Uwajima

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Uwajima (???) is a small town on the western coast of Shikoku, Japan.

	uwajima Travel Guide : 1 Get in 1.1 By train 1.2 By bus 2 Get around 3 See 4 Do 5 Buy 6 Eat & Drink 7 Sleep 8 Contact 9 External link

Get in

By train

Uwajima is the western terminus of the JR Yosan line (???), and there are regular connections north to Matsuyama.

Normal trains from Matsuyama cost ¥1750 and take 3 hours, with at least one change of trains required. The Uwakai Limited Express adds a ¥1660 surcharge, but shaves the travel time down to 75-80 minutes by not stopping at every rice paddy along the way.

From Okayama, a stop on the San'yo Shinkansen, Uwajima is about 4 1/4 hours away by taking two limited express trains, the Shiokaze and the Uwakai, changing trains in Matsuyama (¥8520).

Infrequent trains on the JR Yodo line (???) also connect Uwajima to Kochi, but you'll have to transfer at Kita-Uwajima station.

All of the above trips are free with the Japan Rail Pass.

By bus

By remarkable coincidence, buses from Matsuyama to Uwajima also cost exactly ¥1750, but are a little faster than the regular trains.

Get around

Uwajima is fairly spread out, but the few sights of interest are nearby and can be reached on foot from the center of town.

See

• Taga Shrine (???? Taga-jinja) doesn't get much press at the local tourist office, but is probably the most unusual sight in town: the shrine is an ancient Shinto fertility shrine, full of phalluses of all shapes and sizes, including a mighty carved log carried about on festival days. Located on the north side of the river, not far from the better known Warei Shrine. Free entry.

• Dekoboko Shind? (????), on the grounds of the Taga Shrine, is essentially a three-story sex museum devoted to fertility and its graphical expressions. Two of them are found in the name: the kanji ? and ? usually mean "convex" and "concave" respectively, but the shrine's logo makes things clearer by placing the pointy bit under the one with the gap. Open daily, but entry is fairly pricy at ¥800.

• Uwajima Castle (???? Uwajima-j?) occupies a strategic location at the heart of the city, and unlike most of Japan's castles is actually an original dating to 1665, not just a ferroconcrete shell. That said, the castle is comparatively small and modest compared to, say, Himeji. Admission ¥200, open 6 AM to 5 PM daily.

• Warei Shrine (???? Warei-jinja) is a comparatively staid large Shinto shrine, and probably Uwajima's best-known attraction among the Japanese. Not worth a detour, but you'll be passing by on your way to the Taga Shrine anyway.

Do

Uwajima's main claim to fame is bull sumo (??? ushizum?), where two bulls decked out with holy ropes grapple each other by the horns and attempt to push each other out of a sumo ring. This is no modern gimmick, but an age-old tradition solemnly officiated by the same priests who run human sumo tournaments; the flip side is that you can only see this during the following 6 periods:

• January 2nd
• 1st Sunday of March
• 3rd Sunday of May
• July 24th (during the Warei Festival)
• August 14th
• 3rd Sunday of November

The match starts at noon and takes around 3 hours. Tickets cost ¥3000, be sure to book in advance. On festival days there are free shuttle buses to/from the station.

The Warei Festival, July 22-24 yearly, features not only bull sumo but a series of parades as well, featuring Uwajima's symbol, the black-bearded and red-robed bull demon (?? ushioni). Book early if in town at this time.

Buy

If visiting the Taga Shrine with a partner, be sure to pick up a Yin-Yang Harmony Fortune (???????? In'y?-wag?-omikuji) to test out your sexual compatibility. For a mere ¥300, you'll receive a Japanese-language fortune describing your equipment and abilities by awarding you with a sumo wrestling rank (all hail the mighty Yokozuna!), as well as a little clay figurine graphically illustrating the coupling of said equipment.

Eat & Drink

The covered arcade running from the JR Uwajima station has the usual assemblage of restaurants and coffee shops.

Sleep

• Uwajima Youth Hostel (??????, tel. 0895-22-7177, 1 (http://www2.odn.ne.jp/~cfm91130/eigo.htm)) is fairly inconveniently located on a hill to the south of town, a fair hike from the train station. A night for HI members costs ¥3360, plus optional breakfast/dinner for ¥630/1050.

• Sunokawa Park Camping (?????????? Sunokawa-koen kyanpuj?) is a very pleasant seaside camping ground, located an hour down the road south from Uwajima on the way to Sukumo and Cape Ashizuri. Facilities include showers, toilets, barbecue pits and acres of grass. A night costs ¥300, and there's a bus stop right outside although it's a fairly steep ¥990 to the city from here.

Contact

Uwajima's small tourist information office is across the street from the train station and has a range of English handouts.

External link

• Uwajima City (http://www.city.uwajima.ehime.jp/eng/index.html)

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