Takamatsu Customised Private Tour with a Licensed Guide

Takamatsu is the gateway to Shikoku, and the city has more to offer than its role as a ferry port suggests. This listing pairs you with a licensed local guide for a private walking tour of four to six hours that you can customise. Japan Guide Agency runs it, and GetYourGuide shows a rating of 4.7 from eleven reviews, which makes it one of the better-tested tours of this kind. The guide speaks English and Japanese, the price is quoted per person, the page says that the tour is wheelchair accessible, and the tour is private to your party.

The page presents the city as a buoyant port with many attractions, among them Takamatsu Castle, the Yashima lava plateau and much more. It suggests trying the regional culinary specialities, such as the Sanuki udon noodles, on the Marugamemachi shopping street, and visiting Ritsurin Garden, which it calls one of the most beautiful gardens in Japan. The listing invites you to tell the guide of any special requests, and the guide customises the itinerary accordingly, or takes care of the planning if you prefer.

The list of the most popular places has eleven entries. They are Ritsurin Garden, Takamatsu Castle, the Marugamemachi shopping street, Yashima, the Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum, Shikoku Mura Village, Sunport Takamatsu, the Folkcraft Museum, the Kagawa Museum, the Takamatsu Symbol Tower and the Takamatsu City Museum of Art. The operator does not set the number of sites in the text of this listing, so ask how many you can fit into four or six hours when you book, and which combinations work best given the distances.

Ritsurin is the obvious first choice. The garden was developed over generations by the lords of the Takamatsu domain, and it is laid out around ponds and hills with bridges, tea houses and carefully pruned pines. A guide can explain the design, such as the way in which each view is framed as you walk, and can suggest the best viewpoints. Plan about an hour at least, and more if you take a boat on the pond or stop at the tea house.

The castle and the arcade are the next natural stops. Takamatsu Castle, known as Tamamo Castle, stands beside the port, and its moat is filled with seawater. The Marugamemachi shopping street, one of the longest covered arcades in Japan, is the place to find cafes, shops and udon restaurants, and a guide can lead you to a shop that suits your taste. Udon in Kagawa is simple, inexpensive and taken seriously, and a bowl for lunch is a highlight of the tour.

For visitors with an interest in art and history, Yashima and the Noguchi museum are good choices. Yashima, a plateau to the east of the city, was the site of a famous medieval battle, and its viewpoint looks over the Inland Sea. The Isamu Noguchi Garden Museum, in the town of Mure, preserves the studio and the stone sculptures of the Japanese-American artist. Shikoku Mura Village, at the foot of the plateau, shows traditional houses from across the island. These sites are further from the centre, so add them with care.

The conditions are listed clearly. The tour is not confirmed until your guide accepts it, and Japan Guide Agency contacts you once a guide is assigned. If a guide is unavailable, the operator offers a full refund as a guaranteed option. The price covers the private tour, the licensed guide and the pickup from your accommodation or the train station on foot. Food and drinks, entrance fees, transport to the meeting point and the transport costs during the tour are not included, so allow for them, and carry cash.

Practical points help. The climate in Kagawa is mild and dry, and the walking is easy in most seasons. Spring brings cherry blossoms to the castle and the garden, summer is hot, and autumn is a beautiful time for Ritsurin. Wear comfortable shoes, and bring water and a hat in summer. The tour is private, so you can start at the time that suits you, and the guide can help you to plan the day around the ferry schedule if you are continuing to an island.

Udon in Kagawa deserves a word of advice. Many shops are self-service: you order a bowl at the counter, add tempura or other toppings from a tray and pay at the end, and you finish quickly, which makes an udon stop easy to fit into a walking day. The guide can lead you to a shop with a good local reputation and can explain the toppings, such as raw egg, grated daikon or tempura.

Distances matter. Ritsurin lies on the edge of the city, and the Noguchi museum and Shikoku Mura are some way out, so choose by interest rather than trying to see everything in one day.

Choose this tour if you have a day in Takamatsu, or a morning before a ferry to Naoshima. Excurze also lists a private day on Naoshima with an English-speaking guide, and our concierge can combine the two, add Okayama and Kotohira, and arrange the ferries, the hotels and the udon stops for a trip around the Seto Inland Sea.