City guide · 松山 Matsuyama
Matsuyama
Shikoku's largest city: a hilltop castle, Dogo Onsen below, and the haiku-and-Botchan castle town
Matsuyama is the capital of Ehime Prefecture and the largest city in Shikoku; the hilltop Matsuyama Castle and Dogo Onsen below it, one martial and one cultural, set the slow pace of this castle town. Haiku stone monuments and haiku submission boxes are scattered around the city, and as you walk the streets you run into a literary atmosphere everywhere. Also worth visiting in the city are the Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum, designed by Tadao Ando and themed on Shiba Ryotaro's novel Clouds Above the Hill, and Ishiteji, the 51st temple of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, whose cave and three-story pagoda are well worth a look.
History
How the city came to be
Matsuyama is the castle town of Matsuyama Castle: Kato Yoshiaki began building the castle on Mount Katsuyama in 1602; in 1627 Kato was transferred to Aizu and Gamo Tadatomo took over Matsuyama; in 1635 Matsudaira Sadayuki was given Matsuyama, and the Matsudaira family ruled here until the end of the Edo period. The city was established in 1889, the Dogo Onsen Honkan was completed in 1894, Natsume Soseki's novel Botchan, drawn from his time in Matsuyama, appeared in 1906, and the city of Hojo and the town of Nakajima were merged into Matsuyama in 2005.
- 1602Kato Yoshiaki begins building Matsuyama Castle on Mount Katsuyama
- 1627Kato Yoshiaki is transferred to Aizu, and Gamo Tadatomo takes over Matsuyama
- 1635Matsudaira Sadayuki is given Matsuyama; the Matsudaira family rules here until the end of the Edo period
- 1889December 15: the city of Matsuyama is formally established
- 1894The Dogo Onsen Honkan is completed
- 1906Natsume Soseki's novel Botchan, drawn from his time in Matsuyama, appears
- 1945July 26: Matsuyama is hit by air raids and most of the city is destroyed
- 2005The city of Hojo and the town of Nakajima are merged into Matsuyama
- 2024The Dogo Onsen Honkan finishes about five and a half years of conservation work and fully reopens
Stories
Stories of the city
Kato Yoshiaki builds the castle, and its lords change
History · Matsuyama Castle
In 1602 Kato Yoshiaki began building a castle on Mount Katsuyama; before it was finished, he was transferred to Aizu in 1627, and Gamo Tadatomo became lord. In 1635 Matsudaira Sadayuki became lord and took up residence, and the castle remained the seat of the Matsudaira family thereafter.
The five-story keep puzzle and the third-generation keep
History · Matsuyama Castle
Records say the original keep had five stories and that Matsudaira Sadayuki reduced it to three in 1642, but a survey by the Ehime Prefectural Museum of History and Culture concluded there was never a five-story keep, and the question remains open. In 1784 lightning destroyed the keep and the other main buildings of the inner citadel; the present main keep was rebuilt in 1852 together with its stone walls and completed in 1854.
Tosa takes custody of the castle in 1868
History · Matsuyama Castle
In 1868, during the Boshin War, the Tosa domain, which fought on the side of the new government, took over and protected Matsuyama Castle. Tosa troops occupied the castle for about five months and withdrew only after the Matsuyama domain presented 150,000 ryo to the imperial court.
Mayor Isaniwa Yukiya and the rebuilding of the Honkan
History · Dogo Onsen
Isaniwa Yukiya, who became the first mayor of Dogo Yunomachi in 1890, led the rebuilding of the Honkan, refusing a salary and putting his pay toward the construction costs. He held firm against fierce opposition and appointed the castle carpenter Sakamoto Matahachiro as master builder. The three-story wooden building completed in 1894 was a rare sight even at the time.
Natsume Soseki and "Botchan-yu"
History · Dogo Onsen
The year after the Honkan was completed, Natsume Soseki came to teach English at Matsuyama Middle School and bathed there often. In his novel Botchan he praised it with the line "the hot spring alone is splendid", so the Honkan is also called "Botchan-yu". The men's bath has a sign reading "Botchan must not swim", recalling the scene in which the novel's hero swims in the bath and a notice is put up.
Must see
Places you shouldn’t miss
Matsuyama Castle
Crowning Mount Katsuyama, Iyo Matsuyama Castle has one of the twelve surviving original keeps, and the newest of them; its linked keep complex a…
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Dogo Onsen
The three-story wooden Dogo Onsen Honkan is the symbol of the Dogo hot-spring town, and the time drum in the Shinrokaku turret on its roof sound…
Before you go
Rules to know in Matsuyama
There is no tipping in Japan
Do
- Say thank you with 'arigatō gozaimashita'
Don’t
- Pressing loose change on staff
Japan is a no-tipping country and bills usually include service; if you press a tip on staff, some will politely refuse.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese table manners
Take off your shoes when you see a genkan (entrance step)
Do
- Take off your shoes at the entrance of homes, some restaurants, temples and hot-spring facilities
- If unsure, look for a shoe rack or slippers at the entrance
Don’t
- Stepping onto tatami or indoor wooden floors in shoes
It is seen as very rude.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette
No phone calls on trains and the shinkansen; queue to board
Do
- Put your phone on silent; on the shinkansen, take calls in the area between carriages
- Queue at the marked spots on either side of the train door, and let people off before you get on
- Give priority seats to older people, pregnant women and passengers with limited mobility
Don’t
- Talking on the phone or playing sound aloud in the train
Not illegal, but you will get looks and a reminder from the conductor.
Verified Oct 19, 2026Source: JNTO: Japanese etiquette