Takamatsu in One Day: Ritsurin Garden, Udon, the Castle and the Arcades

Kagawa · Takamatsu · Shikoku · One day on foot and by Kotoden

By Nobu · a researched route · gardens, fares, udon shops and ferries checked on official pages on 18 October 2026 · Sources at the end

In one day in Takamatsu you can walk Ritsurin Garden, eat Sanuki udon, explore the castle ruins and their sea-water moat and end in the covered shopping streets, using your feet and the Kotoden local railway. Kotoden and airport bus fares changed on 1 October 2026: Takamatsu-Chikko to Ritsurin-koen is now ¥250 and the airport bus to Takamatsu Station ¥1,300. Ritsurin’s boat ride has cost ¥850 since June 2025, although the garden’s English page still shows the old ¥620.

Things to do in Takamatsu, in order

The route takes Kotoden to the garden and back to the waterfront, then walks between the stops in the north of the centre. Pick a lunch shop that is open on your day, and allow for queues and time inside each place. If you are staying the night, see Takamatsu hotels on Agoda, and check the hotel’s location against the stops you plan to visit.

Ritsurin Garden

Ritsurin is a National Special Place of Scenic Beauty, designated in 1953. Its official area, about 75 hectares, includes the wooded slopes of Mount Shiun behind it; the flat garden you walk through is about 16.2 hectares. Entry is ¥500 for adults, and the garden opens every day, closing temporarily if a storm warning or snowstorm warning is issued for the Takamatsu area.

The boat. A wooden boat takes up to six people around the South Pond in about 30 minutes, boarding included: ¥850 for adults, ¥420 for children, on top of garden entry, and children under three cannot ride. You can book by phone or online from the 1st of the previous month until 17:00 the day before; same-day tickets go on sale at 8:30, and booked passengers must buy their ticket at least 30 minutes before boarding. The official booking calendar shows the sailings for each date, and on some days not every listed sailing runs, so check your date there.

Tea at Kikugetsutei. The teahouse on the pond serves matcha with a sweet for ¥800, or sencha for ¥600, from 9:00 to 16:30 (last entry 16:00). It is written 掬月亭, not 菊月亭.

Takamatsu udon for lunch

Kagawa udon, known as Sanuki udon, is the prefecture’s wheat noodle, known for its firm, springy bite. Shops come in three kinds: ordinary restaurants where you are served, self-service (serufu) shops, and noodle factories that sell bowls on the side, so not every udon shop is self-service. At a typical self-service shop you order at the counter, pick tempura from the trays, pay, carry your tray to a seat and return it afterwards, though the order of steps varies by shop. The prefecture’s udon guide says that at most such shops the staff heat the noodles and add the broth; where you do a step yourself, follow the shop’s signs or watch the person in front of you.

These five shops are all in Takamatsu city, though not all on the arcades. Hours are as the shop or the prefecture’s tourism site lists them.

For a sense of price, Bakaichidai’s menu (revised July 2026) lists a small kake udon at ¥380 and tempura from ¥150, so ¥530 buys a bowl with one topping there. If you are vegetarian, ask: Ueharaya, for one, makes its broth from iriko, dried sardines.

Takamatsu Castle and Tamamo Park

Takamatsu Castle draws seawater from the Seto Inland Sea into its moat and is presented as one of Japan’s three great water castles. The ruins are now Tamamo Park, next to Kotoden Takamatsu-Chikko Station and about 3 minutes’ walk from JR Takamatsu. Entry has been ¥300 since 1 April 2026, free for under-18s, and the park is closed from 29 to 31 December. Feeding the sea bream in the moat costs ¥100, with a lottery ticket thrown in.

The two gates keep different hours. In October the west gate, on the station side, opens 6:00–17:30 and the east gate, by the Kagawa Museum, 8:30–17:00; the west gate follows the same monthly hours as Ritsurin, while the east gate opens 7:00–18:00 from April to September and 8:30–17:00 the rest of the year.

Sunport and Kitahama Alley

Sunport Takamatsu is the harbour district beside JR Takamatsu Station, with the ferry terminal, squares and a promenade along the water. Kitahama Alley is a row of old harbour warehouses at 4-14 Kitahama-cho that now hold cafes, restaurants, shops and galleries, about 13 minutes’ walk from JR Takamatsu. Each shop sets its own hours, so check the one you want before you go.

The arcades, and where the day ends

The city calls central Takamatsu’s covered shopping streets the longest arcade in Japan: eight arcades that together run to 2.7 km. Marugamemachi is only one of them, 470 m long by its own association’s count. At its north end, where Marugamemachi, Kataharamachi and Hyogomachi meet, a glass dome completed in July 2007 stands 32 m high and 26 m across. Shops keep their own hours; there is no single closing time for the arcades.

Carry on south through Marugamemachi towards Kajiyamachi, where this route ends. If you want a haircut while you are in town, LENGEN, a hair salon with a barber’s skills, is in Kajiyamachi, behind the art museum; it is one of our partner stories. Staying near Takamatsu Station or the arcades puts you close to several stops on this route; our guide to hotel booking sites in Japan compares where to book. Paid link: I may earn a commission if you book.

Swapping the afternoon for Naoshima

Naoshima’s art island is a ferry ride from the port by the station, and a trip there replaces the afternoon rather than adding to it. Shikoku Kisen’s timetable lists these sailings between Takamatsu and Miyanoura. It takes no reservations on this route; high-speed boat tickets are cash only and sold at the counter, except for the 20:30 from Takamatsu, where you buy from the crew at the boarding point.

The 12:40 ferry out and the 17:00 back, for example, give three and a half hours on the island, 13:30 to 17:00. Those times come from the ferry timetable only; book any museum slots and check island buses before you rely on them. Paid links: I may earn a commission if you book.

To stay on the island instead, look at places to stay on Naoshima.

How do you get around Takamatsu?

From the airport. The limousine bus from stop 2 at Takamatsu Airport reaches Takamatsu Station and the ferry terminal in about 45 minutes for ¥1,300; Ritsurin-koen-mae costs ¥1,000 and takes about 23 minutes. Times change monthly to match flights, and some buses from the station do not go via Kawaramachi. You can pay in cash, by IC card, or by contactless card: Kotoden Bus lists Visa, JCB, Mastercard (added on 18 April 2025), American Express, Diners Club, Discover and UnionPay.

Kotoden. The local railway has three lines; Ritsurin-koen is on the Kotohira Line. Adult fares from 1 October 2026: Takamatsu-Chikko to Ritsurin-koen ¥250, Ritsurin-koen to Kawaramachi or Kataharamachi ¥230, Takamatsu-Chikko to Kawaramachi ¥230. Kotoden takes its own IruCa card and the national IC cards such as Suica and ICOCA. IruCa works on Kotoden and some local services such as the Shodoshima Olive Bus, but not across Japan’s nationwide IC network. I found no sign of contactless credit cards on the trains; Kotoden’s notice lists them on the airport bus and its commuter express buses.

JR. The JR Kotoku Line local from Takamatsu stops at Ritsurin-koen-kitaguchi, and both stations take ICOCA and other national IC cards. Our cash or card guide covers where else each works. Paid link: I may earn a commission if you buy.

Takamatsu in a day: questions