Matsuyama Castle in Ehime Prefecture is one of Japan’s twelve original castles with surviving historic main keeps — a commanding hilltop fortress at 132 m above the city, accessible by ropeway or chairlift, with some of the finest views in western Japan. Matsuyama pairs the castle with Japan’s oldest documented hot spring, Dogo Onsen, just 3 km away — making the city uniquely suited for a combined castle-and-onsen half-day or overnight visit.
History
The original Matsuyama Castle was begun in 1602 by Kato Yoshiaki. The current main keep is a reconstruction (1854) after a lightning strike destroyed the previous tower in 1784 — notably, it was rebuilt in the traditional style rather than in the Meiji-era simplified manner, making it architecturally faithful to the 17th-century original. Matsuyama was the domain of the Matsudaira clan (Tokugawa relatives) for most of the Edo period; the castle’s sophisticated architecture reflects their elevated status.
The Castle Complex
Main Keep
Matsuyama’s three-story main keep is relatively modest in scale but architecturally coherent — all original timbers from the 1854 reconstruction, with the typical steep staircases, weapon racks, loopholes, and defensive interior layout of Edo castle design. The keep’s greatest asset is its elevated position: 360° views encompass the Seto Inland Sea, the Shikoku mountain interior, and on clear days, the islands of the Shimanami Kaido chain. Entry ¥520.
Ninomaru Shiseki Teien (Secondary Bailey Garden)
At the castle’s base (not the summit), the remains of the Ninomaru administrative district have been restored as a traditional landscape garden with the footprints of former buildings marked in stone — walking through an abstract reconstruction of the administrative life of a feudal domain. Entry ¥100.
Ropeway and Chairlift
Both a standard gondola ropeway and a two-person chairlift (open to the air — one of Japan’s few urban chairlifts) ascend from the base station (5 min walk from Okaido streetcar stop). Round trip ¥520 (ropeway) or ¥510 (chairlift). The chairlift is particularly atmospheric — drifting over the castle hillside forest with the castle towers appearing above.
Dogo Onsen (道後温泉)
Three kilometers from Matsuyama Castle, Dogo Onsen is Japan’s oldest continuously operating hot spring resort — documented in the Nihon Shoki chronicle of 720 CE and said to have been visited by the legendary Prince Shotoku (574–622 CE). The main bathhouse, Dogo Onsen Honkan (1894) — a three-story wooden building with a distinctive rooftop mechanical heron and a traditional architectural style — is considered one of Japan’s finest examples of Meiji-era public building design. It is widely cited as an inspiration for the bathhouse in Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film Spirited Away.
Visiting Dogo Onsen Honkan
The Honkan underwent renovation from 2019 and is gradually reopening sections. The Tama-no-yu (first floor bath, ¥460) and Kami-no-yu (ground floor bath, ¥850 with rest room access) are the standard entry options. Premium packages (¥1,550–¥1,750) include access to the 3rd floor imperial rest room (used by the Meiji Emperor) and the 2nd floor tatami rest rooms with tea service. No tattoos allowed. The architecture, the wooden floors, and the cypress-lined baths are all worth the pilgrimage.
Getting to Matsuyama
- By ferry from Hiroshima: The Seto Inland Sea high-speed ferry (Setonaikaikisen or SuperJet) from Hiroshima Port to Matsuyama (70 min, ¥7,800) is one of Japan’s most scenic sea crossings. Not JR Pass covered but a spectacular approach.
- By JR from Okayama: Limited express Shiokaze (2 hours 40 min, ¥6,660; JR Pass covered).
- By plane: Matsuyama Airport has connections from Tokyo (Haneda), Osaka, and Fukuoka — 15 min to city center by bus.
Matsuyama City
Matsuyama is Shikoku’s largest city — a relaxed, livable port city with a functioning streetcar network, the city-defining castle and Dogo Onsen combination, and strong literary associations (novelist Soseki Natsume taught here; the city features in his novel Botchan, and a streetcar named Botchan Ressha runs on the tourist circuit). The old-fashioned Okaido arcade shopping street and the haiku culture (Matsuyama is Japan’s most haiku-associated city) give it a distinctive cultural character within Shikoku.