Friday, October 19, 2012

Matsuyama

Matsuyama
There are four main islands in Japan: Honshu, Hokkaido, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Shikoku ( 四国 = Four Countries ) is the smallest of the four. It is considered to be the forgotten island among the four. People rarely go to Shikoku. Guide books don't bother mentioning about this island. Even my friend questioning my decision to go to this island.

Let me tell you that Shikoku is Japan's hidden gem. There are lots of thing to do here. Some of them are pretty wild, but if you like outdoor, nature, adventures, and willing to spend some time to venture into the inner part of this place, you will be rewarded with amazing scenic views, natural beauty untouched by human.

I only had a few days off to enjoy the island, but I definitely want to go back to Shikoku again.

I will split the Shikoku review into separated posts, starting from Matsuyama.


Willer Express
To go to Matsuyama, I took a Willer Express night bus. You could also take Shinkansen or plane to go to Shikoku.

Willer Express Gate
Willer Express Bus Gate

Matsuyama
Arrived in Matsuyama in the morning.

Matsuyama
Matsuyama is the largest city on Shikoku and the capital of Ehime Prefecture. You could spend one day enjoying what the city has to offer.

Matsuyama
The main transportation here is the city train (tram).

Matsuyama Train
The train ticket costs 150 yen per ride. You could buy a one day ticket for 400 yen.

Matsuyama Botchan Train
There is a special small-gauge steam locomotive here called Botchan Train. The Botchan Train was the first small sized locomotive in Japan and it was imported from Krauss & Company in Munich. The train ran on the Matsuyama Plains for 67 years through Meiji, Taisho, and Showa Eras.

Matsuyama Botchan Train
Soseki Natsume, a world-renowned Japanese novelist, often used the railway for commuting. His famous novel "Botchan" was published in 1906 and uniquely depicted the railway and the Dogo Onsen. The train enjoyed the popularity of the novel and was given the name "Botchan Train" or "Botchan Ressha". The current Botchan Train is a diesel-powered replica of the original Botchan Train.

Matsuyama Botchan Train
Inside Botchan Train. It costs 300 yen per ride.

Matsuyama

Matsuyama

Matsuyama Orange Ice Cream
Orange flavor Ice Cream. Ehime Prefecture is well known as the leading producer of oranges in Japan. There are lots of Orange flavor products that you could enjoy here.

Matsuyama Goshiki Soumen
Goshiki Soumen (五色そうめん). Goshiki Soumen is a five colored noodles. It is colored using natural substances: yellow from eggs, green from powdered green tea, brown from buckwheat flour, red from plums and shiso (type of culinary herb), and white. There is also Tai Soumen (sea bream noodles) that you should try.

Matsuyama

Matsuyama

Matsuyama

Matsuyama

Dogo Onsen
Dogo Onsen, one of the oldest onsen hot springs in Japan, with a history stretching back over 1,000 years. The main building in the movie Spirited Away was modeled on the present building of the Dōgo Onsen public bathhouse.

Matsuyama
On the left side is the Botchan Karakuri Clock. Characters from novel Botchan will appear to the tune of melody from the Botchan Karakuri Clock.

On the right side is Ashi-yu. It is a hot foot bath which can be freely used.

Matsuyama

Matsuyama Ishiteji Temple
There are still a few places in Matsuyama that I would like to cover, but I will cover it on the next posts.

Happy Friday !

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nice photos! From your description looks like the rest of Matsuyama and Shikoku will be quite something, looking forward to the next posts. ^^

Teddy said...

@Smithy : Thanks. I managed to visit a lot of beautiful places there within a few days. I will post them later. :)

Tiffany Spencer said...

Hello mmate great blog

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