Must-see Tourist Spots and Art Appreciation Trip

The world-famous Awa Dance can be viewed all year round at this dance hall. The first floor is home to an information desk and shop area for local products and tourist information. On the second floor is the Awa Dance library and an exhibition hall. The third floor is home to a museum, and on the fifth floor is the station for the ropeway to the top of Mt. Bizan.
https://www.awaodori-kaikan.jp/

*The images of the food are for illustrative purposes only

*The images of the accommodation facilities are for illustrative purposes only

Home to the largest permanent exhibition space in Japan, this museum houses vivid, full-size reproductions of masterworks of Western art on large ceramic boards. The museum collection of more than 1000 works was selected from 190 museums in 25 countries to show the development of Western art from antiquity through to modern times.

Ritsurin Garden is a daimyo (feudal lord) garden, which was completed in 1745 over a period of one hundred years. Designated as a Special Place of Scenic Beauty, this spacious garden features 6 ponds and 13 landscaped hills. While strolling you can enjoy the changing landscape, therefore it is said that the variety of scenery has the attraction of "ippo ikkei" or a change in scenery with every step. In the garden there are buildings, such as Kikugetsu-tei teahouse, where you can have matcha (powdered green tea) while viewing the picturesque landscape, and the Sanuki Mingeikan (Folk Craft Museum), where Sanuki folk crafts are exhibited. You can also enjoy a ride on a Japanese boat, the “Senshu maru”.

There are approximately 300 cherry trees, mostly Somei Yoshino, and the beauty of the cherry blossoms reflected on the lake surface and the strange colors of the green pine trees are breathtaking. In addition, spring lighting will be held to coincide with the blooming of the cherry trees, and during the nighttime lighting period, special Japanese-style boat trips will be offered on Lake Kitako.

*The images of the accommodation facilities are for illustrative purposes only

The Seto Inland Sea has been a vital transportation route since ancient times. Ships plying its waters stopped at different islands where their crew passed along the latest cultural and lifestyle trends. The distinctive local cultures that emerged through such interactions can still be found today. The islands’ unique identities, however, are being eroded by the shrinking and aging of their populations and the diminishing vitality of the region, which have accompanied the acceleration of globalization, optimization and homogenization. Through the Setouchi Triennale, we aim to revitalize island communities that once thrived within the spectacular setting of the Seto Inland Sea, a nexus of trade and cultural exchange, and transform this region into a Sea of Hope for the world.

Setouchi Triennale Executive Committee President: Keizo Hamada (Governor of Kagawa Prefecture)
General Producer: Soichiro Fukutake (Chairman of the Board, Fukutake Foundation)
General Director: Fram Kitagawa (Art Director)

Located in a perfect place facing the Seto Ohashi Bridge, the museum has a wonderful collection of 350 works, including woodblock paintings by one of the great masters of Japanese painting, Kaii Higashiyama. On the lower floor, beautiful scenery of the Seto Ohashi Bridge and the blue sea stretches out before your eyes. The building was designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi.
*The museum is temporarily closed from September 2, 2024 to early April 2025 (tentative) for facility construction.

*The images of the accommodation facilities are for illustrative purposes only

*The images of the food are for illustrative purposes only

Matsuyama Castle, in the style of the Momoyama period, is one of Japan’s few original surviving castles. Its 21 buildings are listed as Important Cultural Properties, and the castle is regarded as one of the three best ‘Renritsu-shiki Hirayama-jiro’ (Renritsu-shiki: an architectural style where the top castle tower is in the centre with smaller towers on either side; Hirayama-jiro: a castle built on a hill on a plain). The towers are all connected to defend the main castle building. The castle is a well-known symbol of Matsuyama and is written about in the prologue of the novel, “Clouds Above the Hill” by Ryotaro Shiba. It has been and will be guarding the city of Matsuyama for centuries!

【History of the temple】
Ishiteji is located near Dogo Hot Spring, which is said to be the oldest hot spring in Japan. The approach to the temple is in the form of a corridor lined with stores selling souvenirs, mostly locally-produced products.

Ishiteji is a well-known temple that attracts local Kobo Daishi followers and tourists in addition to pilgrims. This is probably due to the grandeur of the temple; most of the halls and pagodas are National Treasures and National Important Cultural Properties. The temple also has a museum where temple treasures are always on display, and boasts the largest collection of cultural assets of any of the Shikoku pilgrimage temples. The Niomon Gate is a National Treasure. It is 7 meters high, 4 meters wide, with a 3-meter-wide entry space. It was built in 1318. National Important Cultural Properties include the Hondo, the Kariteimotendo, the Gomado, the three-storied pagoda, the bell tower, a five-ring pagoda, and the oldest bronze bell in Ehime Prefecture. An inscription on the bell says “Third year of Kencho.” (1251)

According to legend, in 728 Ochi Tamasumi, a wealthy man of Iyo (Ehime), had a vistion of 25 bodhisattvas coming down from the sky to this spot. He was convinced that this was a sacred place. He enshrined the 12 Kumano Gongen (gongen are native Japanese gods accepted into Buddhism) and constructed a building for the protection of the nation by order of Emperor Shomu (reigned 724-749). The following year, Gyoki founded the temple with a statue of Yakushi Nyorai (the Medicine Buddha), which he carved himself as the principal image. He named the temple Anyōji. The temple was a member of the Hosso sect of Buddhism. The name of the temple was changed to Ishiteji in 892, based on the legend about the rebirth of Emon Saburo.

The layout of the temple is in the style of the Kamakura period (1185-1333). It is a three-dimensional mandala, common to temples designed at that time. Tiles excavated from the precincts of the temple suggest that Ishiteji was originally constructed around 680 in a style similar to Horyuji, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Nara.


【Highlights】
・Nanakorobi Yaoki Genki Ishi (Ups and Downs, Stone of Energy)
・Minna Issho Daibutsu (Great Buddha with Everyone)
・Kariteimotendo
・Rakugakido (Graffiti Hall)
・Araiishi (Known as Washing Stone or "bridge without crossing." This is in front of the temple gate, next to the street. A sutra is engraved on the back of the stone.)
・Amitabhado (To the left of the Nioimon gate. Many people pray here for the prevention of senility)

Dogo Onsen Honkan is thought to be the oldest hot spring in Japan is mentioned in the ancient texts of the Kojiki and Manyoshu. The main building, a three-storey castle-style wooden structure has been designated an Important Cultural Property. The bathhouse is an iconic feature of Matsuyama in the novel “Botchan” and many other masterpieces of literature and film. After enjoying the smooth hot spring water, put on a Yukata robe, stroll around the local streets full of culture, and get into the spirit of this Onsen town. A new annex “Asuka-no-Yu”, adopting the architectural style of the 6th to 8th centuries, will be opened in September 2017.

As for the Dogo Onsen Honkan, it has been undergoing conservation and repair work for about five and a half years since January 2019, but all buildings reopen on July 11, 2024 (Thursday).