Takamatsu Customized Half-Day Tour with Licensed Local Guide

Highlights

Inclusions

Itinerary

1. Ritsurin Koen (栗林公園) is a landscape garden in Takamatsu City, built by the local feudal lords during the early Edo Period. Considered one of the best gardens in Japan, it is often suggested that Ritsurin Koen deserves a spot on the list of the "three most beautiful gardens of Japan" alongside Kanazawa's Kenrokuen, Mito's Kairakuen, and Okayama's Korakuen. The spacious park features many ponds, hills, historic trees and beautiful pavilions divided into a Japanese style garden in the south and western style garden in the north. The gardens are set in front of wooded Mt. Shiun which serves as a wonderful background and great example of borrowed scenery.

   1 h

2. Takamatsu Castle (高松城, Takamatsujō), also known as Tamamo Castle, was built in 1590 adjacent to the Seto Inland Sea. It is one of the few Japanese castles built along a waterfront, and features saltwater moats that draw directly from the sea. The Ikoma Clan ruled from the castle for 54 years before their fief was given to the Matsudaira Clan, relatives of the Tokugawa Shogun, who kept the region for the remainder of the Edo Period. Takamatsu Castle's keep was destroyed during the Meiji Period, but there are plans to reconstruct it in the future. A first step towards this goal was achieved in 2013 when the restoration of the castle tower's foundation was completed after many years of work.

   1 h

3. Within Takamatsu's city center is a long, covered shopping arcade, stretching from Takamatsu Castle to Ritsurin Koen. Made up of various stores, restaurants and two department stores, it is claimed to be the longest covered shopping arcade in Japan with a combined length of nearly 2.7 kilometers. The northern end of the shopping arcade near Takamatsu Castle and Mitsukoshi Department Store has recently been redeveloped into a large plaza and shopping center with upscale stores like Louis Vuitton and Coach. Lion Dori, a branch street running parallel to the main shopping street, contains mostly restaurants including those serving Sanuki Udon.

   1 h

4. This museum in Ritsurin-kōen displays local crafts, household goods, furniture and roof tiles in its four halls, dating back to the Tokugawa dynasty.

   1 h

Cancellation

Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the experience starts, for a full refund.

Reviews

Ratings come from 8 reviews collected by our booking partner. They are travellers' own words, in the order they were written — never reordered to flatter the experience.

Know before you go

How it compares in Takamatsu

• Its from-price is 56% below the median of the 41 experiences we list in Takamatsu.
• It is shorter than most of them.
• By number of reviews it ranks 2 of 41.
• The operator lists free cancellation on it.

About Takamatsu

Takamatsu is the port capital of Kagawa on Shikoku's Inland Sea coast, with Ritsurin Garden, ferries to the art islands and Sanuki udon noodles.

Takamatsu is the capital of Kagawa Prefecture, on the northern coast of Shikoku facing the Seto Inland Sea. Ritsurin Garden, a vast Edo-period landscape garden of ponds, pine-covered hills and tea houses set against Mount Shiun, is the city's showpiece. Tamamo Park holds the remains of Takamatsu Castle, built beside the sea so that tide water fills its moat, where sea bream swim.

Top-ranked sights in Takamatsu: Ritsurin Garden.

See all 41 experiences in Takamatsu