11 Recommended Family-Friendly Spots in Ehime to Experience Castle Town History and Industrial Heritage

There is the Matsuyama area, with its castle town scenery, and mountain towns where the history of industries such as the Besshi Copper Mine remains. Since each has a different appeal, it is easier to get around if you first decide what kind of time you want to spend as a family.
In the castle town area, you might combine parks and indoor facilities for a relaxed day, while at industrial heritage sites you can spend time learning together. Clarifying how you want to spend your time in each area gives your Ehime trip a good rhythm.

Parks and indoor facilities are scattered around the castle town area, while industrial heritage sites remain in the mountains. One of Ehime Prefecture’s features is that it offers different types of attractions. However, central Matsuyama and the Toyo area, where many industrial heritage sites are located, are a fair distance apart, so it may not always be easy to move between them casually.
Decide in advance where to base yourself and, if you plan to visit both areas, what transportation to use. This will make your family trip smoother.

Parks, zoos, and hands-on facilities are scattered across different areas, so narrowing your visit to one area makes it easier to plan the flow of your day.
By combining indoor and outdoor activities in a manageable way, you can adjust your plans more easily according to the weather and how everyone is feeling.

This large children’s welfare facility is a place where families can combine indoor and outdoor play with hands-on activities.
The grounds are divided into five areas: the Children’s Town Zone, Activity Zone, Adventure Hill Zone, Fureai Forest Zone, and Activity Zone -NEXT-, each offering different kinds of play.
Across the spacious grounds, visitors will find rides, athletic play equipment, craft experiences, and indoor play areas, making it easy to choose how to spend your time.
From active outdoor play to creative experiences, families can spend a full day here.

This zoo makes use of the natural terrain, allowing visitors to see animals living freely in spacious surroundings.
Lions, giraffes, chimpanzees, and other animals are displayed according to their habitats, with thoughtful features throughout that let visitors observe their natural behavior.
One highlight is Peace, the polar bear that became the first in Japan to be successfully raised by humans. Other attractions include penguins swimming underwater and orangutans crossing ropes, offering close-up views of animals in motion.

This large science museum features one of the world’s largest planetariums and lets visitors learn about nature, science, and industry through hands-on experiences.
The museum is divided into the Nature Hall, Science and Technology Hall, and Industry Hall, where visitors can learn about space, Earth, Ehime’s natural environment, how science works, and the history of local industries through interactive exhibits.
There are also life-size Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops robot displays, with dynamic effects as they move and roar.
In the planetarium, which has one of the world’s largest dome screens, visitors can also experience immersive full-dome visuals.

Located on Hakata Island in the central part of the Shimanami Kaido, this is one of Japan’s largest dolphin interaction facilities, set right by the calm Seto Inland Sea. Visitors can watch dolphins up close, touch them, and swim with them.
Experience programs such as feeding, interaction sessions, and dolphin swims are available by advance reservation, letting you see the dolphins’ movements and expressions from very close by.
Even without joining a program, visitors can pay the admission fee and watch from the pier, making it an easy place to stop by.

This sightseeing boat lets you experience the powerful tidal currents of the Kurushima Strait up close.
The whirlpools created by fast currents and complex seafloor terrain are a specialty of the Kurushima Strait. Once you head out into the strait by boat, you can see the powerful movement of the tides, the islands of the Seto Inland Sea, and the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge, the world’s first triple suspension bridge, from close range.
Watching the scenery of the Shimanami Kaido from the sea is also a memorable way for families to experience the Seto Inland Sea.

This museum introduces Imabari’s towel culture and craftsmanship. Visitors can observe the towel-making process and view works that combine towels with art.
Inside the museum are many photogenic spots, including the “Thread Wall,” lined with about 1,800 spools of thread in roughly 200 colors, and the “Thread House,” made with colorful spools of thread, making it enjoyable for families to explore together.

