Takamatsu is Shikoku’s most accessible city — connected to Okayama by the Seto Ohashi Bridge and the Marine Liner train (55 minutes) and serving as the natural gateway to Shikoku from Honshu. It is the capital of Kagawa Prefecture, which has more udon restaurants per capita than anywhere on Earth and takes this distinction entirely seriously. Takamatsu also has one of Japan’s finest strolling gardens and easy access to the Seto Inland Sea islands.
Ritsurin Garden
Ritsurin Koen is one of Japan’s most celebrated landscape gardens — technically a Special Place of Scenic Beauty rather than a ‘top three garden,’ but widely considered superior to at least two of the official top three by garden specialists. The garden (developed 1625–1745 by successive Matsudaira lords of Takamatsu) covers 75ha — vast by Japanese garden standards — with six ponds, thirteen hills, and over 1,400 pine trees, each shaped individually over generations. The design uses Mt. Shiun as borrowed scenery backdrop, creates perspective illusions that make each garden section appear independent, and incorporates a variety of teahouses at viewpoints. Matcha and wagashi (traditional sweets) are available at the Kikugetsutei teahouse, one of Japan’s most atmospheric tea service settings.
Sanuki Udon
Sanuki udon (Kagawa-style udon) is distinct from all other Japanese udon styles: extremely firm, chewy noodles (koshi) with a slight bounce and translucency, in a light clear broth of iriko (dried sardine) dashi with soy and mirin. The texture is the defining characteristic — significantly firmer than udon served in Tokyo or Osaka. Service style varies: kake udon (plain broth), zaru udon (cold, dipped), kamaage (hot water directly from the cooking pot), bukake (cold with concentrated dashi spooned over). Most genuine Kagawa udon shops are simple, fast operations in converted houses; prices are remarkably low (¥200–600 for a bowl). The ‘udon taxi’ guided udon-shop tour is a practical way to visit multiple specialists in a morning.
Shodoshima Island
Shodoshima (45 minutes by ferry from Takamatsu, ¥690) is the Seto Inland Sea’s second-largest island — famous for olive groves (Japan’s first olive cultivation, 1908, inspired by its Mediterranean-like climate), soy sauce breweries, and the Angel Road sandbar that appears at low tide connecting two islands. The island hosted scenes from the 1954 film Twenty-Four Eyes (a schoolteacher’s relationship with twelve students through war) — the schoolhouse film set is preserved. The Seto Inland Sea landscape visible from Shodoshima’s hillsides — dozens of green islands in calm blue water — is one of Japan’s most tranquil views.
- Takamatsu is 55 minutes from Okayama by Marine Liner (¥1,520) — the Seto Ohashi Bridge crossing over the inland sea is scenic.
- Kagawa udon shops often close when the day’s noodles run out — many sell out by noon.
- The Setouchi Triennale (every 3 years, next 2025) transforms Seto Inland Sea islands with contemporary art installations — Naoshima, Teshima, and Shodoshima are the main venues.