How to get to Takamatsu ferry port from Takamatsu Station for your Shikoku ferry ride in Japan

Kon’nichiwa!

I ended up taking a 4:10pm ferry out of Takamatsu port, and it was a ferry that didn’t require booking in advance.

Even though my departure wasn’t until late afternoon, I headed to the port that morning to scope the area out so when it was actually time to take the ferry I could just show up knowing exactly where to go instead of potentially roaming around trying to figure it out at the last minute. (I didn’t want to end up in a completely wrong area!)

As it turns out, getting from JR Takamatsu Station to the ferry terminal is quite simple. It’s about a 10 minute easy walk along a direct pedestrian walkway that connects the train station plaza to the ferry terminal.

There are clear signs the whole way, so you really can’t miss it.

Although once you get near, there are 2 port areas, so you need to know ahead of time which exact ferry you’re taking. This basically means you’ll want to decide ahead of time if you want to take the “slow” ferry or the high-speed fast ferry for example.

I went on the slow ferry to Shodoshima, and there were also signs leading to the Naoshima ferry too. (As well as for the islands of Megijima, Ogijima, Oshima, and Teshima!)

I’ll show you what the walk to the ferry port looks like below!

 

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So I started the day at Takamatsu Station to drop off luggage. The coin lockers just inside the entrance were all full, but luckily right outside the train station there is manned luggage storage. So that’s where I ended up storing my luggage. (There are also coin lockers at the ferry port, as I found out later!)

Right outside this baggage storage spot, there are directional signs on the ground. Look for the little boat icon to know the direction to go for the ferry!

When leaving out of the east exit of Takamatsu Station, you will end up at a plaza called Takamatsu Station Square. The baggage storage is on the left side of the plaza. Then there’s a little pond, and just beyond that is an escalator that will take you directly to the Takamatsu ferry terminal. You’ll pass by a big bus departure area too.

You’ll take the escalator up, and then basically after that, you can follow the signs! Once you get back outside to the point where you’re looking out towards the ocean (Seto Inland Sea) and you can only go left or right, look for the signs to know which way to go.

 

👆 This is walking towards the east exit of Takamatsu Station. The manned luggage storage is in the building off to the right there.

 

👆 Even if the coin lockers at Takamatsu Station are full, you can rest easy that there’s luggage storage nearby.

 

👆 Walking outside of the luggage storage place, there was a directional sign on the ground leading to Takamatsu Port. Look for the little boat icon!

 

👆 You’ll walk past the little pond and into the sheltered area. Off to the right you’ll see the JR Hotel Clement Takamatsu.

 

👆 You’ll see a sign that this is the pedestrian access way for Takamatsu Port, so take the escalator up.

 

👆 As you are walking the pedestrian walkway to the ferry port, you’ll pass by an entrance/exit that leads to JR Hotel Clement Takamatsu.
Check the price and read reviews at booking.com and expedia.

 

👆 Just keep following the signs. You’ll need to go inside for a little bit.

 

👆 This is a waiting area, but keep walking. There is another set of doors on the other side, and you’ll continue to walk through them.

 

👆 You’ll keep walking and the Seto Inland Sea will be right in front of you! There will be signs telling you which way to go for your ferry. Ferry platforms #1 and #2 are to the right. This is the direction I went, since I was on the slow ferry to Shodoshima that arrives at Tonosho. There’s also a ferry to Ikeda on Shodoshima. This is also the direction of the ferry to Naoshima that arrives at Miyanoura.

 

👆 Ferry platforms #3 and #4 are to the left. Notably, you’ll see that the high-speed boat to Shodoshima and Naoshima are on this side, which is different from the “slow” ferries. This is also the side for Megijima, Ogijima, Oshima, and Teshima.

 

👆 Since my ferry was to the left, I started walking that way. You can see the ferry building.

 

👆 It’s a pretty small ferry port building.

 

👆 You’ll take the final walk to get to the ferry port. There are stairs and elevators at the end of this walkway.

 

👆 And you know you’ve arrived when you see signs for where to buy ferry tickets!

 

👆 You can’t really mess it up once you get here, as there are arrows for where to buy tickets for Shodoshima (Tonosho or Ikeda) and Naoshima.

 

👆 It’s possible to buy tickets from a real person, and there’s also a ticket machine. I did see that for Naoshima, you can only buy tickets 40 minutes before departure.

 

👆 Classic Japan, there are vending machines to buy drinks at the ferry port.

 

👆 There are also large coin lockers at the Takamatsu ferry port. I was a little upset when I first discovered this! Since I came here in the morning anyway, this would have been the best spot to leave luggage! As soon as you enter the port building, it’s to the right. There were many lockers available.

 

👆 Sailing away from Takamatsu!