This hands-on facility makes use of industrial heritage and introduces the history of mining.
The Besshi Copper Mine closed in 1973, and Minetopia Besshi is a mining theme park built on the site of its final mining headquarters.
The vast grounds, covering about 60,000 square meters, include a sightseeing train and a tourist mine tunnel, allowing visitors to experience what mining was like from the Edo period to the modern era.
The biggest highlight is the Tonaru Zone, where you can see groups of industrial heritage sites up close in the mountains at an elevation of about 750 meters.

This tourist facility introduces the appeal of railways through railway history and vehicle exhibits.
It consists of four buildings: the Shikoku Railway Cultural Center North Hall, Shikoku Railway Cultural Center South Hall, Shinji Sogo Memorial Museum, and Tourism Exchange Center.
Actual train cars, including a 0 Series Shinkansen and a diesel locomotive, are on display, and visitors can enter the driver’s cab and sit in the driver’s seat.
Large dioramas and recreated station building exhibits also let visitors enjoy the world of railways from multiple angles.

This urban park makes use of historic castle ruins. The entire park occupies the former site of a castle that stood here from the early 14th century to the late 16th century. Earthen ramparts, moats, and other remains of the castle can still be seen today, and the site is designated a National Historic Site as the Yuzuki Castle Ruins.
The park also has hills and an observation deck, offering views over the Matsuyama Plain. Walking through the spacious grounds, families can take in both the history and scenery at a relaxed pace.

This is one of Shikoku’s largest Japanese gardens, covering a total area of 153,322 square meters.
Designed as a pond-strolling garden with the theme of “mountains, villages, towns, and the sea,” it features a variety of landscapes centered around the upper and lower ponds. With artificial hills, lawns, and gazebos arranged throughout, the scenery changes as you walk.
Seasonal flowers also make a strong impression, including the early-summer sight of about 30,000 iris plants with 250,000 blooms.

This Ferris wheel in the city center is an easy place to stop by and offers views over Matsuyama. It has a diameter of 45 meters and reaches a height of 85 meters above the ground, with views of Matsuyama Castle, the Dogo Onsen hot spring district, and the Iyo-nada Sea.
The see-through gondola, with a transparent glass floor that gives the sensation of floating in the air, is also popular.
In addition to daytime views, visitors can enjoy the city nightscape after dark.

This large hot spring inn is located in the center of the Dogo Onsen hot spring district.
It offers a variety of ways to enjoy the hot springs, including distinctive baths such as a garden open-air bath and the “Mikan Ball Bath.” The hotel also offers a range of Japanese cultural experience programs, including “Suigun Taiko and Tsugaru Shamisen Experience” and the “Golden Sanuki Udon-Making Experience Show,” allowing guests to enjoy traditional Japanese culture as well.

This long-established ryokan is located next to Dogo Onsen Honkan.
Guests can choose from two types of rooms: Japanese-style rooms built in the sukiya style, incorporating the aesthetics of a tea room, and modern Western-style rooms that offer both convenience and refinement.
Another appealing point is the large public bath, which uses water drawn from the same source as Dogo Onsen Honkan and lets guests enjoy hot spring water with a smooth feel. In the post-bath rest area, there are stalls such as a dagashi candy bar, making it enjoyable for families.
The kaiseki cuisine, featuring ingredients from the Seto Inland Sea such as sea bream rice made with red sea bream, is also well regarded.

This long-established hot spring ryokan has a calm garden and offers a peaceful stay.
Its 1,500-tsubo garden, where about 200 kinds of plants create attractive scenery, allows guests to enjoy meals by the river flowing through the grounds from spring to autumn.
The baths use water drawn from the source of Dogo Onsen and can be enjoyed in the Hinoki Bath, filled with the fragrance of cypress, and the granite Mikage Bath. The cuisine using seafood and mountain ingredients from the Seto Inland Sea is also well regarded, allowing guests to fully savor the flavors of Matsuyama, known as a “treasure house of food.”