Ozu Old Town: a castle city often referred to “Little Kyoto”

[Introduction]

I traveled to Ehime and Kagawa Prefecture for 4 days and 3 nights. In this article, I will write about Ozu Old Town. Ozu is a castle city, which is often referred to “Little Kyoto”. As the name suggests, the city has retro-flavored atmosphere.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Ozu City part 1: Old town (This article)
* Ozu City part 2: Garyu Sanso and Ozu Castle (Related article)
* Shimonada: Shimonada station (Related article)
* Imabari City: Imabari Castle etc. (Related article)
* Shimanami Kaido: Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge (Related article)
* Shodoshima Island part 1: Nijushi no Hitomi Movie Village (Related article)
* Shodoshima Island part 2: Shodoshima Olive Park (Related article)
* Shodoshima Island part 3: Angel Road (Related article)
* Shodoshima Island part 4: Meiro no machi (Maze Town) etc. (Related article)
* Matsuyama City: Tram, Botchan train and Mikyan (Related article)

[Travel Dates]
2015.07.25 – 28

[Main Part]

Arrived at Iyo Ozu station.

It takes about 35 minutes by limited express from Matsuyama (the prefectural capital of Ehime) to Ozu. This is my second visit to Ehime prefecture and last time, I traveled around Matsuyama city. So, this time I will travel around other cities and Ozu is the first destination for my trip.

Here are the places I visited in Ozu.

Promenade along the Hiji-Kawa River

There is a promenade along the Hiji-Kawa River that flows through the heart of Ozu city. The river is also famous as one of the three greatest destinations in Japan to see cormorant fishing (ukai) in the summer, along with Nagaragawa River in Gifu Prefecture and Mikumagawa River in Oita Prefecture. 

Tai-meshi (Rice mixed with Sea Bream)

I had a lunch at Aburaya, which was formerly used as a traditional inn. I ordered Tai-meshi (Rice mixed with Sea Bream), one of the representative local cuisine in Ehime Prefecture.

After having lunch, I visited “Ozu Red-brick House”, “Pokopen Alley” and “Memorial Warehouse”.

Ozu Red-brick House

Ozu Red-brick House was originally built as a bank in 1901 and now used as a small museum that displays craft products.

Pokopen Alley

Pokopen Alley is a shopping district with 1950’s -1960’s  atmosphere. The alley opens every Sunday while I visited there on Saturday. So, all of the shops were closed, but I saw how it looked like.

Memorial Warehouse

Memorial Warehouse shows old and classic goods around 1950’s – 1960’s.

Ohanahan street and row of houses in Meiji Era

Ohannahan street and row of houses in Meiji Era remain today with nostalgic atmosphere and serve as remembrance both to the days of the Edo Period and the Meiji Period.

[Closing]

Then, I visited Garyu Sanso and Ozu Castle, both of which are the prominent sightseeing spots in Ozu. In the next article, I will write about it.