For two nights, should you visit Kotohira or Yashima?
Choose Kotohira for main-shrine worship and shopping-street walks on day two, or Yashimāru for elevated views of the Seto Inland Sea and city. Kotohira uses return Kotoden trains; Yashimāru connects with a summit shuttle at JR Yashima Station. Stay two nights in Takamatsu, with the garden and castle site on the days either side.
Choose a 3 days, 2 nights itinerary
Gardens and a return trip to Kotohira
Stay two nights in Takamatsu for a garden walk and a main-shrine visit in Kotohira, using the middle day for the Kotohira return trip.
Gardens and a return trip to Kotohira →3 days, 2 nightsYashima views and Takamatsu
Stay two nights in Takamatsu and spend the middle day at Yashima if you want hilltop views as well as the garden and castle site.
Yashima views and Takamatsu →Gardens and a return trip to Kotohira
Stay two nights in Takamatsu for a garden walk and a main-shrine visit in Kotohira, using the middle day for the Kotohira return trip.
Day 1 · Tamamo Park and Takamatsu Port
Fit the park and harbour around your arrival time in Takamatsu. If the entrance hours do not work, move the park visit to another day.
- Takamatsu accommodation and JR Takamatsu Station → Tamamo Park entrance
Head to Tamamo Park, about a three-minute walk from JR Takamatsu Station. A late arrival outside entrance hours may leave no time to visit the park today.
Current admission and entrance hoursTakamatsu City visitor guide
- Tamamo Park → Takamatsu Port and Takamatsu accommodation
Explore the castle site and moat, then walk around the harbour. Have dinner near the station before going to your booked accommodation.
Current admission and entrance hoursTakamatsu City visitor guide
The park’s entrances close at different times. Check the hours of the gate you plan to use.
Day 2 · Kotohiragu main shrine
Visit Kotohiragu’s main shrine, walk the shopping streets and return to Takamatsu today. Allow time to climb and descend the steps, eat and rest.
- Kotoden Takamatsu-Chikko Station → Kotoden Kotohira Station
Take a Kotohira-bound train from Kotoden Takamatsu-Chikko Station to its terminus at Kotoden Kotohira Station. Distinguish it from JR Kotohira Station. Choose outward and return trains for your date in Kotoden’s official timetable.
Kotohira Line timetableCurrent timetable listStation-to-approach directions and steps
- Kotoden Kotohira Station → Shrine approach entrance
Walk about ten minutes from Kotoden Kotohira Station to Omotesando. This excludes the stair climb to the main shrine.
Kotohira Line timetableStation-to-approach directions and steps
- First steps on the shrine approach → Kotohiragu main shrine and shopping streets
The official guide gives about one hour one way to climb the 785 steps from the first step to the main shrine. Allow descent and breaks. After the shrine visit, have lunch and rest in the shopping streets before returning to the station.
Station-to-approach directions and stepsWalking-route precautionsShrine’s official hours
- Kotoden Kotohira Station → Kotoden Takamatsu-Chikko Station
Take a Takamatsu-Chikko-bound train from Kotoden Kotohira Station. Have dinner in Takamatsu and return to the same accommodation.
Allow time for the main shrine’s climb, descent and breaks.
Day 3 · Ritsurin Garden
After yesterday’s Kotohira trip, spend the final day walking through Takamatsu’s Ritsurin Garden before returning to Takamatsu-Chikko Station.
- Takamatsu accommodation → Kotoden Takamatsu-Chikko Station
Go to Kotoden Takamatsu-Chikko Station, which is separate from JR Takamatsu Station. If you are staying in Kawaramachi, leave from nearby Kotoden Kawaramachi Station and check the fare for that section.
- Kotoden Takamatsu-Chikko Station → Kotoden Ritsurin-Koen Station
Take a train towards Kotohira and get off at Ritsurin-Koen Station. The adult fare is JPY 250 one way; the stated costs include JPY 500 return from Takamatsu-Chikko Station. Choose services for your visit date in the official timetable.
Kotohira Line timetableCurrent timetable listTakamatsu-Chikko fares
- Kotoden Ritsurin-Koen Station → Ritsurin Garden east gate and garden
The official seven-minute walking time is from Kotoden Ritsurin-Koen Station to the garden. Head to the east gate, buy your ticket and explore. Distinguish this from north-gate access via JR Ritsurinkoen-Kitaguchi Station. Adult admission is JPY 500, and October hours are 06:00–17:30. Ticketing, sightseeing and breaks are excluded from the seven-minute walk. Recheck opening notices for other months or storm warnings.
