Shikoku: Matsuyama Castle

 Matsuyama is one of only a dozen castles in Japan which are original (built during the feudal area, before 1868). It's located high on a hill and is a bit of a challenge to reach. The ninomaru (second circle of defense) is seen in the foreground in the photo above, and today is the site of a park that preserves the layout of the former palace.

 The honmaru at the top is quite complex and worth the 15-20 minute hike from the ninomaru, though there is a chairlift and cable car from the east side of the mountain.

 The ninomaru has a few displays near the entrance in some buildings along the outer wall, but the original palace buildings have all disappeared.

 In place of the buildings, a series of elevated levels, ponds, and gardens help show the original layout and provide a pleasant place to stroll around.

 A layout of the old ninomaru can be found in one of the outer wall rooms. You can also see how difficult it would have been to get just into this second line of defense as an attacking army.

 I'm always interested in the tiles found on top of roofs in Japan.

 The garden is full of water spaces. The bamboo pipe plays "music" when water is poured in a certain manner.

 A former basement is now a pond.

 I saw a pretty interesting beetle as I left the ninomaru to head to the top. The path here is fairly well fortified at first.

 For most of the hike, however, it's just uphill dirt paths and simple stairs. Eventually, you return to the fortifications as you approach the honmaru.

 The castle keep at the top is very complex, with several wings making lots of nooks and crannies.

 Every original castle I visit is pretty cool, but this one might be the best. If I had the money, I'd probably replicate a Japanese castle as my house!

 Inside, you'll find steep stairs leading up to the top. Along the way are display cases with several artifacts.

 In addition to old junk (not really junk), you can see how the building was defended. Having visited several castles, I'm a bit worn out on the "check out these holes for shooting rifles or arrows! And look at these gaps for dropping stones or hot oil!" speech.

 Being at the top of a steep mountain, the view is quite expansive.

From Okaido Station on tram lines 2, 3, or 5, it's just a five minute walk to the chairlift, cable car, and eastern walking path to the honmaru and castle keep at the top. The ninomaru is at the southwest base of the mountain, and can be reached in about a five minute walk from the art museum or about 15 minutes downhill from the honmaru.

 The castle keep at the top and ninomaru near the bottom are both open 9:00-17:00. Admission to the keep is 510 yen, while the ninomaru is 100 yen. If you want to use the ropeway or chair lift, the fee is 510 yen round trip or 270 yen one way.

This was my last tourist stop in Matsuyama proper, but I'd recommend to others that you begin at Bansuiso and Saka no Ue no Kumo, visit the castle keep, walk down to the ninomaru, then end the loop at the art museum. This allows you to take advantage of the chair lift or cable car to get up, and avoid backtracking. Depending on how long you spend at each location, you can expect the entire loop to fill about half a day (I started around 10:30 and finished around 1:00). From there, you can head toward Dogo Onsen, some of the other museums or attractions in Matsuyama, or spend the afternoon at Kashima Island.

Shikoku: Bansuiso

 Getting around the tourist sites in Matsuyama isn't too difficult; signage is pretty good if you stay on the right paths. So coming from the art museum, I just followed the arrows down the block as I headed toward my second stop, Bansuiso.

 From the art museum, it's a left turn, but I shot this sign from the other direction. You can probably tell that the English signage is as good as the Japanese signage when it comes to getting from A to B here.

 There are two tourist destinations side by side here, and the first you'll come to is the Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum. I skipped this one - it's a literary museum and I'm completely unfamiliar with the book (Saka no Ue no Kumo is a novel by Shiba Ryotaro). The book takes place in Edo-period Matsuyama and the museum provides a lot of information about the book, its setting, and characters. The building itself looked pretty cool, though!

Continuing on past the guarded gate is Bansuiso.

 Note that the pavement changes from asphalt to that tan sandy color. And there's nice landscaping. There's a grounds map nearby too, not that the property is really that large. Just follow the big driveway up to the main house.

 So, what is Bansuiso? It's a French style building constructed in 1922 which is open to the public for exploration.

 Upstairs, you can walk through the bedrooms, offices, and sitting rooms. After three years in a tiny Japanese apartment with pretty low ceilings, each room in this house is a castle of its own!

 Nothing says "rich" like a fancy staircase with a stained glass window.

 Downstairs, you can see some of the rooms used for entertaining, including the dark paneled dining room. The house is not yet 100 years old, but it was built in a classical style that makes it feel like it has been there for centuries.

 To the left of the house is a storehouse which is larger than any home I've ever lived in! And just beyond that is another building which has a coffee shop for those who'd like a small snack or drink before continuing on their way.

Bansuiso is open 9:00-18:00 (closed Mondays), and admission is 300 yen, which will let you explore essentially the entire gorgeous house.

You can walk to Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum and Bansuiso from the Ehime Prefectural Museum of Art in about 10-15 minutes. Alternately, Okaido tram stop is only two minutes from the museum; Bansuiso is about a five minute walk uphill.

