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Tufa of Nakatsugawa

Tufa of Nakatsugawa

Tufa of Nakatsugawa, located upstream of the Nakatsu River flowing through Kumakogen Town, is a geological hidden secret place where the sculptural beauty of rare rocks (calcareous tufa) spreads, formed over long years as calcium carbonate contained in the river's pure spring water adhered to moss and plants to solidify. Within this valley sequestered deeply in the mountains of Japan, incredibly transparent pure streams flow with fierce sprays between white giant rocks covered in moss, filled with a "Zen"-like silence and natural life force as if wandering into a mystical primitive forest. The overwhelming feeling of a hidden region that...

Ehime
Nature
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Onogahara

Onogahara, located in the western part of the Shikoku Karst, is an idyllic and beautiful alpine pasture area spreading at an altitude of about 1,000 to 1,400 meters. Within the characteristic karst terrain where white limestone unusual rocks are scattered across grasslands, the scenery of countless cattle being leisurely grazed radiates a very peaceful, nostalgic beauty reminiscent of "Switzerland in Japan." Exquisite homemade cheese, rich milk pudding, and soft-serve ice cream made using pure spring water welling up from beech primeval forests are immensely popular among domestic and international travelers. Blown by refreshing alpine breezes that make you completely forget...

Ehime
Nature
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Genjigadaba

Genjigadaba, located on the border between Ehime and Kochi prefectures at the westernmost tip of the Shikoku Karst, is an overwhelmingly scale spectacular scenic power spot at about 1,400 meters altitude where you can experience the earth's pulse close up. Long ago during the Genpei War, the Genji samurai forces historically set camp on this land and trained prized horses, from which its name originated. Across the vast green grasslands, giant white limestone rocks (kallen) carved over long years of rainwater erosion stand tightly, creating a highly mystical and dynamic landscape as if wandering into ancient Stonehenge or a different...

Ehime
Nature
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Shikoku Seiyo Geo-Museum

Shikoku Seiyo Geo-Museum

The "Shikoku Seiyo Geo-Museum" in Uwa Town, Seiyo City, is a latest earth science museum where you can learn with all five senses about "Seiyo's diverse natural environments and human living" woven by about 400 million years of earth history, stretching from a rich rias coastline at 0 meters altitude to the magnificent Shikoku Karst at 1,400 meters altitude. Inside the building are precious geological fossils discovered from Seiyo's land, the latest digital projection mapping visually conveying the earth's dynamic activities, and substantial realistic dioramas. Serving not just as a learning facility but also functioning as an "adventure entrance" to...

Ehime
Sightseeing
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BBQ Castle

BBQ Castle, located in a spectacular scenic location overlooking the Seto Inland Sea in Imabari City, is an immensely popular amusement restaurant where history romance and stylish outdoor experiences merge, boasting a powerful impact with its unique castle-shaped exterior. While tasting a luxurious mood as if becoming a real castle lord, you can enjoy supreme barbecue on the open terrace seats overlooking the beautiful blue Seto Inland Sea and the magnificent bridge panorama of the Shimanami Kaido without obstruction. The experience of powerfully grilling Ehime's fresh seafood, juicy branded meats, and freshly harvested vegetables is top-tier entertainment for international tourists....

Ehime
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Atelier O-HUIS

Atelier O-HUIS, nestled within the idyllic rural landscape of Uwa Town, Seiyo City, is a beautiful museum and gallery space known to those in the know, where the works of the owner—a world-renowned sculptor and contemporary artist—comfortably intersect with traditional Japanese aesthetics. Within the stylish modern architecture utilizing the structures of heavy old storehouses and folk houses, unique dynamic sculptures and contemporary art inspired by the energy of great nature are exhibited, with the building itself radiating an artistic beauty. The silent location where the surrounding rugged yet beautiful Satoyama scenery becomes a borrowed landscape fascinates art fans from worldwide...

Ehime
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Matsuya Ryokan

Matsuya Ryokan, standing along the coastline overlooking the beautiful Uwa Sea in Akahama, Seiyo City, is a traditional long-established老舗 inn boasting a long history continuing from the Edo period, having historically welcomed many travelers and trading merchants warmly. The heavy wooden building conveys the emotions of a good old Japanese fisherman's town to this day, and stepping inside deeply heals your heart with a nostalgia as if returning to one's parents' home and warm hospitality. The greatest charm is the traditional regional cuisine luxuriously using fresh, firm seafood caught just moments ago in the Uwa Sea before your eyes. Retaining...

Ehime
Accommodation
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Matsuno Town

Matsuno Town, located in the southern part of Ehime Prefecture on the border with Kochi Prefecture, is a beautiful town praised as the "Kingdom of Forests," with deep forests occupying about 80% of the town. Housing the "Nametoko Gorge," which boasts one of Japan's premier canyon beauties, the world-class canyoning and hiking experienced within its untouched, primitive nature fascinate international travelers seeking adventures. Additionally, numerous river fish inhabit the pure streams flowing through the town, and an idyllic Satoyama landscape spreads throughout. Being able to bathe your whole body in the negative ions of great nature and deeply refresh within...

