Dog-Friendly Stay on Shodoshima Island: Resort Hotel Olivean Shodoshima’s Stunning Grounds and Sunset Skies

Finding a Dog-Friendly Hotel for Our Shodoshima Trip

When we started planning our trip to Shodoshima — a small island in the Seto Inland Sea in Kagawa Prefecture — the usual headache kicked in: finding a hotel that actually welcomes dogs. Pet-friendly places at popular tourist spots are surprisingly rare, and when you do find one, the price tag can be pretty steep. That’s when my wife came across Resort Hotel Olivean Shodoshima. Reasonable rates, and apparently sitting on a massive property. It sounded promising, so we booked it.

What Is Resort Hotel Olivean Shodoshima?

The hotel is located on the western side of Shodoshima Island, in the Yakatagazaki area of Tonosho Town. True to its name — “Yuhi-ga-oka” means “sunset hill” — it’s perched on a hilltop overlooking the Seto Inland Sea, and the sunsets here are something else. The grounds are enormous, with an English garden, a mini athletic area, a mandarin orange orchard, tennis courts, a pool, a dog run, a multi-purpose field, and a putting golf course. One night isn’t nearly enough to explore everything. They also offer pet-inclusive stay plans, so it’s genuinely set up for dog owners.

Access and Basic Info

What Our Stay Was Actually Like

We checked in after a full day of sightseeing, so we were already a bit worn out. We didn’t have the energy to explore every corner of the property — but the sheer scale of the grounds still caught us off guard. It’s big. Like, genuinely resort-big. Even just driving to the parking area near our room, we kept noticing how much space there was.

On the way to the front desk, we passed a wooden deck area with a sweeping view of the sea. It’s a great spot. When we visited, it didn’t look like it was set up for dining or café service yet — maybe it’s still being prepared. Once it’s up and running, sitting out there with a coffee while watching the water would be pretty hard to beat.

The pool has a fun gourd shape to it — an unusual design that matches the overall scale of the place. It wasn’t in use during our visit, so it might only be open during certain seasons. The poolside area is spacious enough that if they ever did a night pool event, I’d definitely want to come back for that.

For the room, we chose a Japanese-style tatami room. We always go for tatami when we’re traveling with Elmo — if there’s a bed in the room, he might jump off and hurt his back, so the low floor of a tatami room just feels safer. He was clearly tired from the day too. Not long after we settled in, he was flat out on the floor, snoring away.

In the late afternoon, we headed out to the open grounds near our building for Elmo’s walk — and that’s when things got really good. It’s not a manicured garden or anything like that. Just a huge open lawn. Barely anyone around. Elmo and I ran around together, and it honestly might have been the highlight of the whole stay.

Standing out there, I genuinely thought, “So glad we came here.”

While Elmo was running around, I looked up — and the sky just stopped me. Shodoshima has this wide-open sky that you don’t really get living in a city. It felt like the sky took up so much more space than usual. I stood there for a while just staring at it.

The evening sky had this incredibly soft, almost dreamlike quality to it — I couldn’t help taking photos. And because Kansai International Airport isn’t too far away, there were multiple contrails streaking across the sky at the same time, which added something extra to the whole scene. The hotel’s name really does say it all — “sunset hill.” I wasn’t planning to stand there and watch the sky. It just happened. And somehow that made it even better.

The Good and the Not-So-Good

Starting with the good: the size of the grounds is genuinely exceptional. With pet-friendly hotels, I think the amount of outdoor space makes or breaks the experience. Here, there’s more than enough room for Elmo to run freely, and that alone makes it worth it. The sunset views live up to the name, and the pricing is reasonable — solid value overall.

On the flip side, some of the facilities felt like they weren’t quite ready yet. The wooden deck, the pool — both had great bones, but neither seemed to be in active use. The overall vibe was quiet, almost too quiet in places, like certain areas were still waiting to be fully brought to life.

For dog owners like us, the open lawn is honestly enough. But if you’re coming with kids who are counting on the pool or other activities, it might be worth checking ahead to make sure everything you want is actually running during your visit.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a dog-friendly hotel on Shodoshima, Resort Hotel Olivean Shodoshima is well worth considering. The grounds are vast, the location is beautiful, and the sunset views are the real deal. Even after a tiring day of sightseeing, just stepping out onto that open lawn with Elmo, running around together under that wide soft sky full of contrails — it was more than enough. One of those moments that sticks with you from a trip. If you’re heading to Shodoshima with your dog, definitely put this one on your list.