Takamatsu is the capital of Kagawa, Japan's smallest prefecture. The city's harbor used to be the main entry point to Shikoku Island until the Seto Ohashi Bridge opened in 1988, providing a land connection to Honshu Island.
The Matsudaira Clan, relatives of the Tokugawa Shogun, controlled Takamatsu's former castle town and surrounding area, then known as the Sanuki Province, during most of the Edo Period.
Today, Takamatsu's attractions include Ritsurin Koen, arguably one of Japan's most beautiful gardens; Shikoku Mura, an open air museum; and Yashima, a mountain battle site during the Gempei War. Nearby Kotohira can also be visited in an easy side trip from Takamatsu.
Ritsurin Koen 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.
Inside the park are a number of facilities including a folk museum, shops and a few resthouses where you can take a break and enjoy some refreshments amidst the beauty of the garden. Of particular note is the Kikugetsu-tei teahouse in the southwest part of the gardens where, for a small fee, you can enter and enjoy some tea on its verandas overlooking the ponds.
