Published date: January 14, 2025
Everything You Could Want... Recommended Hotels for a Stay Before and After Art on Naoshima
Room Type Stayed
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Experience of the stay
I stayed at 'Natural Hot Spring Tamamo no Yu Dormy Inn Takamatsu Chuo Koen Mae' on New Year's Eve through HafH! It was a new and comfortable hotel! It's just a 1-minute walk from the airport limousine bus stop, and a 5-minute walk from Kotoden Kotohira Line Kawaramachi Station, making it very convenient, with great free services.
【Free Services】
・Welcome Drink (Service Time 6:30-9:00/15:00-23:00)
Free coffee, tea, and apple tea is available at the first-floor restaurant. It was nice to have warm tea waiting for us when we returned from outside.
・Welcome Sweets
Welcome sweets are placed in the refrigerator in the guest room for each guest. On this day, we had apple jelly!
・Manga Rental Service
You can enjoy manga and picture books at the 11th-floor yu-agari area. There are many types of manga available, which was fantastic! You can also take up to five books back to your room, so definitely do this after your bath!
・Ice Cream Service after the Bath (Service Time 15:00-25:00)
You can have ice cream available at the 11th-floor yu-agari area. The day we visited, there were chocolate bars, vanilla monaka, and Calpis ice cream bars!
・Lactic Acid Drink Service (Service Time 5:00-10:00)
In the morning, a small size lactic acid drink is available at the 11th-floor yu-agari area, which is perfect for breakfast!
・Night Soba (Service Time 21:30-23:00)
Dormy Inn's famous night soba is also a wonderful service. Usually a nostalgic soy sauce-flavored mini ramen is served, but on the New Year's Eve we stayed, a large shrimp tempura was included! It was so delicious!
【Natural Hot Spring Tamamo no Yu】 (Use Time 15:00 - 10:00 the next day, sauna only from 1:00 AM - 5:00 AM is not available)
The large public bath on the 11th floor is a natural hot spring, and it was so pleasant! The hot spring water is transported from Kitacho in Takamatsu City, Kagawa, and it is very warming. There are open-air baths and nano steam saunas, which greatly enhanced satisfaction. Amenities are from POLA, and the dryer is nano-e, and towels are the type you take from your room.
【Guest Room】
The guest room is simply and compactly designed, but I was healed by the view of greenery in Central Park from the window of the room. We stayed at Dormy Inn on the 1st night and the 3rd night of our Kagawa trip, and both had the same view. (On the 2nd night, we made our own reservation at Naoshima's 'Benesse House').
Amenities are self-service style where you take items from next to the front desk. There are toothbrush sets, combs, razors, and cotton swabs next to the front desk. At the women’s bath, there are shower caps, hair ties, combs, and skincare sets available.
The refrigerator only had the welcome sweets. The room only had a shower, but we didn't use it since there is a large public bath. Slippers were provided that had been cleaned beforehand.
【Dinner】
The hotel did not provide dinner. We ordered Takamatsu's famous 'Konpukudori Ikka' for takeout and enjoyed it in our room. The area around the hotel has a shopping district, so there were no worries about dining options. The 11th floor is equipped with a microwave and cutlery, which was convenient!
【Breakfast】
Breakfast can be added for 1,800 yen for adults at the restaurant on the first floor. We didn’t add breakfast as we wanted to catch an early ferry to Naoshima. The menu smelled delicious, featuring a buffet of Sanuki udon and small dishes!
Dormy Inn is not luxurious, but it is clean and offers great free services. It is rare to find a hotel with a large public bath in HafH, so please consider booking!
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Experiences during the trip
We booked 'Dormy Inn Takamatsu Chuo Koen Mae' along with our JAL flight tickets through HafH for our 3-night, 4-day trip to Kagawa, staying there on the 1st and 3rd nights! For the 2nd night, we personally booked 'Benesse House' on Naoshima. Since we stayed at the same hotel for both our 1st and 3rd nights, it was convenient to drop our suitcases at the hotel and head to Naoshima.
Kagawa, known as Udon Prefecture, is filled with local gourmet food and art! Here are some recommended spots in Takamatsu and Naoshima that we enjoyed during our visit.
