Regional Focus: Niihama

The Hirose Memorial Museum commemorates the life of Hirose Saihei, overseer of the Sumitomo operations at Besshi Copper Mine in Niihama. The museum comprises a modern exhibition hall and the elegant Meiji-period home where Saihei lived.

The exhibition hall, designed to resemble a ship, is built next to a large pond. The tower is a periscope with views of the mountain where the mine is, and the port of Niihama from which Saihei’s beloved smoke rose. At the entrance to the museum is a bronze of Saihei Hirose. The exhibition hall presents the life and achievements of Saihei.

The residence was originally built in central Niihama from the end of the Edo period to the middle of the Meiji period. It combined Hirose’s home and a guesthouse for important visitors. In 1887, the house was moved to its current site. It reflects the style of the Edo period with innovations from the West – porcelain lavatories, fireplaces, glass windows, and lightning conductors. In front of the house is a mass of cherry trees, and behind is a traditional Japanese garden.

Nii Ōshima is an island just off the coast from Niihama. It has a circumference of about 9.8 km kilometers and a population of about 200 people, half of whom are over 70. The main industries of the island are shrimp aquaculture, production of tangerines, and a unique white sweet potato which is used for making shōchū spirit. A car ferry leaves from Kuroshima Port in Niihama City. There’s about one per hour, and the price is 120 yen for a round trip. It takes 15 minutes to get to the island. The ferry docks in a small town on the southern shore. There’s no public transport on the island, but roads go around the island, and you can hire bicycles.

The town consists mostly of traditional Japanese buildings, including several attractive temples. To the west of the town is the site of a castle, said to have been built by the Murakami maritime clan in the Middle Ages. There are no shops or restaurants on the island, but you can buy delicious Swiss-style bread at Jack’s Bakery.

The Takihama Salt Museum stands by a stream marking the edge of what was once the largest area of salt pans in Shikoku. About 300 years ago, the area now called Takihama was a shallow bay surrounded by several villages. Salt was a crucial commodity and from 1703, people began filling in the bay to create salt pans. Over the centuries, the production area was increased, and the salt pans employed over a thousand people, and even young children worked there for pocket money.

The museum has a collection of evocative photos, models, and authentic tools from the heyday of the salt pans. Salt is still produced at the museum using the method introduced in 1954. You can have a go at taking some of the concentrated brine and heating it in a pan to produce pure white salt crystals, which you can take home as a souvenir. The salt pans themselves have now been replaced by an industrial estate.

Forest Park Yuragi no Mori, a facility for learning about the importance of protecting the natural environment, is located at an altitude of 800 m in the mountains above Niihama city. At the centre of the park is Auberge Yuragi, an attractive hotel, and a restaurant serving a wide menu of French cuisine. From the rooms to the north, you can see the Akaishi Mountain range. On the south side, there’s a huge domed pergola growing with wisteria. A Pergola Wisteria Festival is held in early May when the flowers are in full bloom.

Next to the Auberge is Sakura Kōbō, a workshop where you can make bookmarks and cards using wildflowers and try your hand at woodworking using simple kits. Behind the workshop is a covered area with firepits that you can use for BBQs and cooking with the Dutch ovens hired from the facility. There’s a promenade in the park where you can enjoy various flowers in each season and dramatic views of the mountains.

Zuiō-ji is a Buddhist monastery located at the foot of the Shikoku Mountains belonging to the Sōtō Zen Buddhist sect. The temple was first built in 1448 and the current structures date from the mid-1800s. In winter, trainee monks from the temple go into the city begging for alms. Zuiō-ji is known for the beauty of its autumn foliage.

The approach passes through a wood lined with old gravestones and a large mossy plaza planted with cherry trees. Stone steps lead up to a massive main gate and a two-storied bell and drum gate. Corridors lead away to the right and left. Inside the temple compound of raked gravel are the main monastery buildings, a pond, and an ancient gingko tree planted 800 years ago. The temple houses a magnificent, ancient rotating cabinet for sutras.

On the hill behind the temple is a branch shrine of Konpira Shrine.