The hotel sits five minutes from the station in the middle of Kagawa's capital, the kind of city most visitors treat as a ferry terminal for the art islands of the Seto Inland Sea. That's a mistake, and this hotel is part of the reason why. The whole place runs on what its designers call Takamatsu Art Deco: 1920s New York bones dressed in bonsai motifs and locally woven rugs, then handed the full club-floor treatment usually kept for a hotel's top few rooms. Kaiseki dinners happen behind sliding doors in one of six private rooms at Nishiki. Miss the last ferry to Naoshima and you'll hardly mind.
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Art Deco is not a phrase you expect in Shikoku, but the lobby pulls it off: chevron floors and brass fittings (very Gatsby) softened by woven rugs and clipped bonsai that nod to Kagawa rather than 1920s Manhattan. Upstairs, the Silk library lounge runs almost all day, dishing out breakfast, afternoon tea, cocktails and a final round of snacks before bed, all included and all enjoyed against a wall of books. Nishiki, the Japanese restaurant, has been carved into six private rooms for proper Sanuki-style kaiseki behind closed doors.
All rooms run on what the hotel calls its all-club-floor concept: the kind of service usually reserved for a top tier, extended to everyone. Beds are proper Simmons mattresses, carpets carry a subtle bonsai print, and every modular bathroom comes with a bidet, air purifier and humidifier as standard. The newest rooms, added in the recent expansion, look straight onto an internal Japanese garden rather than the street below. Ask for one; the difference in sleep quality is worth the request.
Hire one of the hotel's three bicycles and pedal over to Ritsurin Garden, a 400-year-old strolling garden of clipped pines and koi ponds where a wasen boat ride and matcha at the lakeside teahouse make for a fine morning. Climb Mount Yashima for curved glass views over the Seto Inland Sea, or walk the ruins of the 16th-century seaside castle at Tamamo Park. Takamatsu's port sits minutes away, with ferries pulling out for Naoshima's polka-dot pumpkins (Yayoi Kusama's) and the art museums of Teshima. Slurp a bowl of Sanuki udon before you board.
Rolling out of your room at any hour of the day and finding tea, cocktails or a plate of snacks waiting in the library lounge upstairs. It's basically a very stylish, very Japanese honesty bar.
Ask the concierge about a day trip to Shodoshima's soy sauce breweries. It's not on any rack of leaflets in the lobby, but staff will happily arrange it if you give them a day's notice.
Kawaramachi's road and rail noise reaches surprisingly high floors, by several accounts. If you're a light sleeper, ask for one of the newer rooms facing the internal Japanese garden instead.
Royal Park Hotel Takamatsu can be booked with Timbuktu as part of a tailor-made Japan trip, rather than as a standalone room reservation. Start online, customising one of our recommended Japan trips featuring Royal Park Hotel Takamatsu or get advice and suggestions from one of our Japan specialists who will design the trip around your dates, check availability and handle every booking for you.
Stays at Royal Park Hotel Takamatsu start from around $190, or US$190, per person per night as part of a tailor-made trip. The exact price depends on your travel dates, room type and the shape of the rest of your itinerary. A Timbuktu travel specialist can give you an accurate quote for your dates.
Michelin-starred gardens, Inland Sea islands and noodles worth rearranging a whole itinerary for.
