Ehime

     

The weekend of Nov 20th & 21st was shaping up very nicely weather-wise. Hoping to take advantage of that fact, I arrived at Hakata highway bus terminal at 9pm, Friday evening, intoxicated by visions of the awesome weekend that laid before me.

Matsuyama – sold out, Matsue – sold out, Nagoya – sold out, Takamatsu – sold out, Kōchi – sold out. Being spontaneous is all well & good, but that doesn’t get you on the bus.

A change in tactics was in order – “What seats are available? 何処でもいい！” There were just two choices out of Fukuoka, Hiroshima or Fukuyama. I then went to the back of the queue to give myself some time to consider those two tantalising options.

What amazing luck! The guy in front of me postponed his trip to Matsuyama, making a seat available for… me! It’s in times like these people say they were in the right place, at the right time.

On the road again

The only thing I’ll say about the ride is that it was as sleepless as every other night-bus trip I’ve ever taken.

Dogo Onsen, park & Yuzuki castle ruins

Rather conveniently, the bus stops just a short stroll the one of Matsuyama’s most famous sites, that of the Dōgo hot spring. There are many reasons why people go nuts for the place. I debated with myself whether of not just to post a wikipedia link but thought some bullet points might do the job.

  • It’s old. Perhaps even really old.
  • The building was extended in 1899 to include a wing reserved only for members of the Imperial family.
  • Was frequented by some kinda famous literary types.
  • Is said to be the inspiration the the fantastical bathhouse of the movie Spirited Away.

A short walk from the hot spring is Dōgo park, which was once the site of Yuzuki castle. It’s not really worth checking out unless you are a castle maniac. I mean, it’s just a park after all. (Read the Yuzuki Castle profile for more pictures & information.)

Matsuyama castle

There’s plenty to be said about this castle. I may just leave it for when I (eventually) update the castle profile itself. The place is indeed excellent. All very well maintained, and there are friendly staff (and volunteers) ready to assist needed or not. Actually, the same can be said for every site I visited. Ehime is a JCE-compliant Prefecture. Well done Ehime!

How do you like the view?

The Ni-no-maru garden of Matsuyama castle

This Secondary enclosure of the castle has received a lot of attention over the last 20 years or so. The site is rather large & square with the layout of the building complex that once existed there marked out with concrete slabs. It’s nicer than it sounds.


Uwajima Castle

I’m afraid to say I treated the sleepy city of Uwajima like a fast-food drive through. As soon as I got off the Express train, I asked the station master when the next express train was out of there. After a smirk and a response of “In 5 minutes.”, I asked when the next one was after that… So, with just one hour to do what needed to be done, I jogged in search of the castle. (Read the Uwajima Castle profile for more pictures & information.)

Ozu Castle

Of all of the things Ehime has to offer, it was the castle of Ōzu that I wanted to see the most as I missed it of my first trip to the area about 9 years earlier. It didn’t disappoint. The town had plenty to keep me occupied until the slow train back to Matsuyama city that night. (Read the Ōzu Castle profile for more pictures & information.)

Later that day…

… I was sooo tired! I found myself once again loitering around Dōgo onsen. This time I whipped off the socks & shoes to take advantage of the very public foot-bath. It was heaven. Sleepless, sweaty & tired, I lingered there longer that most.

On the night-bus back to Fukuoka, I slept like a log.

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  • Toranosukev

    Great photos!! Thanks for sharing your adventures. There’s a summer program in Matsuyama open only to UH students, so I’m thinking I might apply again for this coming summer. In response to my mentioning the program, a friend recently asked me what there is to see or do in Ehime. Here’s the answer!

    I’ve never been to Shikoku yet, so there’s plenty to see. Dogo Onsen and Matsuyama-jo are definitely high on my list. Somewhere (I totally forget where) in the prefecture there’s an old Edo/Bakumatsu period traditional-style Kabuki theatre, too.

    Is there anything much left of Uwajima besides that one tower? It looks kind of lonely, but at the same time there’s a really neat aesthetic about it.

  • Anonymous

    Thank you Travis. You’re words are too kind, there are, of course, countless other things to do & see. Ehime may not be the most electrifying corner of Japan, but it has plenty to offer. And, Matsuyama city itself is one of the neatest cities I’ve been to.With regard to the “Edo/Bakumatsu period traditional-style Kabuki theatre”, that would be located in a small town called Uchiko. I travelled down those rainy streets when I visited Ehime 9 years ago. I didn’t quite make it to the theatre then or since.I didn’t spend much time in Uwajima. Had I stayed longer, there’s the Date clan museum & I believe there’s some sex/fertility temple/museum or other. Perhaps on my next visit.

  • Toranosukev

    Congrats, also, on getting that seat on the bus! What luck!

    Btw, who is this Date clan? A branch of the Date of Mutsu? Or the main branch, relocated? Or some unrelated family?

  • Anonymous

    Gee, that’s testing the memory a bit. Anyway, definitely the son of Date Masamune, though I believe he was an illegitimate child. As the son was unable to inherit his father’s domain, a branch family was established in Uwajima.

