By ship
Jumbo Ferry
This ferry runs 4 times daily between Kobe and Takamatsu. At both ends of the ferry, buses connect the ferry boarding point to the nearest major station — San'nomiya Station and Takamatsu Station, respectively. The Kobe-side connecting bus costs ¥200 and takes 5 minutes, the Takamatsu-side connecting bus is free and takes 15 minutes. The ferry sails under the Akashi Straits Bridge, and udon is available on board.
Utaka-KokudÅ Ferry
This ferry offers regular services between the Uno area of Tamano in Okayama Prefecture and Takamatsu. The trip takes about 55 minutes, and there are 44 round-trips daily. The ferry boarding points at both ends are close to the respective nearest train station. The ferry sails across the Seto Inland Sea between a number of islands.
Before the completion of the Honshū-Shikoku bridges, access between Japan's main island and Takamatsu was limited to sea and air transportation. However, with the bridges in place, convenient train and automobile travel is now possible as well and many more people now travel to and from.
By plane
The closest major airport to Takamatsu is Kansai International Airport in Osaka. There is a curiously-named bus called the "Airport Limousine" which runs directly between Kansai Airport and Takamatsu that makes seven round trip runs per day ¥3750 one-way; 3.5 hours. Not actually a limo.
Takamatsu has a tiny airport as well but there's only a few places you can get to from it. Service from the Takamatsu Airport to Tokyo's Haneda Airport is offered by both JAL and ANA, Japan's two major airlines. JAL also offers service to Kagoshima, and ANA also offers service to Okinawa. Asiana Airlines offers international service to Seoul Incheon Airport. But cheapest of all is Spring Airlines from Shanghai twice a week, Tuesday/Friday, with fares starting at just ¥3000 each way. Time schedule for all of these flights in Japanese (http://www.takamatsu-airp...).
Buses connect the Takamatsu Airport and Takamatsu Station roughly twice per hour ¥740 one-way; 40 minutes.
By bus
A number of bus companies, including JR Bus and Takamatsu Express, operate buses to and from major cities in the Kansai area. Prices may very slightly from company to company but in general the prices and trip times are nearly identical. Buses can be booked online.
Namba Station in Osaka to Takamatsu, 3 hrs 20 min, ¥3800 one-way, 48 round-trips daily.
San'nomiya Station in Kobe to Takamatsu, 2 hrs 30 min, ¥3600 one-way, 27 round-trips daily.
Kyoto Station in Kyoto to Takamatsu, 3 hrs 40 min, ¥4800 one-way, 7 round-trips daily.
Depending on the bus company, names of the above buses may include 'Foot Bus', 'Taka-nan bus', 'Takamatsu-Express Osaka-go', 'Takamatsu-Express Kobe-go', 'Takamatsu-Express Kyoto-go', and more.
Bus service is also available to and from Hiroshima on a bus named 'Setouchi'. 3 hrs 45 min, ¥4000 one-way, 5 round-trips daily.
Night bus service to Tokyo is also available from JR Bus. The 'Dream-Takamatsu-go' runs twice nightly in both directions between Tokyo Station and Takamatsu Station; one bus stops at Shinjuku en route. The ride takes approximately 10 hours and costs ¥10,000 one-way, ¥18,200 round-trip.
For a cheaper overnight trip, you can travel on discount bus operator Willer Express (http://travel.willer.co.jp/en/) between Tokyo and Okayama starting from ¥6000, then pay ¥1470 to travel to Takamatsu on the Marine Liner train.