Ehime
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Nanyo Area

The "Nanyo Area," expanding across the southwestern part of Ehime Prefecture, is an ultimate hideaway resort deeply retaining the original scenery of Japan, sandwiched between the rich rias coastline of the Uwa Sea and the rugged yet rich Shikoku Mountains. Consisting of Uwajima City, Ozu City, Yawatahama City, and others, unique old history and culture breathe within each town, featuring castles with existing original keeps, towns labeled "Little Kyoto," and stone-walled terraced fields that seem to reach heaven. Quiet times completely unrelated to city hustle flow here, and it is also famous as a world-class cultivation land for high-grade pearls....

Ehime
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Kiya Ryokan

Kiya Ryokan in the historic port town of Uwajima City is a long-established inn founded in Meiji 44 (1911) where politician Tsuyoshi Inukai and many grand writers historically stayed, now boldly renovated by a world-renowned architect into a luxury designer's inn limited to one group per day. While leaving its prestigious historical designs intact, such as the heavy wooden framework of the building and retro lattice doors, the interior floors boldly adopt acrylic glass throughout, spreading an innovative space where light pierces from the 1st floor to the 2nd floor, or from under the floor to the ceiling, as if...

Ehime
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Imabari City

Located in the northeastern part of Ehime Prefecture, "Imabari City" is world-famous as the production land of "Imabari Towels," boasting the world's highest quality inものづくり craftsmanship, and is the gateway on the Shikoku side of the Shimanami Kaido. "Imabari Castle," built by Todo Takatora and known as one of Japan's top three water castles, stands as the town's symbol, conveying to this day the ocean romance of the past when seawater was drawn into the moat and military vessels passed through. It is also immensely popular among travelers as a sacred place for high-level local gourmet foods, such as "Imabari...

Ehime
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Oshima Island

Oshima Island, floating just off the coast of Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, is the first island visited by travelers crossing the Shimanami Kaido, charming for its dynamic history and overwhelming spectacular views. It was the headquarters of the "Murakami Kaizoku," medieval Japan's strongest naval forces who once ruled the Seto Inland Sea and built a unique culture, and at the "Murakami Kaizoku Museum" on the island, you can deeply learn their rigorous battles and history of protecting ocean safety. Additionally, the panoramic view from "Kirozan Observation Park," representing the island, is praised as the finest along the Shimanami Kaido, with...

Ehime
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Hakatajima Island

Hakatajima Island

Hakatajima Island, located along the Shimanami Kaido, is an island where beautiful seas and a rustic history of shipbuilding breathe, famous as the birth land of "Hakata no Shio" (Hakata Salt), which everyone in Japan knows. Crossing the Hakata-Oshima Bridge at the island's entrance expands a calm, highly transparent Seto Inland Sea and idyllic fishing village landscapes. The greatest highlight is the "Dolphin Farm Shimanami," an exciting experiential facility where you can interact with dolphins and whales close up and swim together, highly popular among international family groups and animal-loving travelers. Island gourmet foods using specialty salt, such as "salt...

Ehime
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Hanazono-cho Street

Hanazono-cho Street

Hanazono-cho Street, spreading right before Matsuyamashi Station, is a leading progressive renewal street in Japan that pursues beautiful landscape and ease of walking. Former electric wires are all buried underground, and beautiful wooden benches and stylish terrace seats line the wide, open sidewalks, with lovely rows of green trees giving moisture to the city. The scenery of the retro roadside tram "Botchan Train" quietly passing through the center of the street drifts with a refined nostalgia somewhat reminiscent of European trams, making it immensely popular among international tourists as a superb photo spot. Surrounded by choice stylish cafes, local gourmet...

Ehime
Sightseeing
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Asuka-no-Yu

Dogo Onsen Annex "Asuka-no-Yu" is a bathhouse opened in 2017 under the theme of Dogo Onsen's historical legends, where many imperial families and great figures like Prince Shotoku and Empress Saimei historically visited. Characterized by a heavy Japanese-style building incorporating Asuka-period architectural styles, stepping inside reveals a cutting-edge modern art space utilizing Ehime's proud traditional crafts such as "Tobe-yaki," "Awa Washi" (including neighboring traditional ones), and "Imabari Towel." It features an open-air "outdoor bath" with free-flowing hot spring water not available at the main building, a special family bath meticulously reproducing the imperial private bathhouse "Yushinden," and a spacious lounge...

Ehime
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Tobe Town

Tobe Town, adjacent to the southern side of Matsuyama City, is a pottery town known worldwide as the home of "Tobe-yaki," a unique pottery boasting a history of over 240 years and designated as a National Traditional Craft. Characterized by beautiful indigo hand-painted patterns applied over white porcelain, Tobe-yaki features a unique thickness and sturdiness, widely loved in Japan and abroad. Walking the town allows you to fully experience the emotions of a craftsman's town, with chimneys of old kilns and the stylish "Pottery Slope" embedded with pottery shards. At the "Tobe-yaki Traditional Industry Hall" and many kilns, you can...

