Matsuyama is Shikoku’s largest city — a compact, warm city on the Seto Inland Sea coast with a fine hilltop castle, Japan’s oldest hot spring in continuous operation, and the literary legacy of Masaoka Shiki and Natsume Soseki, both of whom lived here and drew material from the city. It is an excellent entry point to Shikoku’s more intimate travel experience.
Matsuyama Castle
Matsuyama Castle stands on the 132-metre Mt. Katsuyama in the center of the city — one of Japan’s 12 surviving original castle keeps (completed 1602, rebuilt 1820 after a lightning strike). The three-story keep is compact but well-preserved, and the hilltop site provides 360-degree views over Matsuyama, the Seto Inland Sea, and the mountains of Shikoku. A ropeway and chairlift serve the summit; a walking trail through cherry trees (spectacular in early April) is the preferred ascent for those with time.
Dogo Onsen
Dogo Onsen Honkan is Japan’s oldest continuously operating hot spring — referenced in the Nihon Shoki chronicle (720 CE) and said to have been visited by the legendary god Okuninushi and Prince Shotoku. The 1894 wooden bathhouse building (three stories, white walls, tile roof with a mechanical heron) is a National Important Cultural Property and one of Japan’s most recognizable architecture images. It is widely cited as an inspiration for the Bathhouse in Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away. The main bathhouse (Kami-no-yu, water of the gods) offers a standard communal bath experience (¥460) or premium options with private floor access and yukata service. A major renovation (ongoing since 2019) has partially restricted access to some floors; the main baths have remained open throughout. The bathhouse neighborhood (monzenmachi) of street food stalls and souvenir shops is lively in the evenings.
Literary Matsuyama
Matsuyama’s most celebrated literary connection is Masaoka Shiki (1867–1902), who was born here and is credited with reforming the haiku form — Shiki Memorial Museum documents his life and work. Natsume Soseki taught at the local middle school in 1895, drawing on the experience for his novel Botchan — still widely read, set in Matsuyama, and the source of city nicknames (the tram is called Botchan Ressha). The antique tram network (opened 1887, oldest surviving electric streetcar in Japan) connects the city center to Dogo Onsen and serves as both transport and attraction.
- Matsuyama is accessible by ferry from Hiroshima (70 minutes, ¥3,000) — the scenic Seto Inland Sea crossing is itself worthwhile.
- Tart (a citrus jam rolled in thin pastry) is the essential Ehime souvenir — a Portuguese-influenced sweet that has been Matsuyama’s signature confection since the Edo period.
- The 88-temple Shikoku Pilgrimage (Shikoku Henro) begins at Ryozen-ji in Tokushima — Matsuyama marks the transition to the ‘discipline’ section of the circuit.