Important Cultural Property of Ehime

A Meiji villa on a cliff above the Hiji River in Ozu. Three listed buildings: a thatched house of seven rooms, a retreat cantilevered over the water, a storehouse.

Discover the Former Kaimei School in Seiyo, Ehime — the oldest elementary school building in Shikoku, built in 1882. This Important Cultural Property features rare Giyōfū architecture, a museum with 6,000 educational artifacts, and hands-on Meiji-era classroom experiences.

Seven Meiji-period buildings at the Niihama house of Hirose Saihei, who modernised the Besshi copper mine. Designated in 2003 and open inside for 550 yen.

A late 18th-century thatched farmhouse moved from Besshiyama to Kamikuroiwa in 1975. Its rooms sit in a single row with almost no earth floor. Free entry.

The Kōryū-ji Hōkyōintō is a granite stone pagoda from the Nanbokuchō period (14th century), designated as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. Located at Nishiyama Kōryū-ji Temple in Saijō, Ehime, this Kansai-style memorial tower is traditionally associated with Minamoto no Yoritomo. Discover its historical significance, the temple's stunning autumn foliage, and practical visitor information.

Discover the Main Hall of Nishiyama Koryuji Temple in Saijo, Ehime — a 1375 Important Cultural Property blending Japanese and Zen architectural styles, set amid one of Shikoku's finest autumn foliage spots.

A pair of uninscribed granite stupas of the late Kamakura period standing on one platform in a Noma rice field, Imabari. Designated in 1954, freely visitable.

Discover Shoun-ji Kannon-do, an Important Cultural Property on Iwagi Island, Ehime Prefecture. Built in 1431, this Zen-style hall features rare double-lotus carvings and a stunning island setting near the Shimanami Kaido.

The Kannondo (Kannon Hall) of Jokoji Temple on Yuge Island in Kamijima, Ehime Prefecture, is a Muromachi-period Buddhist hall built in 1463 and designated as a national Important Cultural Property. Noted for its rare construction techniques, exceptionally well-preserved original materials, and distinctive Zen-style lattice doors, this compact masterpiece sits atop a hill with panoramic views of the Seto Inland Sea. An ideal destination for travelers exploring the Yumeshima Kaido cycling route seeking authentic Japanese cultural heritage off the beaten path.

Eleven granite pagodas behind Jozenji's main hall in Imabari: 4 gorinto, 5 hokyointo and 2 hoto, three of them dated 1326 or 1357, regathered here in 1704.

Completed in 1484 at temple 49 of the Shikoku pilgrimage in Matsuyama, this 5-bay hipped hall blends wayo and zenshuyo; its shrine bears pilgrim graffiti of 1525.

A three-bay Zen-style hall of about 1483 in the hills of Kihoku, its thatch restored in 1982 after decades under pantiles, with a well-preserved shrine inside.

Taisanji Temple Niomon Gate stands midway up the approach in Matsuyama. Dated 1275 to 1332, it mixes Japanese and Zen-derived carpentry and once had two storeys.

Standing on the small island of Tsurushima off Matsuyama in Ehime Prefecture, Tsurushima Lighthouse is a Western-style stone lighthouse completed in 1873 to the design of Richard Henry Brunton, the Scottish engineer known as the Father of Japanese Lighthouses. It is one of the very few Meiji-era lighthouses still in active service in essentially its original form, and was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 2024 together with its former keepers' quarters, warehouse and stone walls.

The Dōgo Onsen Honkan, in Matsuyama on the island of Shikoku, is the timber-framed centerpiece of what many consider Japan's oldest hot spring. Its four interconnected buildings — the Kami-no-Yu Main Hall (1894), the Yūshinden / Tama-no-Yu Wing (1899), and the South Wing and Genkan entrance hall (1924) — were designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1994, the first public bathhouse in Japan to be so honored. Designed by master carpenter Sakamoto Matahachirō, the complex features Japan's only imperial bathing chamber, the Botchan Room linked to novelist Natsume Sōseki, and a small drum tower whose Toki-daiko still marks the hours. Fully reopened in July 2024 after extensive seismic and conservation work, it remains a working bathhouse where visitors can soak in pure, source-flow hot spring water inside a living cultural treasure.

Toshima Family Residence in Matsuyama has seven designated buildings around a 1758 main house whose thatched roofs bend into a reversed Z. It stays a private home.

Discover Nagahama Ohashi Bridge in Ozu City, Ehime, Japan's oldest still-operating bascule road bridge. Built in 1935, this striking red landmark over the Hijikawa River opens regularly for visitors and was designated an Important Cultural Property in 2014.

Standing on the wooded slopes of Mount Tomisu in Ozu City, Ehime, the Buddha Hall of Nyohoji Temple was completed in 1670 when the second lord of Ozu Domain, Kato Yasuoki, invited the renowned Zen master Bankei Yotaku to refound the temple. Uniquely combining the functions of a Buddha hall and a Zen meditation hall within a single structure, it preserves its original form almost unchanged and was designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1992 as a defining example of early modern Zen Buddha hall architecture.

Standing in the wooded grounds behind Noma Shrine in Imabari City, Ehime Prefecture, this 211 cm granite stone pagoda was created in 1322 by a man named Ki no Aruharu and his wife as a prayer for healing and longevity. Designated a National Important Cultural Property in 1954, it represents the distinctive regional Ochi-style and offers travelers a profound encounter with late Kamakura-period Buddhist art and devotion.

Bansuiso in Matsuyama is a 1922 villa built for Count Hisamatsu to a design by Kigo Shichiro. A sailing-ship window lights the main stair. Open daily except Mondays.