Uwajima

A castle town in Nanyo, Ehime Prefecture, with its surviving keep at Uwajima Castle and the Tenjien garden. Nearby, you can see the Suikahama terraced fields and the Nametoko gorge, and taste Uwajima's sea bream rice.

Uwajima lies in the southwest of Ehime Prefecture, in the Nanyo region on Japan's Shikoku Island. It faces the ria coastline of the Uwa Sea and has a population of about 70,000. In 1614, Date Hidemune, the eldest son of Date Masamune, was installed here as lord. The Uwajima Date family ruled for about 250 years. The town preserves its surviving keep at Uwajima Castle, the Tenjien garden built for a retired lord, and the Date Museum. The castle town's layout from the feudal era remains intact.

Areas to explore: (1) The city centre, where you can walk between Uwajima Castle on Mount Shiro, Tenjien garden, the Date Museum, Wareisha Shrine, the bullfighting ground and the Kisaiya Plaza by the harbour. (2) The suburbs, which include the Suikahama terraced fields in Yusu on the northwest Miura Peninsula and the Nametoko gorge on the eastern side of the Oni-jō mountain range. (3) The town of Uchimachi in the city of Seiyo to the north, with its old street, the Kaimei School and the Ehime Prefectural Museum of History and Culture. (4) The south, in Ainan town, with Minami Rakuen, the Sotodomari Ishigaki-no-Sato stone wall village and the Shiden-Kai exhibition, all with beautiful views of the Uwa Sea coast. Ōzu Castle, Garyu-sanso and the Uchiko old street are about 30–40 km to the north, and this data is grouped under the Matsuyama destination.

The climate is warm and humid. March to May and October to November are the most comfortable months. June is the rainy season, and July to September is hot with typhoons. The Wareisha Grand Festival and Ushioni Festival, held on July 22–24, is the liveliest event of the year. Bullfighting events are held about five times a year, so check the schedule in advance.

Getting there: From Matsuyama, take the JR Yosan Line limited express “Uwakai” for about 1 hour 20 minutes. By car, take the Matsuyama Expressway for about 1 hour. Within the city, you can walk or cycle. Bus services to the suburban sites are infrequent, so renting a car is recommended. Plan to stay 1–2 days. Be sure to try Uwajima's sea bream rice, made with local fish, fish cake (jakoten), and the local citrus fruits.

Top sights

• Uwajima Castle – One of only twelve surviving original castle keeps in Japan. The small three-story keep stands atop Shiroyama hill, overlooking Uwajima cit…
• Tenshaen Garden – The retirement garden of the seventh lord of the Date clan in Uwajima. This pond-and-stroll garden is known for wisteria, Japanese irises a…
• Date Museum – A collection of Date family heirlooms, including armor, paintings, wedding objects and old documents, offering insight into the domain hist…
• Warei Shrine – A shrine dedicated to Yamaga Seibei Kimiyori, a loyal retainer of the Uwajima domain. Its Warei Grand Festival and Ushioni Festival in late…
• Uwajima Bullfighting Arena – Uwajima's centuries-old 'bull sumo', in which two bulls lock horns in a contest while the cheering from the ringside is deafening. It is on…
• Yusumizugaura Terraced Fields – Stone-walled terraced fields stacked up the hillsides of the Uwa Sea peninsula, climbing from the shore to the summit. They are designated…
• Nametoko Gorge – A granite gorge within Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park, where clear water flows over smooth rock like a curtain. The Snow Wheel Falls are the…
• Nanrakuen Garden – Shikoku's largest Japanese-style garden, covering about 15 hectares and recreating Nanyo's scenery across mountain, village, sea and river…
• Unomachi Old Town & Kaimei School – A well-preserved post-town street in Seiyo City, with white-walled townhouses and lattice windows lining the road. At the end stands Kaimei…
• Museum of Ehime History and Culture – A large prefectural museum on a hill in Unomachi, Seiyo, presenting Ehime's history from prehistory to modern times, with full-scale townho…
• Sotodomari Stone-Wall Village – A seaside fishing village in Ainan town, where houses are sheltered behind stone walls rising to the eaves against typhoons and monsoon win…
• Shiden-Kai Exhibition Hall – Displays a Japanese Navy Shiden-Kai fighter raised from the seabed of Kura Bay in 1978, one of only a handful of original aircraft still in…
• Michi-no-Eki Uwajima Kisaiya Hiroba – A roadside rest station by Uwajima Port selling fresh Uwa Sea seafood, citrus and local products, where you can try Uwajima-style sea bream…
• Uwajima City Historical Museum – A small museum housed in a Western-style building relocated from the Meiji-era Uwajima police station. It presents the city's modern histor…
• Ryukoin Temple – A prayer temple of the Uwajima Date family. From the top of the long stone steps, you can look across the city to Uwajima Castle. It is als…

Where to eat

• Hozumitei – A signature restaurant for Uwajima tai-meshi, listed among the Tabelog Izakaya Top 100; crowded at both lunch and dinne…
• Kadoya Honten – A long-established Uwajima tai-meshi restaurant that started as a small station-side eatery in 1955 and moved to a new…
• Kaisen Kappo Isshin – A seafood kappo restaurant beside the north gate of Uwajima Castle; the lunch sea bream rice and Date horse mackerel se…