Christmas in Matsuyama

We took the ferry to Yawatahama from Beppu, which was nice - and empty! a lovely and relaxing trip that took about 2.5 hours. Then we waited for the local to get to Matsuyama.

It was a great vibe almost immediately in Matsuyama. Hip but not too Tokyo, friendly people, easy access to lots of cool places. This is the place that Bruce and Davy had gone fishing for belt fish with a local guide a few years ago, but because they were in and out so quickly they had never had an opportunity to explore.

We were looking forward to seeing Bruce’s nephew, Josh and his friend Chloe in Matsuyama and happy to find out they they booked the same hotel that we were in - ah yes, once again the Candeo! Again, in a super convenient location! Like Nagasaki, trams made getting around very easy.

A note about Trams

If you are in a city that has a tram system instead of subway, don’t fret! It’s actually very easy to navigate. You pay when you get off and if you buy a preloaded card (which we did not) - it’s a bit cheaper. There is a change machine on the tram and the fare is usually one fare for any trip, posted at the front. Get on at the back, pay at the front and exit.

We did a lot of things: orange juice tasting (where I had a coughing fit behind my mask (and again, the woman at the store was super kind!). The orange juice was delicious of course.

We went to a very old castle, as one does.

We then walked to Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum, also The Children's Book Forest Matsuyama a project conceived by Tadeo Ando (just opened July 2025). We didn’t go through the whole building - just the entrance floor, but such a beautiful idea.

Then we also found the Aisho-Tei cafe, near the very weird Banseiso Villa, on the premises so, we stopped for a little treat. It was charming! There was a cafe cat - not pictured here because Bruce has that photo. it will be featured in a future IG photo dump.

That night we met Josh and Chloe and had a great night drinking sake and laughing at Josh calling his dad at 2am Vancouver time. Then we went out and had a quick beer here before they closed! Finally! Craft beer!

The next day we took a day trip to the “Spirited Away” train station, which actually was a little funny. Bruce made a point, thank goodness, of telling the driver of the local train (in sign language) that we would get off to take pictures and then get back on. But we thought we had, like AT LEAST 5 minutes. No, dear reader, we did not. It was like 30 seconds. Luckily, we were ready to jump back on.

We continued on to Ozu! Another castle town - which also has a wonderfully elegant villa, Garyu Sanso. For me, this was a highlight. serene with cultivated moss and japanese gardens surrounding it, it was perfectly zen. I could not stop thinking of In Praise of Shadows by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki.

The castle was pretty good too.

We also had an excellent fish burger!

And now, I am nearing the “email newsletter” length so I will say farewell with this photo of Josh and Chloe petting a giant fat raccoon in Matsuyama on our last night.

More from Tokyo: full circle.

✌︎︎♡⃛