On August 6th I had the day off from work and I needed to go to Matsuyama to pick up my residence card. I got to Matsuyama just after 1pm and my first stop was the immigration bureau where I picked up my card.
After that quick stop I headed to the tram stop to catch a tram to the Okaido stop where I would get on the ropeway that goes up to the castle.
Construction on the castle was started in 1600 and ended in 1627. The castle is built on Katsuyama Hill in the centre of Dogo Plain. Currently the modern city of Matsuyama circles the base of the hill and from the top floor of the castle you can see the entire city in four directions, as well as a view of the Seto Inland Sea to the south west of the city.
After getting off the ropeway I walked up to the outer wall of the castle, then I went into the main courtyard of the castle building. Inside that area there was a small shop, an ice cream stand and a stand to get kakigori.
Kakigori is the traditional summer treat of shaved ice with syrup flavouring. This treat originated in Japan in the Heian Period and then was brought to North America through Japanese immigrants that moved to Hawaii. Now in North America we enjoy something similar, Sno-Cones.
After my treat I entered the castle. As with most castles, homes and even my classrooms I had to take off my shoes and put on some stylish green slippers. Inside the castle some of the hallways and rooms have displays of weapons, armour and different items found within the castle. It’s always interesting to walk through and see these things. Walking the route of the castle it takes you up to the third floor and from there you get a view of Matsuyama, as I wrote earlier. It was quite beautiful standing in the top space and looking around at the city below and seeing the mountains that frame the Dogo Plain.
After a quick break at the top I headed back down to the main level of the castle. Instead of taking the ropeway or chairlift back down to the main city I decided to walk down to the Ninomaru Historical Ruins garden. I walked through a forest path to get there and it was nice to be in the shade of the green leaves.
I saw the ruins and then made my way to the main street where I caught the tram back to the Japan Rail Matsuyama Station. I made it just in time to catch a train back to Niihama.
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