【Uka Kyu Seimen】
On the first day of our trip, we arrived at Takamatsu Airport just after 11 AM and took the airport bus to Takamatsu city. It took about 40 minutes by the airport limousine bus to the nearest bus stop to the hotel, and it was only a 1-minute walk to the hotel from the bus stop, so it was easy to find! After dropping off our baggage at the hotel, we immediately went for Udon lunch at 'Uka Kyu Seimen', which is a 12-minute walk from the hotel.
The most popular dish, the grilled char siu with a raw egg and butter, is 880 yen. The chewy noodles combined with the salty flavor of the butter and the accent of black pepper were so delicious, reminiscent of a Japanese-style carbonara! The kake udon for 350 yen was also delicious, featuring a subtly sweet broth. The golden balance broth is made of ibuki iriko, kombu, dried shiitake mushrooms, urume, mackerel, and bonito flakes. Additionally, lunch came with rice and a side of iriko and mackerel tsukudani as a service!
【RUM STAND UMAYADO】
For our first day's snack, we went to 'RUM STAND UMAYADO' located in the Takamatsu Station Building ORNE. It's a standing bar directly managed by a horse stable distillery that makes rum from wasanbon sugar syrup. We had the rum as a hot cocktail. It was a gentle and sweet, high-quality white rum that was easy to drink.
The dried squid served as a snack was delicious, and I quickly asked where to buy it and made a purchase. We were happy to receive information about local gourmet food and souvenirs. Takamatsu Station also had other supermarkets, food courts, restaurants, and souvenir shops, making it very convenient!
【Konpukudori Ikka】
For dinner on the first day, we walked about 7 minutes from the hotel to 'Konpukudori Ikka'. It was crowded, so we opted for takeout. The flavor was exceptional, as expected from a restaurant specialized in bone-in chicken for 70 years! The spicy old chicken, juicy young chicken, and soy sauce flavored rice were all delicious and distinct. On the day we visited, takeout was ready in about 20 minutes after ordering, but dining in required a one and a half hour wait, so early action is recommended!
【Naoshima】
On the second day of our journey, we went on an overnight trip to Naoshima! A 30-minute trip by high-speed boat from Takamatsu Port to Naoshima is quite easy. We took the high-speed boat that departed at 9:20 AM. Naoshima is an entire island that serves as an art space, and just strolling around brings excitement. We recommend the cafe at the Benesse Museum for lunch! The "Setouchi Lemon Cream Pasta" with a view of the Seto Inland Sea is exquisite. Though it's a remote island, there's a 7-Eleven and cooperative grocery store, which was convenient and reassuring for meals.
【Benesse House】
Benesse House on Naoshima is a complex facility that combines a museum and hotel, with the concept of "coexistence of nature, architecture, and art." We directly reserved the park and stayed there. Amidst the relaxed island time, we were able to view contemporary art, enjoy Setouchi gourmet, and take walks by the sea... it was an excellent refreshment experience!
Especially the meals were delicious, and both the dinner at the French restaurant and the breakfast buffet were very satisfying. I was surprised that such a high level of service could be provided on a remote island. Staying at Benesse House also allows you to enjoy the Benesse House Museum, Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery, Art Corridor, art tours, and private bus for free, which was great.
On the third day of our trip, we enjoyed art while touring the island by private bus, and took a ferry back to Takamatsu at 2:20 PM. The ferry ride to Takamatsu Port took about 60 minutes. That day, we did some shopping in front of Takamatsu Station before checking back into 'Dormy Inn Takamatsu Chuo Koen Mae'. We warmed up in the hot spring, enjoyed ice cream, and relaxed with some manga!
【Sanuki Men Gyo】
For lunch on the last day in Takamatsu, we enjoyed curry udon and Sanuki oden at 'Sanuki Men Gyo' in Takamatsu Airport. Sanuki Men Gyo is a famous chain that was featured on NHK's Project X and offers a wide menu. The curry udon had a spicy broth that perfectly matched the crispy onions, and I enjoyed it without getting bored until the end. The Sanuki oden, eaten with miso, was also fresh and delicious! The prices were reasonable, making it a recommended airport gourmet spot.
'Dormy Inn Takamatsu Chuo Koen Mae' was the perfect hotel to start our journey, conveniently located for both Takamatsu and Naoshima! With free access to hot springs, ice cream, night soba, and manga, be sure to book through HafH and visit!