Shikoku: Ehime Prefectural Museum of Art

There aren't many photos today. Only one, actually. But I still want to share my thoughts on this museum found in Matsuyama.

Matsuyama has many museums, mostly located in the vicinity of its castle. The Ehime Prefectural Museum of Art has a pretty good collection of art, from both regional and European artists. It's no Louvre, but for only 300 yen, it was a good start to my day in Matsuyama before turning to the more-historical attractions.

The art museum is located about five minutes on foot from the Manamihoribata tram stop, served by all five tram lines, just southwest of the castle. While I started my morning here, it might be better to begin at Bansuiso and Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum if those are part of your itinerary. The trail up to Matsuyama's castle from Ninomaru begins near the art museum. Note that there is another path up the eastern side of the castle, so you could visit the art museum after the castle.

Museum hours are 9:40-18:00, closed on Mondays (or the day after if Monday's a holiday) and around the end of the year.

Trip Report: New Reoma World Amusement Park, Japan

 I'm not sure if there was ever an old Reoma World, but the current theme park opened in 1991. It's located in Kagawa prefecture, and requires a bus ride from the nearest train station.

 It's by and far Shikoku's largest amusement park. Or I should say larger - there are only two parks with roller coasters on the entire island. The grounds here are quite nice and it's a place you could easily spend a whole day at a leisurely pace.

 The park forms a standard loop of sorts, with different areas that almost have themes.

 Lady Bird Coaster was my first stop around the busy park, which uses wild mouse-style cars on a layout similar to many family coasters in Japan. The station is themed to look like a hollowed-out log.

 From here, it's easy to get a good glimpse of the park's Ferris wheel, which has a few open-air seats in place of the usual carriages. The line for that was fairly long and time was limited, so I went with the regular cabin to get my view of the park.

 Near the Ferris wheel is Bird Flyer, one of those super swinging rides that I've seen so frequently at parks in the US now. They're fun but not that thrilling for me.

 This panorama will let you see some of the theming...

 And here's some detail on the Lady Bird Coaster station.

 Lady Bird Coaster has a long, narrow layout, which doesn't quite fit in a couple pictures. The red-roofed building is the station for the smallest of the park's coasters, Kids Coaster. Kids Coaster is also most likely the park's newest coaster, added in 2004.

 Here's a shot of one of Lady Bird Coaster's cars, headed around a turn.

 The park's signature coaster, Vivace, is pretty fun. You'll see a couple more shots later on.

 The fourth and final coaster at New Reoma World is Spaceship 2056, and is similar to Space Mountain at Disney parks. The queue area had some not-really-functioning displays, though, which is yet another example of the difficulty Japanese parks have faced during the long recession.

 From the top of the Ferris wheel, a bird's eye view of Lady Bird coaster is possible, as well as Kids Coaster in the foreground. There's a large green lake in the middle of the park's loop, with mostly uninteresting shops and such in the buildings behind it. That's actually very dull part of the park most of the time, though I think there are shows on and over the water which make that area a good vantage point.

 There is one fun indoor ride of note called Rainbow Bandits.

 You climb into a giant balloon and travel through a story and songs, just like Winnie the Pooh or Small World at Disney... hmm, I'm starting to see a little bit of a theme here.

 Is that the Tin Man I see?

 Where the displays in Spaceship 2056 weren't working, this one was kept up pretty well. Perhaps there was a light bulb or two out but it was a fun attraction.

 Back outside, the view from across the lake serves as the perfect photo spot. There are some additional attractions around the park, including an "Oriental Trip Area" and a Pretend Town, where kids (and adults?) can dress in costumes and work various "jobs" in the town.

 That last coaster, Vivace, is located behind the entrance. The rest of the park sits to the left, while an extra-fee water park is to the right. Being the park's biggest ride, it had a decent line all day, but it did move pretty fast. For a non-looping ride in Japan, it's pretty thrilling. I rode it a few times toward the end of the day when the line shortened to something a little more manageable. They also provided blindfolds for people who wanted a "bigger" thrill. The coaster was smooth enough but I was still afraid I'd end up getting whiplash or banging myself up with the blindfold.

In 2015, New Reoma World is accessible by bus from Sakaide Station, Marugame Station, Okada Station, and Kurikuma Station. Admission is 1600 yen, or 3900 yen for an unlimited-ride free pass. There are other ticket options available that include the water park and "oriental" portions of the park. Note that riding all four coasters once will cost 1800 yen over the 1600 yen admission, almost the same price as the free pass. Park hours are generally 10:00-16:00, with extended hours in the Oriental Trip section, and on weekends and holidays.

As I've finished off my amusement park posts about Shikoku, I'll go ahead and mention for any coaster fans that it is possible to visit all three of these parks in one day. It might be best to start at Tokushima Family Land, get to New Reoma World for the four coasters there, and finish your day at Washuzan Highland near Okayama. A car is most likely required, depending on Washuzan's hours, but with good timing you could do it with public transit. That said, this park can easily take a whole day to enjoy, and Washuzan can fill most of a day too.