- Ritsurin Garden and east gate → Kotoden Ritsurin-Koen Station
After visiting, leave through the east gate and retrace your route to Kotoden Ritsurin-Koen Station. Allow time to reach the east gate from within the garden, then walk about seven minutes to the station.
- Kotoden Ritsurin-Koen Station → Kotoden Takamatsu-Chikko Station
Take a Takamatsu-Chikko-bound train from Kotoden Ritsurin-Koen Station. Continue to your next destination after arriving at Takamatsu-Chikko.
- Kotoden Takamatsu-Chikko Station → Boarding point for your booked departure
Allow extra travel time before departure if you need to return to your accommodation. For the airport, go to JR Takamatsu Station and board a Takamatsu Airport limousine bus at stop 3. The adult fare of JPY 1,300 is excluded from the stated costs. Use the official airport bus timetable to choose an operating date and scheduled arrival that work with your flight’s check-in deadline. JR trains to other cities leave from JR Takamatsu Station; Kotoden trains leave from Takamatsu-Chikko Station.
Airport limousine use and monthly timetable changesAirport limousine fares and city boarding stops
Ritsurin Garden’s opening and closing times vary by month. Distinguish the stations serving its east and north gates.
Included items: Ritsurin Garden JPY 500 + Tamamo Park JPY 300 + return Kotoden travel to Ritsurin-Koen at JPY 500 and Kotohira at JPY 1,560. Train fares assume departure from Takamatsu-Chikko.
Extra costs: Flights, accommodation, meals, airport travel, separate transport between accommodation and stations or boarding points, and additional transport cost extra. Garden boat rides and teahouses, and Kotohiragu’s additional exhibition buildings and prayer services, are excluded.
For one adult. Kotoden fares assume departure from Takamatsu-Chikko; check the relevant section fare if you start elsewhere.
Fees and seasonal opening hoursCurrent admission and entrance hoursTakamatsu-Chikko faresReturn fares from Kotohira
Yashima views and Takamatsu
Stay two nights in Takamatsu and spend the middle day at Yashima if you want hilltop views as well as the garden and castle site.
Day 1 · Ritsurin Garden
First check whether your arrival leaves enough time to explore before that day’s closing time. If you arrive late, move the garden visit to another day and adjust the transport.
- Your booked Takamatsu accommodation → Takamatsu-Chikko and Ritsurin-Koen stations
Take a train towards Kotohira from Kotoden Takamatsu-Chikko Station to Ritsurin-Koen Station, then walk towards the east gate. Swap the visit with another day if a late arrival leaves too little garden time.
- Ritsurin-Koen Station → Ritsurin Garden east gate
Walk about seven minutes to the east gate and explore the garden. Allow extra time to buy tickets, visit and rest. Decide whether you have enough time using your arrival and that month’s closing time.
Fees and seasonal opening hoursOfficial access guideKotohira Line timetable
- Ritsurin Garden and Ritsurin-Koen Station → Takamatsu accommodation
Return from the same station on a Takamatsu-Chikko-bound train. You can get off at Kawaramachi for a meal, but recheck the fare for the section you use. Afterwards, return to your Takamatsu accommodation.
Ritsurin Garden’s opening and closing times vary by month. Distinguish the stations serving its east and north gates.
Day 2 · Yashimāru
Go from your Takamatsu accommodation to JR Takamatsu Station.
- Takamatsu accommodation and JR Takamatsu Station → Shuttle stop outside JR Yashima Station
Take a regular Kotoku Line train towards Hiketa from JR Takamatsu Station to Yashima Station. Leave the ticket gates and go to the shuttle stop for the Yashima summit outside the station. Check the JR and shuttle timetables for your date together and choose a connection with time to transfer.
- Outside JR Yashima Station → Yashima Sanjo stop and Yashimāru
Take the summit shuttle to its terminus at Yashima Sanjo. On the official summit map, locate the tourist car park, Yashimaji Temple and Yashimāru at number 11, then follow the path towards Yashimāru’s main entrance. The facility leaflet’s site plan marks the main entrance separately. The official ten-minute walking estimate starts at the tourist car park; allow additional time after getting off to find and follow the route. See the viewing space, then eat and rest on the summit. Paid exhibits and meals are excluded from the stated costs.
