Spot guide · Takamatsu 高松
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.5Built in 1590 by Ikoma Chikamasa on the shoreline itself, and one of only three Japanese castles whose moats are filled directly from the sea. The fish swimming in them are sea bream, there is a feeding platform, and you can buy food for them.
The keep is gone — dismantled in 1884 — but the Tsukimi Yagura turret, the water gate through which the lord boarded his boat, and the Hiunkaku villa of 1917 all survive. It is a small site and it is five minutes from your ship, which no other castle in Japan can claim.
Five minutes each way. Do it first, then Ritsurin or udon.
The obvious first or last thing of any Takamatsu day.
Come back from the islands and walk in before you sail.
For a cruise passenger, yes — it is five minutes on foot from the berth, costs about ¥200, and takes under an hour. It is one of only three Japanese castles moated directly from the sea, the fish in the moat are sea bream, and the water gate through which the lord boarded his boat still stands.
No — it was dismantled in 1884. What survives is the Tsukimi Yagura turret, the sea gate, the stone walls and the seawater moats, plus the Hiunkaku villa of 1917 whose tatami rooms are open for a small extra fee and are usually empty.
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