1 / 8Yashima and Shikoku MuraPhoto: 663highland / CC BY 2.5
Tap a photo to see it large. 8 photographs, every one credited.
Checked against official sources · updated · Takumi Yamada
A flat-topped mountain where the Genpei war turned in 1185, with the city and the Inland Sea below. At its foot, Shikoku Mura holds thirty-odd relocated farmhouses and a vine bridge you are allowed to cross.
- On a 4–6h ashore call our verdict is "Perfect" — out on the shido line, an hour or two in the village, and back for lunch in town; on a weekend the direct shuttle from takamatsu station is the alternative.
- 9:30 to 17:00, last entry 16:30. Closed Tuesdays — if tuesday is a holiday it closes the next day. it can close for weather warnings and maintenance. free parking, 200 cars..
- 3 hr 30 min door to door needs a 5.5-hour call: a 2–3 hour stop cannot hold it. Pick something closer instead.
Why Yashima and Shikoku Mura is famous
Yashima is a flat-topped plateau over the sea where the Genji and Heike fought in 1185, one of the decisive battles of that war. Shikoku Mura at its foot is an open-air museum of relocated vernacular buildings, including a rural kabuki stage moved from Shodoshima.
Shikoku Mura is an open-air museum at the foot of Mount Yashima, built from 33 buildings moved and restored from all four Shikoku prefectures, in the village's own count. It is the best place to see how people in this part of Japan lived before the bridges and the cars, and it is one of the few stops on the Takamatsu side that is a full day in itself rather than a photograph.
On the grounds are a Tadao Ando-designed gallery, theatre buildings among the relocated structures, a cafe in a former foreign-style house from Kobe, and an udon restaurant, Waraya, in a renovated old farmhouse. The gallery's seasonal exhibitions change, so check its notices for closures. The village is at the foot of Mount Yashima, and the Yashima summit shuttle bus stops at the village stop, about 10 minutes below the summit, if you want the view. A shuttle also runs from Kotoden-Yashima station to the summit, about hourly, roughly 10 minutes, ¥200; confirm the times on the day. The grounds of Yashima-ji on top are free, 9:00 to 17:00. The New Yashima Aquarium is closed for rebuilding until spring 2027.
The catch is the price and the trains. At ¥2,200 with no senior rate it is the dearest ticket on this side of town, and you change trains at Kawaramachi to get there. The village closes on Tuesdays, and during weather warnings it may shut and ask visitors to leave without a refund. If Ritsurin and the castle are still on your list, they cost less and take less time.
Things worth knowing
- Do not go on a Tuesday; the village is closed. Check the weather as well, because it closes for warnings.
- The direct shuttle bus from Takamatsu Station runs on Saturdays, Sundays, holidays and school-holiday periods only: ¥500 to the village, 9:40, 11:10 and 14:00 from stop 7 at the station; confirm the day with Kotoden Bus on 087-821-3033.
- Waraya, the udon house, is on the grounds, but its own hours are not published on the village's information page.
- The village says it is about 5 minutes on foot from Kotoden-Yashima station, but a computed street route comes out longer, so allow up to 15 minutes if you walk along the road.
Yashima and Shikoku Mura and your ship
Both pins on one map, so the distance is a fact rather than a feeling.
Where the 3 hr 30 min goes
Counted from the moment you step off the gangway, about 30 minutes after the ship arrives. The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside.
30 minutes each way is the measured figure for kotoden ~30 min, not the optimistic one. If your ship is late, cut the 2 hr 30 min in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Questions people send us
How much is Shikoku Mura and is there a senior discount?
Adults pay ¥2,200 and the village says plainly there is no senior discount. University students pay ¥1,000, high and junior high school students ¥600, and primary children are free. It is open 9:30 to 17:00, last entry 16:30, closed Tuesdays.
How do I get from Takamatsu cruise port to Shikoku Mura?
Walk about 10 minutes to Takamatsu-Chikko station, ride the Kotoden to Kawaramachi, change to the Shido Line for Kotoden-Yashima (about 15 minutes) and walk about 5 minutes. The through fare is ¥410. On weekends and holidays a direct shuttle bus runs from Takamatsu Station for ¥500.
Is Shikoku Mura open every day?
No. It is closed on Tuesdays (the next day if Tuesday is a holiday), and it may close for weather warnings or maintenance.
Routes that already include it
Each one is a finished day timed from the official timetables, with this stop in it. Read the route rather than assembling it yourself.
What to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
See · ~3hRitsurin Garden
Seventy-five hectares, six ponds, thirteen landscaped hills and Mount Shiun standing behind it as borrowed scenery.
See the detail
Eat · ~1.5hUdon at a self-service mill
Kagawa eats more udon per head than anywhere in Japan.
See the detail
See · ~7hNaoshima
A copper-smelting island turned over to contemporary art from the 1990s: Tadao Ando concrete sunk into the hillside so nothing breaks the skyline, a Kusama pumpkin on the jetty, and old houses converted one at a time in Honmura.
See the detail