Ehime
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Toon City

Toon City, located adjacent to the eastern side of Matsuyama City, is a beautiful city with rich great nature and idyllic rural landscapes, receiving the blessings of the magnificent Shikoku Mountains and the pure Shigenobu River. It houses the "Botchan Theater," a world-class launching base for mountain performing arts, known as a cultural city where you can enjoy authentic musicals year-round. Furthermore, the city is dotted with famous waterfalls that spray cold mist, such as "Shirai Falls" and "Karakai Falls," and the spectacular views of fantastic "ice falls" where the entire waterfall completely freezes in winter fascinate domestic and international...

Ehime
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Matsuyama City

Matsuyama City, the prefectural capital of Ehime Prefecture, possesses the largest population in Shikoku, and is a lively tourism city where a rich history and culture continuing from ancient times comfortably merge with urban convenience. In the center stands the grand "Matsuyama Castle," one of the 12 Existing Original Tenshu, and at its foot spreads "Dogo Onsen," a famous ancient名湯 boasting 3,000 years of history. It is also famous as the stage for Natsume Soseki's novel "Botchan," with the retro "Botchan Train" running through the town creating a nostalgic landscape that adds to its charm. High-level gourmet spots where you...

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Shimonada Station

Shimonada Station

Shimonada Station on the JR Yosan Line, standing along the coast of Iyo City, is a world-famous unstaffed station termed one of the "stations closest to the sea in Japan," with a vast, spectacular view of the Seto Inland Sea spreading right before the platform. Depicted as the stage for numerous movies, dramas, and anime, very many travelers and photographers from home and abroad gather seeking its nostalgic and beautiful scenery. The rustic wooden benches, the small platform with only a roof, and the unobstructed contrast of the blue sea and sky present a beauty just like a painting. Especially...

Ehime
Sightseeing
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Ikku Shrine

Ikku Shrine, enshrined in the center of Niihama City, enshrines a branch spirit of Oyamazumi Shrine and is the region's premier ancient shrine boasting a history of over 1,000 years. Stepping inside the grounds, you are immediately surrounded by a vast primeval forest of giant camphor trees, termed "The Camphor Tree Grove of Ikku Shrine," which are designated as a National Natural Monument, enveloping visitors in divine power and overwhelming silence. This shrine is also famous as the primary stage for the "Niihama Taiko Festival," held every October and counted among Shikoku's top three festivals. During the festival season, giant...

Ehime
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Tonaru District

Tonaru District

Tonaru District, sequestered in the deep mountains of Niihama City at an altitude of about 750 meters, is a place where the mining headquarters of the Besshi Copper Mine was once situated, and a modern mountainous city where thousands of people lived during its peak once existed. Today, heavy red brick storage and substation ruins towering along the rugged mountainside remain as if swallowed by deep green nature, and its mystical, ephemeral appearance earns it the moniker "Machu Picchu of the East," attracting tourists from worldwide. The giant stone walls and stairs of ruins floating in the mist present an...

Ehime
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Minetopia Besshi

Minetopia Besshi

Minetopia Besshi in Niihama City is an experiential tourism theme park where history and entertainment merge, utilizing the site of the "Besshi Copper Mine," which once boasted one of the world's premier production volumes and strongly supported Japan's modernization. Taking the sightseeing mine railway to the area reproducing the shafts of the time, visitors can enjoy learning about the mysterious earth and the harsh history of the miners through realistic figures, dioramas, and full-scale "gold panning experiences." The premises also feature substantial hot spring facilities utilizing industrial heritage, restaurants, and indoor play equipment for children. Surrounded by rich great nature,...

Ehime
Sightseeing
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Gujo Observation Deck

Gujo Observation Deck

Gujo Observation Deck, located at an altitude of about 350 meters on the mountainside of the Houou Mountain Range in Shikoku-Chuo City, is a spectacular scenic spot widely known as a sacred place for one of Japan's premier factory night views. During the day, an open panorama stretches out below, overlooking the cityscape where Japan's leading paper manufacturing factories gather, the calm Seto Inland Sea, and on clear days, as far as the islands of Kagawa Prefecture. However, the biggest highlight is at night. After the sun sets, countless lights emitted from the plants and chimneys of the giant paper...

Ehime
Sightseeing
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Uwajima Castle

Uwajima Castle, standing atop a hill in the center of Uwajima City, is one of the "12 Existing Original Tenshu" conveying its appearance unchanged from the Edo period to the present day. Built by Todo Takatora, a powerful warrior renowned as a master of castle design, it features a complex layout utilizing an irregular pentagon to deceive enemies. The compact yet highly sophisticated wooden main keep is designated as a National Important Cultural Property, and stepping inside completely overwhelms you with the heavy construction where the breath of ancient samurai can be heard. The castle mountain is covered by a...

Ehime
Sightseeing
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