2022 NO.33
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Strolling Japan
Steeped in Haiku and Hot Springs
Matsuyama
There are 90 haiku post boxes located on the Matsuyama Castle grounds and elsewhere throughout the city. Forms for posting haiku in these special mailboxes are available in many different languages.
If reading haiku is interesting, composing one is even more fun. The rule of 17 syllables is the same in any language. Look around you and try to describe the scenery in words that evoke the season. Write your own haiku and place it in one of Matsuyama’s many haiku post boxes. Submitted haiku are reviewed by a selection committee, and winning poets receive a commemorative gift. More and more haiku written in languages other than Japanese are winning prizes, so definitely give it a try!
A short walk from the city center is Iyozu-hiko-no-Mikoto Shrine, dedicated to Ehime no Mikoto, the god in Japanese mythology from whom Ehime Prefecture takes its name. The Tsubaki Matsuri (Camellia Festival), held around February to beckon spring, is a tradition eagerly anticipated by locals each year. A one-hour train ride outside the city is all it takes to get to Shimonada Station, with its spectacular ocean view and Uchiko-za, a theater built some 100 years ago.
Iyozu-hiko-no-Mikoto Shrine is commonly known as Tsubaki Shrine (Camellia Shrine). The shrine’s wooden ema plaques for writing prayers or wishes are decorated with a camellia motif.
Shimonada Station on the JR Shikoku Yosan line stands on the Seto Inland Sea coast. (Photo: JR-Shikoku)
Uchiko-za is a wooden theater built at the beginning of the 20th century. (Photo: Uchiko Town)
Matsuyama also boasts plenty of local food specialties. This area is one of the largest producers in Japan of mikan mandarin oranges, and Matsuyama serves up juice freshly squeezed from this local fruit known for its perfect balance of sweet and tart citrus flavor. Another signature dish is tai-meshi, or seasoned rice cooked with sea bream from the Seto Inland Sea. Or you may want to indulge in the nabeyaki udon, a noodle dish made in a hotpot, loved by locals for its delicious broth.
Savor the sights and flavors of a stroll around town, and commemorate that unforgettable moment in a haiku for an extra-special memory of your trip to Matsuyama.
Visit 10FACTORY to taste an array of different mikan juices, including citrus unshiu and citrus iyo.
Tai-meshi cooked in an earthenware pot at the restaurant Aka.
Nabeyaki udon served at Kotori. The restaurant typically serves these noodles with inarizushi (fried tofu pouches stuffed with sushi rice), at left.
Map of Matsuyama Area
①Dogo Onsen Honkan②Matsuyama Castle③Iyozu-hiko-no-Mikoto Shrine④Kotori⑤10FACTORY⑥Aka
●Access
From Haneda Airport, Matsuyama Airport is about 1.5 hours by air.
From Matsuyama Airport, Matsuyama Station is about 15 minutes by bus.
●Contact information
The Official Website of Tourism Matsuyama
https://en.matsuyama-sightseeing.com/