Takamatsu is a prefecture capital of Kagawa prefecture one of 47 region of Japan. The city is often described as a gateway to Shikoku island, one of 4 major islands of Japan. The region is started to get spotlight as Setouchi, but still filled with hidden gems. You can reach the area in one hour by train from Shinkansen’s Okayama station while you enjoy the coastal scenery from bridge over the Seto Inalnd Sea. Let’s explore the city with charm of both mountain and ocean.
Why Visit
The beautiful coastal scenery of Setouchi (Islands and areas facing Seto Inland Sea) is something to see once. You can enjoy island hopping from well known art island like Naoshima to smalls ones with traditional Japanese island scenery.
Takamatsu is a ferry hub to get around the islands of Setouchi. Also it has historical gardens and shrines that are the good constast from the ocean.
YouTube: Walking Through Takamatsu
You can also see this blog in the video format.Planning Your Visit
The best season is when the ocean shines and green is covering the island. I would say late March to October. But there is no hard no season to visit Takamatsu .
You can stay in Takamatsu as a base and go around the islands and different areas.
If you like to get around the area, Shodoshima island and Okayama are the places you find gathering of mid size or larger hotels.
I think you need at least 3 nights to fully enjoy the area.
How to Get to Takamatsu
Takamatsu has an airport that has direct flights to/ from Tokyo, Okinawa and some nearby countries. Takamatsu Airport.
You can also visit by the Sunrise Seto sleeper train from Tokyo. It leaves Tokyo around 21:30 and arrives Takamatsu 7:30 next morning.
Getting Around Takamatsu – Local Transportation
Kotoden and JR are convenient to move long distance in Takamatsu area. From right in front of the Takamatsu station and Takamatsu Chikko station of Kotoden, there are ferry routes to popular Shodoshima islands, Naoshima, and small islands in the city, Megijima and Ogijima.
Best things to do in Takamatsu
The site seeing spots of Takamatsu spread across the city, outside the city and on the water of Seto Inland Sea.
Konpirasan
Kotohira is a town 40 minutes ride from Takamatsu by either JR line or Kotoden line. The town is well known for the sacred mountain, Konpirasan. The Konpira san was a spiritual mountain from ancient times, and became a popular destination among citizens in the Edo period around the 17th century. It became a place to go pray once in a lifetime, especially for wishing the safety at sea.
The festive street to the shine is lined with souvenir shops and restaurants, especially udon shops. The high light of the visit is the long stairs of 785 steps to the main shrine. The serene stairs in the forest and the view from the stairs looking back is spectacular.
Ritsurin Garden
Large Japanese garden near the city. You can spend hours if you like gardens. The boat on the pond is reservation only.
Ogijima & Megijima island
It’s esay to visit islands in Seto Inland Sea by ferry from Takamatsu. The key for a day trip is to check the timetable of the ferry, and make sure to check the last ferry coming back to Takamatsu. Small islands can be seen 1-2 hours per islands.
Where to Stay in Takamatsu
Mandarine oriental hotel by the port
Takamatsu has two JR hotels in front of the stations. JR Cremente Hotel and JR Cremente Inn. The best part for travelers is you can access the ferry and trainsfrom right in front of the hotels. The major difference of these hotels are, “Hotel” has restaurant that you can have breakfast buffet and a bar on the higher floor. It will definitely be more travel experience. ▶︎For the full breakfast, JR Hotel Clement Takamatsu （Hotels.com )
On the other hand, Inn focus on business men and casual solo travelers. Easy access to the 7-Eleven on the first floor, and comes with public bath. No sauna facility though. Breakfast plan of the “INN” only includes Japanese set menu, which can be difficult for travelers like to eat Western and American breakfast. ▶︎Check the price of JR Celemnt Inn Takamatsu (Hotels.com )
They are also opening Mandarin Oriental Setouchi Takamatsu that adds luxury choice in the area.
What to Eat in Takamatsu: The Sanuki Udon Experience
Sanuki Udon
Kagawa prefecture call themselves “Udon prefecture” Sanuii Udon is a must eat food in the region. It is said it’s because of the difficulty of raising rice unlike other parts of Japan, and wheat was much suitable for their land. Also it was easy to get salt and fish from the surrounding ocean. The soup “Dashi” is extract of fish, seaweed and such with light salt taste. The taste depends on the shop, but it’s a good light food to start your day or after a long walk.
Blog
I visited Takamatsu for 2 days. I arrived by Sunrise Seto sleeper car from Tokyo, so I had plenty of the day for day one.
I planned to spend the day one to visit two islands of Takamatsu city, Megijima and Ogijima island. Second day was for Kotohira and Ritsurin garden.
Day 1
It was a windy day with hazy air. The cold strong wind stole my energy. I ran into a Udon shop in front of Takamatsu station looking for hot soup.
TV news in Udon shop were saying yellow sands (usually refers sands flying from China’s desert) hit Japan this day. It happens in Spring time.
Kake udon is the one with plenty of soup, while Bukkake is coming with darker small amount of soup, more like dipping souce in the bowl. I didn’t hesitate to ask for Kake for the warm soup. The soup saved me.
Day 2
I was originally going to go back to Tokyo this day, and had no idea that I spend 4 more days in this land of Shikoku.
I needed to use the mileage that are expring soon, so I was about to book the flight from Takamatsu to Tokyo on ANA. But I fell in sleep opening the reservatino page previous day. Next morning, I remembered the reservation using mileage closes previous day. Oh no! Do I use Shinkansen to go back to Tokyo?
Life is only once. Let’s do something interesting as I’m here … I decided to take the late afternoon train to Matsuyama and stay there until the available flight on Saturday. I booked the hotel for 3 nights in Matsuyama for a so so good deal. Not bad considering the Shinkansen fare to Tokyo and letting the mileage expired. Now my plan is settled, let’s see Takamatsu as much as possible before I leave. (with some concerns in my mind)
I could see Sanuki Fuji (Mt.Iino) from Sakaide station.
This day, I decided to go to Kotohira and Ritsurin garden before I head to Matsuyama. I could take the limited express leaving later, but I didn’t want to spend 2 and a half hours on the train seeing my face reflecting in the window. I need to take the train arriving Matsuyama before it gets dark.
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Some contents are made with the help of AI based on my YouTube video. All travel photos are taken by me Kengo, and I only cover what I experienced myself.
