Shikoku

Is it possible to stay in Takamatsu and do day trips to see other parts of Shikoku using All Shikoku jr pass?
Thank you

It is possible, depending on what you want to do/see and how many days you have.
Shikoku is a big place but without the bullet train, so it can take a long time to go places.
I stayed 3 nights in Matsuyama and 2 nights in Tokushima, with a 5-day All Shikoku Rail Pass, but could not see everything I wanted.

Thank you for your reply.

I have 7 days.
I have planned to spend 3 nights in Takamatsu, 1 night in Kochi and 2 nights in Tokushima.
But I thought if I could do day trips from Takamatsu, I needed move my luggage along.

Possible yes. But you'll have 3-4 hours of travel a day. And the pass doesn't cover many locations. Not advisable.

I meant I needn't move my luggage.

I guess I will have to stay at different towns then.
Thank you so much for your replies.

You could certainly see some place not too far away. Kotohira near Takamatsu was not too far away at all, and it was a wonderful half day hike. There is also Unpenji in Kanonji, if you take the ropeway up. But the further you go, the more trouble it gets to be. I found Ehime and Kagawa to be the more interesting prefectures on the island.

Research the train travel times and decide for yourself if you would be okay with them. For me, it would be feasible but I enjoy train riding in Japan and I get up very early, so I can generally be in a destination city by the time tourist venues are opening up. I save precious time by eating breakfast and an early dinner on the train. I donft like changing hotels, so what you are proposing is something I might do. (Be sure to pick a hotel very close to the Takamatsu main JR station so you can hop out of bed and be on a limited express train fairly soon.) But itfs really up to you. Most people on this forum frown on day trips with train travel times of more than an hour or so one way, and they consider two hours to be totally unacceptable.

You do need to research the train schedules to make sure that not only the travel time but also the departure and return time will work. The limited express trains on Shikoku donft run all that often. Note that sometimes train schedules can change after you check them (which could blow your plans out of the water) but generally they do not.

Also, make train reservations well in advance if you can (I donft know the conditions and circumstances with regard to your particular rail pass). And figure out at least by the night before where you obtain coffee and food for breakfast if you plan to eat on the train. There arenft many places to buy these things in Takamatsu station, and they might not be open if you leave early. (But note that you can generally get passable coffee, depending on your standards, in a convenience store, and they also have various food items. Their gbreadsh are generally not very good, but their sandwiches are.) If you plan to take your breakfasts on the train there is no point in booking a hotel plan that includes breakfast.

In my experience, if you operate very strategically and enjoy train travel (or at least donft dislike it) a two-hour train ride each direction is not all that much. (But many people would disagree.) I have taken successful (by my standards) day trips with even more train time than that. But if you donft stay by the station, research train schedules very thoroughly and make reservations, and especially if you get up relatively late and eat breakfast at the hotel or a restaurant, then longish train rides become infeasible.

Another advantage of the day trip approach is that if the weather is bad, you have more flexibility with regard to where and when to take the day trips. It might be pouring in Kochi, so if you are staying there you are out of luck, whereas in Takamatsu or Tokushima the weather might not be bad.

If your only problem is moving around your luggage, I wouldnft add several hours to each day you are spending far outside if Takamatsu but just pack MUCH lighter.

Assuming that after Shikoku you either hi somewhere else or to the airport. You could stay x days in Takamatsu. Then pack up your big luggage (if you didnt manage to make it small) AMS ship it to your next destination outside of Shikoku. Eg the airport. It will arrive there in about 1-2 days. But TaQBin will also hold it fur a few days. Ask them (they gave a helpful English call center) bit what I remeber was that they would hold it 1 well fir you.

Then while your big luggage is Aleppof already on its way, thane your smaller bag and travel to Kochi for a night or 2 and tge other places you listed.

I am very happy to get so many replies about the different options.
I love train and bus rides. To me the journey is always more fun than the destination.
I read that, unlike in other parts of Japan, the trains in Shikoku are not as frequent so I will check the schedule before I decide.
I like the peanut sandwich from the convenience stores:)