Yashima
licensed photographKimonBerlin / CC BY-SA 2.0

Kagawa · TakamatsuNo.654★★Open in map →

Yashima

— The flat-topped plateau above Takamatsu

natureOff the trail — and worth it

A flat-topped plateau standing over the sea north-east of Takamatsu, with cliffs on its sides and a level summit. A pilgrimage temple, a medieval battlefield and a glass gallery share the same table of rock.

  1. FromTakamatsu-Chikko Station
  2. ~30 minKotoden train, then shuttle bus
  3. Get off atKotoden Yashima Station (Kotoden Shido Line)
  4. From there
  5. Yashima
Directions ↗

The sweet spot

Yashima is one of Takamatsu's best known sights and the summit fills on fine weekends, so it is not a secret. It stays manageable because the plateau is broad: the famous lookouts collect the crowd, and the paths between the temple, the fortress site and the eastern rim do not.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

Yashima-jiReggaeman / CC BY-SA 3.0
  1. Yashima-rua long curving gallery of glass roofed with Aji stone, free to enter
  2. Shishi-no-Reiganthe western lookout, over the city and the island-filled sea
  3. Yashima-jithe 84th temple of the Shikoku pilgrimage, with a treasure hall and a tanuki shrine
  4. Dankoreithe eastern lookout above the strait where the Genpei battle was fought
  5. The Yashima-no-ki fortress siteexcavated gate and walls of the ancient fortress on the southern rim

How to actually get there

  1. Takamatsu-Chikko Station → Kawaramachi (Kotoden Kotohira or Nagao Line, about 5 minutes).
  2. Kawaramachi → Kotoden Yashima Station (Kotoden Shido Line, about 15 minutes).
  3. Kotoden Yashima Station → the summit (Yashima summit shuttle bus, about 10 minutes up the Skyway).
  4. Walk the flat top west to east: gallery, western lookout, temple, then the eastern rim.
Kotoden from Takamatsu-Chikko, then the summit shuttle
Takamatsu-Chikko Station →(Kotoden Kotohira or Nagao Line, about 5 minutes)→ Kawaramachi, then change to the Shido Line for about 15 minutes to Kotoden Yashima Station. From there the Yashima summit shuttle bus climbs to the top in about 10 minutes. Takamatsu-Chikko sits by the harbour in the city centre.
Down from the summit
Shuttle buses come back down to Kotoden Yashima Station, where Shido Line trains run to Kawaramachi and on to Takamatsu-Chikko. Check the time of the last bus down at the summit stop before you settle in for the sunset, because the walk down the Skyway is not a short one.
Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Yashima rises straight out of the coast north-east of central Takamatsu. A hard cap of rock sits on a softer base, so the sides broke away into cliffs while the top stayed level — the landform geographers call a mesa. That top is wide enough to hold a temple precinct, a road, several lookout points and a gallery, and it ends abruptly at the rim, where the inland sea opens out with its islands laid below. Because the plateau is flat, walking here feels nothing like climbing a mountain of the same height.

How to enjoy it

Yashima-ru opens at 9:00 and closes at 17:00, staying open until 21:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of public holidays — the dependable way to be up here when the city lights come on. It closes on Tuesdays. Locally the plateau is known as much for its sunsets and night views as for the daytime panorama.

Background & history

An ancient mountain fortress was raised on the plateau after Japan's defeat at the Baekgang river, built with wall techniques carried from the Korean peninsula; its gate has since been excavated on the southern rim. Tradition credits the founding of Yashima-ji to the monk Ganjin. In 1185 the shore below became the battlefield of Yashima, one of the decisive encounters of the Genpei War, and names from the fighting still sit on the map. The plateau was designated both a National Historic Site and a Natural Monument in 1934.

Before you go

Cash
Yashima-ru is free to enter. The panorama artwork exhibition inside costs 1,000 yen for high school age and above and is free for younger visitors, and the treasure hall at Yashima-ji charges separately. The summit car park is paid, at 300 yen for a car.
Before you go
Yashima-ru closes on Tuesdays, or the following weekday when a public holiday falls on one. Kotoden bus fares are being revised on 1 October 2026, so read the posted fare rather than an older guide. The rim is a cliff edge in places and fully exposed to wind.
Another way
From JR Takamatsu Station the JR Kotoku Line reaches JR Yashima Station in about 16 minutes. The summit shuttle bus runs from JR Yashima Station and takes about 18 minutes to the top.
After you get off
From Kotoden Yashima Station take the summit shuttle bus, which climbs the Yashima Skyway to the top. Temple, gallery and lookouts are all within a level walk of the summit stop.