Takamatsu

From MaxTravelz

Takamatsu (高松) is the largest city in Kagawa prefecture on the island of Shikoku, Japan.

Contents 1 Get in 1.1 By plane 1.2 By train 1.3 By bus 2 Get around 3 See 4 Do 5 Buy 6 Eat 7 Drink 8 Sleep 9 Get out

Get in

Takamatsu, and the rest of northeastern Shikoku, is connected to mainland Honshu by two major routes:

• The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, the longest suspension bridge in the world, connecting vehicular traffic from Maiko in Kobe through Awaji Island to Tokushima prefecture, and
• The Seto-Ohashi Bridge, a series of suspension bridges and viaducts between Okayama and Kagawa prefectures which serve both vehicular traffic and rail traffic.

By plane

Takamatsu's airport is served by both of Japan's major airlines. JAL offers nonstop service from Tokyo Haneda Airport, Sendai and Kagoshima. ANA offers nonstop service from Tokyo Haneda and from Sapporo Chitose Airport.

Buses connect the airport to Takamatsu station (40 minutes, ¥740).

Limousine buses make seven round trips per day between Takamatsu and Kansai International Airport in Osaka, via the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (¥3750; 3 1/2 hours).

By train

The most frequent train services from Honshu to Takamatsu are on the Marine Liner (マリンライナー), a rapid train service which runs from Okayama via the Seto-Ohashi Bridge about twice an hour. The one-way ride takes around 55 minutes and costs ¥1470. (Free with the Japan Rail Pass)

Connections to the Marine Liner can be made from the rest of the country via Shinkansen (Hiroshima, 1 hr 40 mins; Osaka, 2 hrs; Tokyo, 4 1/2 hrs).

An overnight sleeper train, the Sunrise Seto (サンライズ瀬戸), makes daily runs to Takamatsu out of Tokyo Station. The train ride lasts about 9 1/2 hours.

By bus

A daily overnight bus service runs from Tokyo and Shinjuku stations via the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge (9 1/2 hours, ¥10000 one-way).

Get around

See

Takamatsu is known for its garden, Ritsurin Koen (adult: ¥400), and to a lesser extent, for the ruins of a small seaside castle. It also houses a modest art museum with rotating shows of modern art, and a plethora of small temples and shrines.

Ten minutes by train to the east is Yashima peninsula with Shikoku-mura an interesting open-air museum showing old houses collected from all around Shikoku. (adult: ¥800) Inside the open-air museum there is a small art museum with works of Western artist including Pablo Picasso. The building has a nice garden with a nice panorama and was designed by Tadao Ando.

Do

Buy

Takamatsu has an extremely long shotengai (shopping arcade).

Eat

Drink

Sleep

There is a youth hostel somewhere.

There are cheap business hotels around Ritsurin-koen (double/twin room from around ¥7000).

Get out

Takamatsu is the main entry point for Shikoku and from here the entire island is your oyster.

• Kotohira, site of the famed Kompira Shrine, is an hour away by train.
• Mount Ishizuchi, the tallest peak in Shikoku, is about two hours away.
• Naoshima, a small island on Seto Inland Sea with superb contemporary art museums, is one hour away by boat.
• Yashima peninsula, offering a panorama over Takamatsu and Shikoku-mura open-air museum, is about ten minutes away by train (JR or Kintetsu).

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