Shikoku Autumn 2014 四国秋季之旅 - Takamatsu Airport 高松空港, All Shikoku Rail Pass

Takamatsu Airport (TAK), is located about 30 minutes away by bus from Takamatsu JR Station.

There are about 13 round trips per day, operated by ANA and JAL, commuting between Haneda Airport and Takamatsu Airport. Duration of flight is approx 1 hr 10 mins to 1 hr 20 mins. For my trip, I took the night flight from Singapore and arrived at Haneda Airport early next morning at 0615 hrs. Unfortunately, this is my second encounter (first was in Hokkaido) with long transit duration (about 3 hours) at Haneda Airport because I was not able to secure the tickets for the earlier flight departing for Takamatsu Airport.at 0725 hrs. Did not spend much time to explore Takamatsu Airport upon arrival as we had to rush to catch the connecting airport limousine bus heading for Takamatsu city.

Takamatsu Airport currently serves both international and domestic flights:
- Regular international flights from Taipei Taoyuan Airport (operated by China Airlines), Incheon Airport (operated by Air Seoul), Shanghai Pudong Airport (operated by Spring Airlines) and Hong Kong (operated by HK Express).
- Domestic flights from Haneda Airport, Narita Airport (operated by Jetstar) and Naha Airport (operated by ANA) in Okinawa.

How to get there?

(1) Airport Limousine Bus 空港リムジンバス
Bus schedule has been drawn in such a way to enable seamless connection between flights and buses.
- From Takamatsu Airport to Takamatsu JR Station: board the bus at platform 2 located just outside the airport. Bus ride takes approx 30 minutes and cost 760 yen. Tickets can be purchased from the vending machine located in the airport.
- From Takamatsu JR Station to Takamatsu Airport: board the bus at platform 3. The bus can also be boarded at JR Hotel Clement Takamatsu, the busier district of Hyogomachi (兵庫町) and Kawaramachi (瓦町).
Website: http://www.kotoden.co.jp/publichtm/bus/limousine/index-en.html

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All Shikoku Rail Pass
Website: https://shikoku-railwaytrip.com/railpass.html

If you decide to explore the island of Shikoku by rail, All Shikoku Rail Pass will surely come in handy. One perk I like most about this rail pass is its extensive coverage on all the railways and even streetcar/electric tram network in Shikoku! This eliminates the hassle of having multiple passes and greatly enhances accessibility. Apart from being exclusive to foreigners, passengers holding on to this rail pass are also entitled to reserved seats without additional charges for limited express trains (except for Iyonada Monogatari which only has Green seats). Pass can be purchased both outside and in Japan; the only difference being discount given for overseas purchase of rail passes.

Extensive coverage!

- All JR Shikoku railway lines.
Note 1: All Shikoku Rail Pass is valid for travel on Seto Ohashi line south of Kojima JR Station (児島駅). If you travel south towards Shikoku from Okayama Station via Kojima Station or if you travel north towards Okayama Station from Shikoku via Kojima Station, you will need to top up additional fare for the distance travelled between Okayama and Kojima.
Note 2: Sunrise Seto trains and JR Buses are not included.
http://www.jr-shikoku.co.jp/
- Kotoden (ことでん) in Takamatsu city.
http://www.kotoden.co.jp/publichtm/kotoden/time/index.htm
- Iyotetsu/Iyo Railway Streetcar (伊予鉄道電車) in Matsuyama city. Botchan Train (坊ちゃん列車) can be utilised without additional charge with the rail pass.
http://www.iyotetsu.co.jp/rosen/
- Tosaden Streetcar (どさでん電車) in Kochi city.
http://www.tosaden.co.jp/train/
- Tosa Kuroshio Railway (土佐くろしお鉄道) operates Nakamura-Sukumo line (between Kubokawa and Sukumo) and Gomen-Nahari line (between Gomen and Nahari).
http://www.tosakuro.com/
- Asa Kaigan Railway (阿佐海岸鉄道) operates a 8.5 km line which crosses the prefecture boundary between Tokushima and Kochi. There are only three train station on this line; Kaifu 海部駅 and Shishikui 宍喰駅 are in Tokushima Prefecture while Kannoura 甲浦駅 is in Kochi Prefecture.
http://www.asatetu.com/

Bang for the buck! For my 11 days stay in Shikoku, I utilised the 5-day and 3-day rail passes from Day 4 onwards. While consolidating information for this late post, I realised that the price of the rail passes have been revised (became more expensive) over the last two years [5-day: 9,700 yen vs 10,000 yen; 3-day: 7,200 vs 8,500 yen]. Having said that, the rail passes are still extremely worthwhile especially if you are travelling long distances with reserved seats. Re-calculated the train fares incurred for my trip if I did not purchase the rail passes (based on the latest data available in Hyperdia) and the saving was extremely significant.

5-day + 3-day rail passes = 10,000 yen + 8,500 yen = 18,500 yen
Total train fares = 49,250 yen
Savings = 30,750 yen (62% discount)

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Takamatsu Airport 高松空港
http://www.takamatsu-airport.com/en/

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Commemorative stamps: