Takamatsu with 6 in one room:
a large tatami room in the city centre, or an onsen hotel on Mt Mineyama.

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Exterior: Yunagi no Yu Hotel Hanajukai (image provided by Rakuten Travel)See details on Rakuten Travel ↗

It comes down to this: dinner in town, or dinner at the hotel

Verdict: the city-centre tatami rooms come without dinner, so in the evening you eat in the shopping arcades or around the station. The onsen hotel on Mt Mineyama includes dinner, breakfast and the onsen, but it is not somewhere you can walk into town from.

• If you arrive at Takamatsu Airport, take the airport limousine bus to "Hyogomachi" (the stop for Hotel Kawaroku Her-Stage Takamatsu) or to the last stop, Takamatsu Station. Families coming from Okayama by JR also arrive at Takamatsu Station. For Yunagi no Yu Hotel Hanajukai, take the shuttle bus from Takamatsu Station (until 19:00) or a taxi.
• Ferries to Shodoshima leave from Takamatsu Port, just north of Takamatsu Station. On a day you take a morning ferry, Hotel Kawaroku Her-Stage Takamatsu, a walk from Takamatsu Station, is the easiest base.

Getting to Takamatsu from Takamatsu Airport or Okayama, and where to board the ferry to Shodoshima, are covered in Getting to Takamatsu and Shodoshima with a big family of 6.

A 46.3 m² tatami room in the city centre, or 30 tatami on high ground if you travel by car

Verdict: the one near the station and the port, with its own bath and toilet, is Hotel Kawaroku Her-Stage Takamatsu. For families who put room size first and can live with a shared bath and toilet, or who travel by car, there is Tabist Ritsurin Sanso.

Hotel Kawaroku Her-Stage Takamatsu (Hyakkenmachi) is 3 minutes on foot from Kataharamachi Station on the Kotoden line, 5 minutes from the "Hyogomachi" stop of the airport limousine bus, and 12 minutes on foot (3 by car) from JR Takamatsu Station. The room for 6 is the "New Main Tower tatami room", in a wing built in 2022. It is 46.3 m² with futons and its own bath and toilet, for up to 6.

• There is a large bath for each gender (with sauna). The Rakuten listing does not give its hours, or say whether a child may go in with the parent of the other gender.
• No dinner is served. Breakfast is a buffet (6:30–9:00), and you can take it back to your room to eat.
• Preschool children can share a bed free of charge, up to 1 per adult (tell the hotel when you book). For elementary-school children, the listing only says "child rates available".
• Check-in 15:00–24:00, check-out 10:00. Washing machines and dryers (paid). Payment in advance; credit cards accepted.
• The listing does not say whether 6 futons are laid out, so ask the hotel before you book.

Tabist Ritsurin Sanso (Miyawakicho) sits on high ground overlooking Takamatsu, 10 minutes on foot from the "Mineyama" stop of the Machinaka Loop Bus. It is about 15 minutes from Takamatsu Station by car, taxi or local bus, and about 25 minutes by car from Takamatsu Airport.

• The "large tatami room" is 30 tatami, for up to 12. The bath and toilet are shared. If you want them in the room, there is the "special tatami room" (45 m², up to 6).
• The large baths (one for each gender) are open 24 hours, but the tubs are only filled with hot water from 18:00 to 22:00.
• There are no plans with dinner. Breakfast is a Sanuki udon breakfast. On weekends the udon counter opens, and from 17:00 light meals are served in the food court.
• Check-in is late, 17:00–22:00, and check-out is 11:00. 20 free parking spaces (first come, first served).
• The property's guidance says "the road is dark at night, so watch your step". If you go into town for dinner, plan on taking a taxi both ways.

The onsen hotel on Mt Mineyama: tatami rooms with a natural onsen bath of their own

Verdict: Yunagi no Yu Hotel Hanajukai has 7 room types for 6, and 6 of them come with an open-air bath, a semi-open-air bath or an open-air jacuzzi. If you want to bathe in the onsen as a family only, the tatami rooms with an open-air bath here are the ones.

• About 10 minutes by car or taxi from Takamatsu Station, and about 40 minutes by taxi from Takamatsu Airport. A free shuttle bus (booking needed) runs from Takamatsu Station every hour from 15:00 to 19:00 (book by 1 hour before, on the day you stay).
• There is an onsen "panoramic large bath with a 200-degree view", split into men's and women's baths. According to the hotel's booking page, you can use it from check-in until 24:00 and from 5:00 to 9:00 the next morning. It does not say whether a child may go in with the parent of the other gender.
• Check-in 16:00–19:00 (19:00 is the latest), check-out 10:00. 100 free parking spaces.
• The listing does not say how many futons are laid out in the tatami rooms, or give child rates, so ask the hotel before you book.
• The shuttle from the hotel back to Takamatsu Station runs only twice, at 9:00 and 10:00, booked by 21:00 the night before. On a day you take an earlier ferry, call a taxi.

A night for 6: about ¥52,000–103,000 with breakfast at Kawaroku and Ritsurin Sanso, from about ¥200,000 with 2 meals at Hanajukai

Verdict: calculated for 6 adults, Hotel Kawaroku Her-Stage Takamatsu and Tabist Ritsurin Sanso come to about ¥52,000–103,000 with breakfast, and Yunagi no Yu Hotel Hanajukai to about ¥200,000–320,000 with dinner and breakfast in the standard tatami room and the tatami room with an open-air bath (the rock open-air bath room and the suites cost more). Hanajukai's price includes dinner.

This article assumes a family of 6: a couple, 2 children (elementary-school age) and 2 grandparents. Since none of the listings give child rates, the amounts are calculated for 6 adults and are an upper-end guide. The grandparents are counted as adults.

These are the per-person prices when 5 or more stay (tax included, guide for the last 30 days) shown in Rakuten Travel plan lists, multiplied by 6. Child rates are not in the listings, so they are not reflected (the real total may be lower). Hotel Kawaroku Her-Stage Takamatsu's price is for a plan bookable only on the day, and plans booked in advance may cost differently.

• Some booking sites show the price for 1 person. Enter your party on the booking screen and check the total.
• Hotel Kawaroku Her-Stage Takamatsu and Tabist Ritsurin Sanso do not include dinner, so dinner for 6 costs extra.

If your party is different: if the children are preschoolers, at Hotel Kawaroku Her-Stage Takamatsu they can share a bed free of charge, up to 1 per adult (tell the hotel when you book).

What to check before you book

Verdict: before you book, check the number of futons, the large-bath hours and children's bathing, your arrival time, and how you will get to the ferry on the morning you cross to Shodoshima.

Takamatsu stays for big families: FAQ

With the stay settled: getting to Takamatsu and a day on Shodoshima

Getting there from Takamatsu Airport or Okayama and the ferry to Shodoshima, a day on Shodoshima crossing the Angel Road, and how self-service Sanuki udon shops work.

Transport Getting to Takamatsu and Shodoshima with a big family of 6 The airport bus costs ¥6,500 for 6, and its last stop is the ferry terminal. Experience A day trip to Shodoshima's Angel Road with a big family The low-tide time decides your route, plus the cost for 6. Tips How to order at a self-service Sanuki udon shop The steps for a family of 6 to know before queuing, and how shops differ.

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