Alphabed Takamatsu Hyogomachi

The rooms are much larger than at a regular inn, and the amenities are provided even though there aren't other services. Our apartment was like a 2LDK, with two rooms, one Japanese-style and the other with bunk beds. The kids had toys and picture books to enjoy. It made for a comfortable stay and seemed good value. I'd never stayed in an apartment-style inn before, so I was a little nervous, but it turned out great. I only booked it as a place to sleep because we planned to check out early and head to Shodoshima. You pick up the key at Rihga Hotel Zest Takamatsu, about a five-minute walk away. You can park there too, but the hotel is in the shopping district and gets busy. If it's full, they'll direct you to another coin-operated lot.

The apartment was quiet, and I slept well. The location was handy, with the shopping street and lots of restaurants nearby. I cooked dinner and late-night snacks with my family, using the fairly complete set of kitchen utensils. The bathroom was very clean, and I was pleasantly surprised that the washing machine came with special detergent. There was some dirt on the bottoms of the cups, like limescale that had been there a long time, so I wish they were cleaned more thoroughly. I also found the hotel map confusing and got lost at first, until I used the QR code above on Google Maps. One other annoyance was that the entrance is a smoking area, so I was constantly exposed to secondhand smoke.

The apartment is quiet, with parking at the back entrance or at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for an extra fee. I stayed in room 603. There's a security door on each floor beyond the elevator, and you need a key to enter, which adds another layer of security. Inside, the room is very large and divided into living, kitchen, laundry, shower, toilet, and bedroom areas. You can use the space comfortably and privately, without disturbing the other people in the room. The location is very convenient for shopping and eating, right above a covered shopping street, so it's easy to browse in sunny or rainy weather. You can enter through the front or back of the building, though late at night you can only use the back entrance. Check-in and checkout are at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Takamatsu, about a two-minute walk around the corner, as shown in the attached photo. An airport bus stops right at the hotel's main entrance, so you can leave your luggage at the Ritz-Carlton, shop, then catch the bus later.

I had a wonderful three-night stay. There was plenty of room for my family, and having a kitchen for basic meals and a washing machine made things easy. The shopping street is close, too.