Current shuttle fares and timetableOfficial walking directions from the tourist car parkYashimāru current opening informationOfficial Yashima summit guide mapYashimāru shuttle access and main entrance site plan
- Yashimāru → Yashima Sanjo stop and JR Yashima Station
Return from the facility to the summit stop for a shuttle to JR Yashima Station. A late facility closing time does not mean the last shuttle leaves at that time, so choose your return bus first.
- JR Yashima Station → JR Takamatsu Station and the same accommodation
Return on a regular train from JR Yashima Station towards Takamatsu, have dinner and rest at the same accommodation. Return regular trains cost JPY 560 and return shuttles from the JR station cost JPY 680, for JPY 1,240 for transport today. Limited-express trains require an additional charge.
Yashimāru closes Tuesdays, or the following weekday when Tuesday is a public holiday. Evening opening and evening shuttle service are separate; check both the official facility calendar and bus notices.
Day 3 · Tamamo Park
Finish the trip at Tamamo Park the day after your Yashima visit, then head to Takamatsu Station or the harbour.
- Takamatsu accommodation → Tamamo Park west gate
From your accommodation address, head to the west gate on the JR Takamatsu/Takamatsu-Chikko station side. The official three-minute walk starts at the JR station, not your accommodation. The city guide identifies the west gate with these two stations and the east gate with the car park and prefectural museum.
Takamatsu City visitor guideCurrent admission and entrance hours
- Tamamo Park west gate → Park visit and west gate
Pay the JPY 300 adult admission to explore the castle site and moat. In October, the west gate opens 06:00–17:30 and the east gate 08:30–17:00. Gate hours differ in other months, and the park closes December 29–31. Use the west gate where you entered to find your way back to your accommodation. Do not plan both sightseeing and lunch before a morning departure.
Takamatsu City visitor guideCurrent admission and entrance hours
- Your booked Takamatsu accommodation after sightseeing → Boarding point for your booked departure
For the airport, board a Takamatsu Airport limousine bus at stop 3 outside JR Takamatsu Station. The adult fare of JPY 1,300 is excluded from the stated costs. Use the official airport bus timetable to choose an operating date and scheduled arrival that work with your flight’s check-in deadline. JR trains to other cities leave from JR Takamatsu Station; Kotoden trains leave from Takamatsu-Chikko Station.
Airport limousine use and monthly timetable changesAirport limousine fares and city boarding stops
Check each entrance’s closing time. If you leave early, move the park visit to the day before and head to the station.
Included items: Ritsurin Garden JPY 500 + Tamamo Park JPY 300 + return Kotoden travel to Ritsurin-Koen at JPY 500 + return JR travel between Takamatsu and Yashima at JPY 560 + return shuttle between Yashima Station and the summit at JPY 680.
Extra costs: Flights, accommodation, meals, airport travel, separate transport between accommodation and stations or boarding points, and additional transport cost extra. Garden boat rides and teahouses, and Yashimāru’s paid exhibits and parking, are excluded.
For one adult. Kotoden fares assume departure from Takamatsu-Chikko; check the relevant section fare if you start elsewhere. Daily admission and transport total JPY 1,000 for the garden and return Kotoden trip on day one, JPY 1,240 for return Yashima trains and shuttles on day two, and JPY 300 for Tamamo Park on the final day, adding up to JPY 2,540.
Fees and seasonal opening hoursCurrent admission and entrance hoursTakamatsu-Chikko faresJR fare tableCurrent shuttle fares and timetable
Frequently asked questions
If Yashimāru opens into the evening, do buses run late too?
Evening opening and shuttle service are separate. This route descends from the summit in the afternoon. If you want to stay into the evening, check a return service for your visit date separately.
Yashimāru current opening informationCurrent shuttle fares and timetable
Official sources and check dates
- Fees and seasonal opening hours ·
- Official access guide ·
- Current admission and entrance hours ·
- Takamatsu City visitor guide ·
- Shrine’s official hours ·
- Station-to-approach directions and steps ·
- Walking-route precautions ·
- Official walking directions from the tourist car park ·
- Yashimāru current opening information ·
- Current shuttle fares and timetable ·
- Current timetable list ·
- Kotohira Line timetable ·
- Takamatsu-Chikko fares ·
- Return fares from Kotohira ·
- JR fare table ·
- Airport limousine fares and city boarding stops ·
- Airport limousine use and monthly timetable changes ·
- JR Shikoku station and line timetables ·
- Official Yashima summit guide map ·
- Yashimāru shuttle access and main entrance site plan ·