Worlds away from Tokyo
If you hate crowds and prefer to travel blissfully slowly, sidestep Japan’s capital and head to the under-explored region of Ehime, writes Ivy Carruth
In Japan’s Ehime Prefecture, the lights and sounds of the modern behemoth Tokyo seem worlds away, even though one lies merely a two-hour flight from the other. You probably haven’t heard of Ehime or the island on which it sits, which is Japan’s fourth-largest, Shikoku, and that’s absolutely fine with the folks who call it home. They’ve no desire to become the next bustling metropolis; they aren’t aiming to be anything they aren’t. What you will find is a brand-new way of experiencing Japan.
Far from the madding crowd
Travelling means different things to different people. For some, it’s an all-out assault on the doing, the seeing and the joining, while for others, it’s an opportunity to quietly appreciate and assimilate into the authenticity of “place”. That’s what makes this particular part of Japan so appealing. It’s a relatively unknown hideaway that teems with culture and ritual. What it lacks in glitzy razzle-dazzle, it more than makes up for with verve and hospitality. In this prefecture, you’ll find the flourishing metropolitan area of Matsuyama and a handful of other cities and towns. A little over three hours drive from Hiroshima or an hour more from Osaka, it’s definitely worth considering adding to your itinerary if you’ve been to Japan before and are aiming for something different or if you’re looking for a counterpart to the hectic scurry of the capital city. Ehime is also off the tread-worn path of the Golden Route and isn’t often visited by international tourists. You get to be a trailblazer.
Samurai strongholds
One thing you can’t do just anywhere? Visit two of the country’s 12 remaining original castles. The Edo period from 1603-1868 focused on peace, growth and strict social order, and the Tokugawa Shogunate