• Shikoku
• Ehime

Ehime, like the rest of the island of Shikoku is surrounded by nature, with sea on one side and mountains on the other. As one of the four prefectures of Shikoku, it contains many of the temples that make up the Shikoku pilgrimage, an 88 temple trip that takes you around the edge of the island. Ehime’s most famous attraction however, is Dogo Onsen, one of Japan’s oldest and most famous hot springs. The building itself is beautiful wooden building from the Meiji Period and is now famous worldwide as being the inspiration for the bathhouse featured in Studio Ghibli’s ‘Spirited Away’. There are many ryokan in this area and it is not uncommon for visitors to wander around in their yukata, a traditional Japanese summer garment, which gives the town a very traditional feel. Despite this traditional feel, Matsuyama is actually the most populous city on Shikoku and has the cuisine and nightlife to go along with this. In Ehime you can find Mt. Ishizuchi, a particularly great mountain to visit for those with an adventurous spirit as parts of the climb are usually traversed using chains attached to the top of a rock face. Further, Ehime has magnificent views of the Inland Sea’s shore and the Seto Inland Sea National Park, and many choose to cross the inland sea by cycling across the bridge that connects Ehime to Honshu, Japan’s main island on a 60km long trail that gives fantastic views over the many islands in the area.

Places to visit / Things to do in Ehime