Photo: Reggaeman / CC BY-SA 3.0Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
Uwajima Castle
One of the 12 castle keeps in Japan that survive from the Edo period: three storeys of white plaster, rebuilt by the second Date lord in the 1660s on a hill first fortified by Todo Takatora. Stone steps climb the 73 m hill through old forest from the north or the south gate, and the tourism association’s standard loop takes 1–1.5 hours. Keep 09:00–17:00 (to 16:00 November–February), every day, adult ¥200, cash only.
Taxi from Sakashitazu No. 2 Wharf, 2.3 km, about 10 min and ¥1,100 each way (our estimate); about 15 min on foot from the tender pierFull guide: Uwajima CastleTensha-en
The pond garden the 7th lord, Date Munetada, built for his retirement. Bamboo of many kinds is planted round the water, for the family crest of bamboo and sparrows; a wisteria trellis in the shape of an arched bridge crosses the pond, and the irises open in early June. 08:30–16:30 (to 17:00 April–June), adult ¥500. Closed on Mondays from the second Monday of December to the end of February.
Taxi 2.2 km, about 10 min and ¥1,000 (our estimate); 8 min on foot from the castle’s south gateFull guide: Tensha-en gardenUwajima tai-meshi
In Uwajima, tai-meshi is raw: slices of sea bream steeped in a sauce of soy, mirin, raw egg, sesame and stock, then poured with the sauce over hot rice. It began as a meal fishermen could make on a boat without a fire. Kadoya’s Bentencho shop serves lunch 11:00–14:00 and its shop by the station 11:30–14:00; the food court at Kisaiya Hiroba 10:30–16:30, last order 16:00. Prices are not on the tourism association’s list.
Kadoya Bentencho is 4 min on foot from Kisaiya Hiroba and the tender pier; taxi from the wharf about 2.0 km, ¥1,000 (our estimate)Google MapsThe castle hill by Noboritachi-mon
The hill opens at 06:00, three hours before the keep, so this is the walk for an early arrival. Noboritachi-mon is the one gate left of the seven that once stood on the south approach; behind it stone steps climb through forest that has not been cut or burnt for more than 300 years, to the top terrace and the view over the bay. Free. Gates close at 17:00 from November to February and 18:30 otherwise.
Taxi to the south gate 2.0 km, about 10 min and ¥1,000 (our estimate)Google MapsAkoya pearls at Kisaiya Hiroba
The calm inlets of the Uwa Sea are farmed for akoya pearls. The pearl hall at Kisaiya Hiroba, the roadside market by the harbour, brings seven Uwajima pearl shops under one roof, from necklaces to small charms. The same building has a market hall with jakoten sold hot from the fryer, citrus and a food court. Market and pearl hall 09:00–18:00, food court 10:30–16:30; closed on 1 January.
Taxi 2.0 km, about 10 min and ¥1,000 (our estimate); 2 min on foot from the tender pierGoogle MapsUchiko: the wax merchants’ street
Uchiko grew rich on wax, and the Yokaichi–Gokoku street keeps its merchants’ houses: cream plaster walls, lattice windows and tiled roofs along a gentle slope, free to walk. The Kamihaga residence, 20 minutes on foot from Uchiko Station by the town’s figure, is the house and works of a wax-making family, an Important Cultural Property and now a wax museum: 09:00–16:30, adult ¥500, shut 29 December–2 January. The Uchiko-za theatre nearby is closed for repair until about 2028; only its dressing rooms are shown. Lindblad pairs Uwajima with Uchiko; alone it works by train on a call of about 07:00–17:00 or longer, not on a half-day.
Limited express from JR Uwajima, 08:47 or 09:46, about 1 h; back 12:58. Taxi to the station 2.6 km, about ¥1,200 (our estimate)Full guide: Uchiko from UwajimaOzu Castle
A wooden keep above the Hiji River, rebuilt in 2004 in its original form. 09:00–17:00, last entry 16:30, adult ¥550; ¥880 with Garyu Sanso. Trains back to Uwajima leave Iyo-Ozu at ten past the hour.
Limited express to Iyo-Ozu, about 50 min, then taxi about 10 min or 30 min on foot; by road from the wharf 42 km, about 45 minGoogle MapsGaryu Sanso, Ozu
A villa that a wax trader spent more than ten years building above a pool of the Hiji River: the thatched Garyu-in, the Chishi-an tea room and the small Furo-an, in a moss garden. 09:00–17:00, last entry 16:30, open every day, adult ¥550; ¥880 with the castle.
15 min on foot from Ozu Castle (our estimate)Google MapsYusu Mizugaura terraced fields
Narrow terraces walled in stone, stacked up a steep headland above the Uwa Sea and planted with early potatoes. The local phrase for it is ploughing up to heaven, and it is a national Important Cultural Landscape. Free to view from the road and the paths; the Dandan-jaya restaurant at the foot opens at weekends, 11:00–14:00.
Taxi 23 km, about 35 min and ¥7,600 each way (our estimate). No public transport that fits a callGoogle Maps
