Originally Posted by
pairofkeets
Is it reasonable to visit Takamatsu from Okayama? Google says its about 1hr 20mins by train and that way it seems it might be reasonable to see Okayama, Naoshima, and Takamatsu without changing hotels as much. Its a bit longer than the train from Osaka/Kyoto to Nara. I'm thinking something like 2 days in Tokyo, 3 days in Okayama, and the last Day in Osaka since Okayama doesn't have nonstop service to NRT. Seems less hectic and accomplishes almost the same thing.
I'd say it was very reasonable to visit Takamatsu from Okayama. There's the JR Marine Liner which takes little over an hour, and if you want to mix up the return journey you can do it a little cheaper (albeit it taking a little longer) by getting a ferry from Takamatsu to Uno (1 hour boat ride - which was extremely enjoyable to me) and just under 1 hour from Uno to Okayama by rail. Budget on 4,000yen or so for the return journey. I am relying on memory for details of the Takamatsu-Uno-Okayama trip, I got a lot of help at the time from regulars in this forum (was time rich but cash strapped back then).
Most of the udon shops in Takamatsu don't open until 11am, and I found out that Saturday wasn't a great day to visit as many of them were closed then. Midweek will probably be much better for an udon tour.
Changing trains at Osaka to get to Narita is pretty painless. Staying there isn't a decision I'd make unless I really wanted to.