  • http://JapanDave.com David LaSpina / JapanDave

    Nice trip! Great shots too. When I went to Matsuyama I spent a lot of time at Matsuyama castle, even more time at Dogo Onsen, and the rest just wandering aimlessly around, which led me to Dogo park and the ruins there, and a really nice old guy who i talked to for about 30 minutes, despite not understanding a single word of his Japanese. We’re talking stereotypical jiichan japanese mumbling here. But he was nice and gave me a book of some kind, so y’know, it was all good.

    But I digress. Nice city. I didn’t go anywhere outside the city, but I’d love to go back there sometime and explore more. Glad to hear you go the chance to hang out there.

  • Anonymous

    I really got the sense that the people of Matsuyama (and Ehime too I ‘spose) are friendly. That was definitely a bonus, and not always something I’m sensitive to as I’m always on a mission.

    “A book of some kind”, sounds interesting. lol.

    Btw, it was more than once where I thought, I’ve seen this before, and remembering your photos. The armour & the shachi to name two. My shots didn’t come close.

  • Anonymous

    I really got the sense that the people of Matsuyama (and Ehime too I ‘spose) are friendly. That was definitely a bonus, and not always something I’m sensitive to as I’m always on a mission.

    “A book of some kind”, sounds interesting. lol.

    Btw, it was more than once where I thought, I’ve seen this before, and remembering your photos. The armour & the shachi to name two. My shots didn’t come close.

  • http://sixmats.blogspot.com/ sixmats

    This has some information for you.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uwajima,_Ehime

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for that link. Btw, I’m liking your Photo blog a lot. >> http://sendaiphotoblog.blogspot.com/

  • Anonymous

    Thanks for that link. Btw, I’m liking your Photo blog a lot. >> http://sendaiphotoblog.blogspot.com/

  • http://www.budgettrouble.com/ Anna Ikeda

    Great photos! Yoshi went to Utsunomiya castle yesterday and this is what he brought back:
    http://extractingabstract.blogspot.com/2010/12/lighting-up-castle.html
    :)

  • Anonymous

    You know, I did see that. I recall posting a one or two word comment. O, at least I think I did. Anyway, I like it!

  • http://nihongoup.com/like/538/japanese-castle-explorer-ehime/ Japanese Castle Explorer – Ehime | JapanLike

    [...] Japanese Castle Explorer – Ehime 1 community.japanese-castle-explorer.com — The weekend of Nov 20th & 21st was shaping up very nicely weather-wise. Hoping to take advantage of that fact, I arrived at Hakata highway bus terminal at 9pm, Friday evening, intoxicated by visions of the awesome weekend that laid before me. [...]

  • http://jaydeejapan.wordpress.com/ jaydeejapan

    I’m really loving your website/blog. I’ve only been to one castle, Odawara Castle, but have seen Atami Castle from the city of Atami. I’d love to go to Matsuyama, though.

  • Toranosukev

    Ah. Well that explains that. Thanks!!

  • Anonymous

    Hello & welcome jaydeejapan! Odawara castle, I know (not so welcoming staff), but Atami, I can’t say I know anything. If you’d like to post a link & share, I’d very much like to know more about it.

  • Anonymous

    Hello & welcome jaydeejapan! Odawara castle, I know (not so welcoming staff), but Atami, I can’t say I know anything. If you’d like to post a link & share, I’d very much like to know more about it.

  • Anonymous

    Hello & welcome jaydeejapan! Odawara castle, I know (not so welcoming staff), but Atami, I can’t say I know anything. If you’d like to post a link & share, I’d very much like to know more about it.

  • Anonymous

    Hello & welcome jaydeejapan! Odawara castle, I know (not so welcoming staff), but Atami, I can’t say I know anything. If you’d like to post a link & share, I’d very much like to know more about it.

  • http://jaydeejapan.wordpress.com/ jaydeejapan

    I’ve found it difficult to find much information about Atami castle, and many people where I live don’t even know it exists. I’m quite surprised about that. I’d like to go back to Atami and see the castle, which I believe is used as a museum.

    The staff at Odawara castle were nice when I was there. At the castle’s history museum, a volunteer guide (an elderly man) gave me a tour in English. He was excited to use his English with me.

  • http://jcastle-info.myopenid.com/ Eric

    Unfortunately…. as far as I know, Atami Castle was not actually a real castle. It’s a museum built to look like a castle. There are a few museums like that out there and it’s sometimes difficult to find supporting information to prove/disprove the fact. Sometimes there was a castle on the site, but sometimes not, as in Atami.

    I’ve been to Odawara a couple times. I don’t recall the staff being either friendly or unfriendly but I certainly have to applaud their recent efforts at rebuilding some of the old structures.

    Dan, BTW, it sounds like a great trip !

  • Anonymous

    Yes, some googling revealed as much about Atami castle. I will drop in if I’m in the neighbourhood.

    As for Odawara, perhaps I just picked up some bad vibes from the since-past elephant of the Hon-maru zoo. And, yes. The rebuilding has been great.