Moopon

1. Once visitors exit immigration and customs at Kansai Airport, visitors will be on the 1st floor. Follow the signs for “Railways”, taking one of the 4 escalators or 3 elevators to arrive at the 2nd floor.

2. Once on the 2nd floor, follow the signs to one of several walkways and walk across the road to Kansai-airport Station. Visitors need to exit the air terminal building to arrive at the JR Station (two separate buildings connected by a walkway). Two train companies use Kansai-airport Station: JR (blue/green) and Nankai (orange). Only JR can take visitor to the platform Haruka departing from. DO NOT use Nankai.

3. Before entering tickets gate, find JR Ticket Office where visitors can purchase ticket or reserved ticket for JR train.(there is a huge sign in English above their head).JR ticket office staff may or may not speak English, but they can read place names and train types written in the Roman alphabet. 

4. With one’s tickets, go through JR ticket gate and take an escalator to get to Platform 4.

Kompirasan, officially known as Kotohiragu, is the main shrine of multiple Kompira shrines found around Japan that are dedicated to sailors and seafaring. It is located on the wooded slope of Mount Zozu in Kotohira and the approach to Kompirasan is a laborious series of 1,368 stone steps.

Over many centuries, Kompirasan had been revered as a mixture between Buddhist temple and Shinto shrine, until it was officially declared a shrine in the beginning of the Meiji Period during government efforts to separate the two religions. Nevertheless, the previous symbiosis is still visible in Kompirasan's architecture which displays both Shinto and Buddhist elements.                                                              

Kompirasan is a highly popular site visited by pilgrims from across the country despite being one of the most difficult shrine approaches in Japan. The approach begins amongst a touristy shopping arcade filled with souvenir shops and Sanuki Udon restaurants, from where it is a 785- step climb (about 45 minutes) past a number of auxiliary shrine buildings and museums to the main hall of the shrine.

Next to the main hall is a viewpoint overlooking Kotohira Town, and the Ema Hall which exhibits plates and pictures of ships, battleships and even space rockets whose crews sought the protection of the shrine. A real mini submarine is also displayed.
For the tourists have enough energy it is an additional 583 steps (an additional 45 minutes) along a paved, forested path to the inner shrine (Okusha) of the complex.
Most visitors only make it up to the main hall; however, Those unable (or unwilling) to make the climb, can hire a palanquin (5300 yen one way or 6500 yen round trip) up to the main hall or take a bus (see details below).  

Access info
The start of the long approach to Kompirasan is a 10 to 15 minute walk from JR Kotohira and Kotoden Kotohira Stations.

Looking like a forested hat in the Seto Island Sea, Ogijima Island (男木島) is a charming island with strong traditional as well as artistic connections. Ogijima is the brother island of Megijima. A rather small island, the length of the island is 2 kilometers long with a width of 1 kilometer.  The ferry terminal is located on the southern end of the island with a lighthouse located on the northern end.  Within the mountain, visitors can a famous shrine.  And along the paths are many cats.

Famous for being one of the venues of the Setouchi Triennale Art Festival, visitors can view the pieces during the festival. In addition, 10 art pieces from the 2010 and 2013 festival have a permanent home on Ogijima.  The artwork range from indoor pieces to outdoor pieces which incorporate entire homes.  
Note:  Many of the artwork cannot be seen on weekdays or in the winter.

Ogijima is also home to 200 villagers and visitors can walk through the village, with its traditional wooden houses and confusing narrow streets.  Halfway up the mountains on this small island, visitors can find the Toyotamahime Shrine.  Many people visit Toyotamahime Shrine to pray for a safe childbirth. 

Access Information:
From Takamatsu Port, board a ferry.  There is one ferry every two hours.  The one-way journey takes about 40 minutes and the fare is 510 yen.

On the base of Yashima Mountain in Takamatsu City, Kagawa prefecture, lies an open air museum Shikoku Mura (四国村). Among the artwork displayed here are traditional building and structures from within Shikoku Island, farmhouses and storehouses from the Edo and Meiji Periods, as well as a small art gallery.

Visitors can explore the outdoors museum on the mountainside, viewing bridges, a light house and even a kabuki theater.  Among the most popular is a vine suspension bridge modeled after the ones in Tokushima Prefecture’s Iya Valley.  The bridges are made of vine and wood with reinforcements by steel cables.

Hours: 8:30 to 17:30 (until 18:00 from April to October)
Closed: Opened All Year Round
Admission: 800 yen (1000 yen combined ticket includes entrance to the gallery)

Access Information:
Via Kotoden:
Board a train from Takamatsu-Chikko Station to Kawaramachi Station. The journey should take about 5 minutes.  Transfer to the Shido Line and disembark at Kotoden Yashima Station. The journey here should take about 15 minutes. From the station, it should take about 5 minutes on foot to Shikoku Mura.
Note:  Though there are many trains from Takamatsu-Chikko Station to Kawaramachi Station, from Kawaramachi Station to Kotoden Yashima Station there are only 3 trains every hour.

Via JR:
From JR Takamatsu Station, board a local train to Yashima Station. The journey should take 15 minutes.  From the station, it should take about 15 minutes on foot to Shikoku Mura.
Note:  There are only 1 or 2 trains every hour.

Off the coast of Kagawa Prefecture is Megijima Island (女木島), a small island well known for being the basis the popular Japanese folklore Momotaro.  In addition to its association to Momotaro, visitors will a cave, sandy beaches, and an observation deck atop the mountain.

According to the legend of Momotaro, a small boy set upon defeating the resident ogres on Onigashima, the Ogre Island. Within Megijima’s mountains, visitors will find a cave near the highest peak. Caves were known to be the ogres’ fortress.  And the cave on Megijima Mountain will not disappoint its visitors, with some chambers displaying scenes from the Momotaro story.

Visitors will enjoy the mountaintop park near the cave showing off breathtaking views of the Seto Inland Sea and its islands from its observation deck. Opposite the observation deck, visitors will find a statue of Nichiren, the founder of the Nichiren sect of Japanese Buddhism.

In the summer, visitors can enjoy the sandy beaches located not too far away from the ferry port.  There are many Japanese style bread and breakfasts called minshuku here where visitors can spend the night as well.

Walking through the island, visitors will feel a sense of nostalgia, examining the old wooden homes and narrow streets.  The terminal building is one of the few modern buildings on the island.  Visitors can find an information counter here. Bicycles to explore the island can be rented here as well.  Snacks can also be purchased here.
Megijima is also the one of the venues used in the Setouchi Triennale Art Festival. The island is the permanent home to a few art pieces for the 2010 and 2013 show.  
Note:  Many of the pieces may not be seen during the week and in the winter.

Access Information:
From Takamatsu Port, there is a ferry which operates between the port, Megijima and Ogijima.  There is a ferry every two hours.  The one-way journey will take about 20 minutes and the fare is 370 yen.