#matsuyama

[melonramune]

2025-08-05

[illustratus]

Matsuyamajo Tonashimon (Tonashi Gate, Matsuyama Castle) by Hasui Kawase

[takeuchiitsuka]

#9850 Copyright © Takeuchi Itsuka. All Rights Reserved.

[sergio-quatraro]

[sitting-on-me-bum]

Steller's sea eagle

By Kei Nomiyama, Matsuyama, Japan

World’s Top Wildlife Photographers of 2023

Curated by One Eyeland

[raffleupagus]

Original artwork by @mekagojira3k that I gave my great friends at KING KONG BAR in Matsuyama, one of my favorite hangouts on the island of Shikoku. Those are traditional Shochuu bottles that Kong is pounding back. かんぱい！

You can read about the place, how I got involved with these wonderful gentlemen, and how I came back to visit again in my new Shikoku book (link).

I also have a short Matsuyama video featuring King Kong Bar:

[maigeiko]

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A post shared by 風子 (@matsuyama.fuuko)

While cleaning up my insta saves, I found these natori news from 3 years ago: Fûko 風子, who retired in 2024, became a natori of the Tamura 田村 school of Kouta, receiving the name Sakiyuri 咲百合 in late 2022. Her kenban seniors Asami あさ美 and Shôko 翔子 are Tamura Sakichô 咲蝶 and Sakishô 咲翔. Tamura-ryu is probably taught in the entirety of Dogo onsen/Matsuyama. Geiko Ippei 一平 from a different Kenban, who was active in the late 80's, had the name Tamura Yonekaya 米かや.

[merpmonde]

Yosan Line part 3: Imabari to Matsuyama

Continued from part 2. I don't have many pictures of the scenery on this section, so let's have a look at the usual rolling stock (having already covered the Joyful trains on the route).

Imabari (145 km) is a town I've already talked about somewhat. There's more I could show, but nothing within immediate reach of the train station. So here's one of the latest trains on the line: the tilting 8600 series, introduced in 2014. It shares the Shiokaze and Ishizuchi limited express services with older 8000 series trains (see below). The round face is peculiar for what's supposed to be a fast machine, but it's supposed to evoke the days of steam engines.

It uses pneumatic suspension for its tilt, which strikes me as odd given the U-turn JR Shikoku made on its tilting Diesel trains. I can only guess that the profile of the Yosan line is a good fit for this system, whereas other lines are not.

Rounding the North-West cape of Shikoku where the Imabari Shipyards are located, we reach Namikata (152 km). Actually, I say that, but the photos are actually from a train going to Imabari, so we're working backwards... Anyway, much of the Yosan line is single-tracked, and double-tracked only in stations, meaning a lot of waiting happens, even for express trains. The waits are even longer in local trains like the 7000 series pictured (and the one from which the picture is taken), as they also wait for express trains to overtake them.

Kikuma (166 km), and another wait as a swish 8000 series tilting express train races through in the other direction. Time for some stats: the Yosan line is 194 km long between Takamatsu and Matsuyama, the capitals of Kagawa and Ehime prefectures - the name "Yosan" comes from the old province names, Sanuki and Iyo, but "San'yo" would be ill-advised, as there is also a San'yô line from Kôbe to Shimonoseki (san'yô meaning the South face of a mountain range). The Ishizuchi limited express does the trip in 2 hrs 30 minutes, with an average speed of 77 km/h; you're looking at nearly 5 hours by local train, with more waits, and changes at Kan'on-ji and Iyo-Saijô.

At Matsuyama (194 km), the line splits. The old route, non-electrified and using KiHa 54 Diesel railcars, follows the coast and serves the famous scenic seaside station of Shimonada. I considered going there, but the frequency is pants: one train every 2 hours, which wouldn't be so bad if there was something to do at Shimonada other than wait for the next train. I found a window in the timetable where I could get a return trip 45 minutes after arriving, but even then, in the heat of summer, the three-hour total round trip from Matsuyama (bear in mind my guest house was at Imabari!) didn't feel worth it. I encountered the same dilemma later in the trip with the Tarumi line - spectacular as it may be, getting there with the train is, ironically, not very inviting.

So we will be using the newer, quicker Uchiko branch to reach the final segment of the Yosan line, from Ôzu to Uwajima, in the last installment of the mini-series.