Yamato versus destroyer investment

Would Japan have been better off investing Yamato's resources in more destroyers?

Only if Japan could build and support the many separate machinery plants and maintenance systems; otherwise one large battleship could be the more achievable industrial choice.

The answer resists a simple tonnage swap. Yamato's gun barrels alone invite comparison with destroyer mass, but the real question is whether Japan could build and maintain the many engines and systems that a larger destroyer force required. Soviet difficulty operating a transferred battleship reinforces the importance of maintenance infrastructure as much as headline displacement.