phone, in Japanese, and that’s that. Regional Shikoku adds a second layer.
Some clubs here decline overseas visitors outright. Others will not accept a reservation placed by anyone other than the player. A few will take the booking only if somebody in the group speaks Japanese on the day.
None of that is about how busy they are. We have called clubs in this region that had tee times open on the exact dates requested and still said no. Waiting until closer to the date doesn’t help, because these are standing house rules rather than a capacity problem.
It’s an unusual feature of golf in Japan, and it is invisible from the outside: nothing on a club’s website tells you which category it falls into. The only way to know is to ask, in Japanese, before anyone books flights.
So the list below is short on purpose. These are courses where we confirmed the answer by telephone in August 2026. Policies are set by each club and can change, so we re-confirm before every booking rather than trusting a list — including this one.
Matsuyama Kokusai Golf Club
Toon City (東温市) · roughly 35–45 minutes east of central Matsuyama
Designed by Keiji Matsuyama, 18 holes, par 72, 6,639 yards. A mountain course — this is the most physically demanding of the three, with real elevation change — and it plays to a single korai green, the traditional Japanese grass that has largely been replaced by bent elsewhere. If you have never putted on korai, it is slower and grainier than you expect, and reading the grain matters more than reading the slope.
GPS-equipped riding carts throughout. Fairway access is permitted at ¥550 per player, subject to turf conditions on the day.
Cards accepted: JCB, Visa, Mastercard, Diners, Amex.
Matsuyama Royal Golf Club
Nakayama, Iyo City (伊予市中山町) · roughly 40–50 minutes southwest of the city, on mountain roads
Also a Keiji Matsuyama design, 18 holes, par 72, sitting at 400–600 metres of elevation — which in practice means comfortable air in months when the coast is still warm. Hilly rather than mountainous, and again a single korai green.
The tee options are unusually wide: 6,617 yards off the back, down to 4,602 off the front, with five sets in between. If your group spans a range of ages or handicaps, this is the course that flexes to fit rather than punishing whoever is shortest off the tee.
GPS carts; fairway access ¥550 per player, introduced in 2022 and still conditions-dependent.
Chisan Country Club Hojo
Hojo, Matsuyama (松山市萩原) · roughly 30–40 minutes north of the city
18 holes, par 72, 6,469 yards, on rolling ground above the coast north of the city. Unlike the other two it runs bent grass on a two-green layout, and it is the least demanding underfoot of the three — the one to choose if you are playing a third consecutive day, walking is a consideration, or you simply want a round that doesn’t fight you.
GPS carts arrived in 2022, fairway access the same year at ¥550. Shortest drive of the three from the city.
What playing here is actually like
You will need a car. All three sit in different directions from the city and none has a workable train connection. Drive times below are approximate — treat them as planning guides, not timetables. Rent at Matsuyama Airport and the whole region opens up.
No caddies. All three are self-play. You take your own clubs from the bag drop, drive your own cart, and settle at the counter afterwards. This is normal for regional Japan and nothing to worry about — but if you were expecting a caddie, it changes the shortlist entirely, and that conversation is better had before booking.
Fairway access is real but never guaranteed. All three permit carts onto the fairway for ¥550 per player. Whether it is allowed on any given morning depends on how much rain has fallen and how the turf is holding, and the club tells you at check-in. No course in Japan will promise it in advance. If reduced walking is important — for an older player, say — this region is a good choice precisely because the option exists at all.
Two-player rounds carry a supplement. Expect ¥550–¥660 per player on top of the green fee. Japanese courses are built around fourballs; twos are accepted but priced accordingly.
A locker fee of ¥440 is standard and is not usually quoted in the headline price.
What it costs
Quoted to us by telephone in August 2026, for weekday play in early October. Prices move with season and day of week, so treat these as the shape of it rather than a tariff.
| Green fee | Two-player supplement | Locker | Per player | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kokusai | ¥7,500–8,800 (lunch included) | ¥660 | ¥440 | ¥8,600–9,900 |
| Royal | ¥9,000 (lunch extra) | ¥660 | ¥440 | ¥10,100 + lunch |
| Hojo | under ¥8,200 | ¥550 | ¥440 | up to ¥9,190 |
Add ¥550 per player per round if you take fairway access. Cancellation at all three is free until seven days before play; after that a fee applies.
For comparison, the weekday courses we list within reach of Tokyo run from ¥12,500 and more typically ¥15,000–¥25,000 — see the full cost breakdown for how the regions stack up.
Fitting it into a trip
Matsuyama works as a three-day base. Fly in from Tokyo or Osaka, take a car, play a different course each morning, and you are back in the city by mid-afternoon with the rest of the day free. Dogo Onsen — one of the oldest hot springs in Japan and the reason most visitors come to Matsuyama at all — is in the city itself.
The stronger move is to treat Matsuyama as one half of a Setouchi leg. The Inland Sea is the most rewarding rest-day region in western Japan, and the art islands are a short ferry ride away: Finding Naoshima covers them properly in English, down to ferry timings and the museum reservations that catch first-time visitors out. Two mornings of golf, a day on Naoshima, and the leg justifies itself twice over.
October and November are the months to aim for. Mild, dry, past the typhoon peak, and the courses are close to empty on weekdays.
Before you book
The clubs above accept overseas visitors, but that is a statement about three clubs, not about the region. If you have your eye on a course not listed here, have someone call and ask directly — and ask specifically whether they accept a booking made on the player’s behalf, because that is where most requests quietly fail.
That call is the job we do. Tell us your dates and how many rounds and we will confirm which courses in the area can host you, get the tee times booked in your own names, and send you a written English guide for each round before you travel.
Quick answers
Can foreign visitors play golf in Matsuyama?+
At some clubs, yes — but not all of them, and the difference is house policy rather than availability. Matsuyama Kokusai, Matsuyama Royal and Chisan CC Hojo all confirmed to us by telephone that they welcome overseas visitors. Other clubs in the same area declined, on some dates with tee times still open. Always have someone confirm before you travel.
Do I need a car for golf in Matsuyama?+
Effectively yes. All three courses sit roughly 30–50 minutes from central Matsuyama in different directions, and none has a practical train connection. A rental car from Matsuyama Airport or the city is the normal way to do it.
Are caddies available in Matsuyama?+
Not at these three. All are self-play with a riding cart — you handle your own clubs and drive the cart yourself. If a caddie matters to you, say so early and it changes which courses are worth calling.
How much does a round in Matsuyama cost?+
On weekdays, roughly ¥8,000–¥10,500 per player all in, including the locker fee and the two-player supplement. That is materially cheaper than the Tokyo or Fuji regions for comparable conditions.
What is the best month to play golf in Shikoku?+
October and November. The Setouchi climate is mild and dry, mornings are cool without being cold, and the region is past both the summer heat and the typhoon peak. April and May are the other good window.
