Kagawa Hotel Guides · Takamatsu Station

Best Hotels Near Takamatsu Station: Udon, Ritsurin &
the Art-Island Ferry Port

JR Yosan/Kotoku Lines · Naoshima Ferries · Ritsurin Garden · Tamamo Castle · Sanuki Udon Capital

🛳️ The Naoshima ferry leaves from the pier five minutes’ walk from the platforms

🌿 Ritsurin Garden — arguably Japan’s finest strolling garden, and criminally undervisited

🍜 Sanuki udon — the noodle Kagawa is literally nicknamed after, from ¥300 (approx. $2) a bowl

🚆 Marine Liner trains cross the Seto Ohashi bridge to Okayama in ~55 min

What Kind of Area is Takamatsu? A Local’s Honest Take

Takamatsu is the most useful station in Shikoku and one of the most pleasant: the platforms end practically at the waterfront, where ferries to Naoshima, Teshima and the other Setouchi art islands depart from a pier you can reach with luggage in five minutes. That alone fills its hotels every Triennale season — but the city deserves nights of its own. Ritsurin Garden, ten minutes away, is a 400-year-old feudal masterpiece of pine-sculpted hills and teahouse ponds that regularly stuns visitors who thought they’d seen Japan’s best gardens already.

Beside the station, the moat-ringed Tamamo Castle ruins pull seawater into their defences — one of Japan’s three “sea castles” — and behind them stretch some of the country’s longest covered arcades, ending at the Kotoden’s Kawaramachi hub. And everywhere, udon: Kagawa eats more of it than anywhere on earth, self-service counters open at dawn, and a proper crawl of three shops costs less than a city coffee. Hotels cluster thick between station and arcades; rates are fair outside art-festival peaks.

Do udon for breakfast like a local — the revered shops sell out by early afternoon. Then Ritsurin before the tour buses, and a slow ferry to Naoshima after lunch.

Getting Around from Takamatsu

🚆 Rail

Marine Liner to Okayama ~55 min over the Seto Ohashi; expresses fan out to Matsuyama, Kochi and Tokushima. The Kotoden private line runs from Takamatsu-Chikko beside the castle.

🛳️ Ferry

Naoshima ~50 min, Teshima, Shodoshima and more — the pier is a flat five-minute walk from the station.

✈️ Air

Takamatsu Airport (Haneda ~80 min, plus Asia LCCs) is ~45 min by limousine bus.

What to See Around Takamatsu

🌿 Ritsurin Garden

Six ponds, thirteen hills, a borrowed mountain and 1,400 hand-trained pines — go at opening or golden hour.

🛳️ The art islands

Naoshima’s Chichu Museum, Teshima’s teardrop art space, Shodoshima’s olives — the Setouchi’s modern pilgrimage.

🏯 Tamamo Castle & the arcades

Seawater moats and sea-bream feeding by the keep’s base, then 2.7 km of covered shopping streets — Japan’s longest run.

Where Should You Actually Stay?

Two logics: pier-side for islands, arcade-side for nights out.

🛳️ Station & port: Best for early ferries and rail connections — the big full-service stock lives here.

🏮 Arcades/Kawaramachi: Fifteen minutes in, for izakaya evenings (see our Kawaramachi guide).

Recommended hotels

• JR Hotel Clement Takamatsu — the full-service tower between station and pier; island views up top.
• JR Clement Inn Takamatsu — its crisp, cheaper sibling next door.
• Dormy Inn Takamatsu Chuo Koenmae — big baths and the chain’s famous night noodles, arcade-side.
• WeBase Takamatsu — design hostel-hotel near the port, ideal for art-island budgets.

Overall Rating: Takamatsu Area

Who Should Stay Here?

✔ Art-island travellers — this is the gateway

✔ Garden lovers: Ritsurin alone justifies the trip

✔ Udon pilgrims doing the breakfast crawl

✔ Rail-pass users hubbing around Shikoku

Keep exploring