Matsuyama松山

The largest city in Shikoku. Jingling trolley cars for sightseeing carry tourists through Matsuyama castle town.

Located in the center of Ehime and facing the Sea of Iyo in the Seto Inland Sea, Matsuyama is the largest city and the center of administration and economy on Shikoku. The city is also an important junction with railways and bus services extending from JR Matsuyama Station and Matsuyama-shi Station (Iyo Line) to various places inside and outside the prefecture.

On the hill in the center of the city stands Matsuyama Castle, the symbol of the town. The castle and its surrounding area as a whole constitute a historic site park. A 6-minute ride on a ropeway and lift takes you up to the mountain's top, where the ridge has been leveled. From the terminal of the lift, there is an ascent path to the castle and its tower. If you go up the steep wooden stairway to the top floor in the castle tower, the panoramic view includes Mt. Ishizuchi-yama and the Sea of Iyo.

Convenient for making a round of the sightseeing spots in the city are the trolley cars, nicknamed "ting-ting densha," that run in all directions to serve the citizens of Matsuyama as a daily means of transportation. Having everything to make you feel idyllic, from the orange matchbox style to the wooden-made interior with velvet-covered seats, the driver's uniform, and the ting-ting sound as alighting signal, the trolley car gives you a comfortable ride, not to mention the exhilaration of going right through the middle of a busy street. In addition, the steam train that ran for 67 years from 1888, and which people in "Bocchan (Young boy)," a novel written by one of Japan's great literary figures Soseki Natsume, used, was renovated in 2001. It is now called the "Bocchan Train," and this steam train running around and blowing a whistle is loved by many tourists.