6 spots โ sorted by traveller rating
Ritsurin Koen took 100 years to complete under successive Matsudaira lords, resulting in Japan's finest strolling garden โ six ponds, thirteen artificial hills, and 1,400 Japanese black pine trees precisely shaped over centuries. Unlike Japan's three 'great gardens', Ritsurin is designated a Special Place of Scenic Beauty โ a higher cultural distinction โ and consistently ranks first among Japanese gardens in visitor satisfaction.
The Seto Inland Sea scattered between Kagawa and Hiroshima contains more than 700 islands of varying sizes, their pine-covered profiles rising from remarkably calm, luminous water. The light across the Seto Inland Sea has a quality that has attracted artists and photographers for centuries โ flat, silver at dawn, golden at dusk, the islands receding in layers to the horizon. The view from the ferry deck between Takamatsu and Naoshima is one of the finest sea journeys in Japan.
Ritsurin Garden is one of Japan's finest surviving Edo-period strolling gardens, taking more than 100 years to complete under successive lords of the Takamatsu domain. Six ponds and thirteen scenic hills are arranged around the forested backdrop of Mount Shiun, creating a landscape that changes dramatically with each season. The spring plum and cherry blossoms and autumn maple foliage are especially celebrated, and the garden is compact enough to explore thoroughly in two hours.
Yashima is a flat-topped mesa rising abruptly from the sea just east of Takamatsu, its sheer cliff walls giving it the appearance of a natural fortress โ which it became during the 1185 Battle of Yashima between the Taira and Minamoto clans. The Yashimaji temple on the plateau is Temple 84 of the Shikoku pilgrimage, and the views from the cliff edge over the islands of the Seto Inland Sea are outstanding. A ropeway connects the plateau to the highway below.
The olive groves of Shodoshima create an unexpectedly Mediterranean atmosphere on a Japanese island โ silvery-leaved trees terraced up sunny hillsides above a calm blue sea. The Olive Park on the island's southern coast includes a replica Greek windmill and dozens of old olive trees surrounding a fragrant herb garden. The landscape is especially photogenic in late October when the olive harvest begins and the trees are heavy with purple-black fruit.
Goshikidai is a broad highland plateau rising above Takamatsu at around 400 metres, offering sweeping views of the Seto Inland Sea and distant mountains. The plateau is an ideal cycling and hiking destination with well-marked trails across open grassland, and is famous for its rare limestone karst formations that pierce the grass in jagged white pillars. On clear days in winter, the snow-capped peaks of the Shikoku mountains frame the distant sea panorama.
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