Matsuyama is a really nice sized city, particularly for Japan. The streets are wide, the transportation convenient. It seems like it would be an easy city to live in.

Like most Japanese cities, it has a castle overlooking the city. When I was there, it was under construction, so there wasn't anything to see, but the grounds were nice.

Dogo Onsen is possibly the most famous onsen in Japan, a large, imposing wooden building. The onsen in Spirited Away was based on this building.

Ehime has the highest mountains in west Japan. A bus ride to the halfway point of Mt. Ishizuchi leads to a path running up the mountain.

The path is well worn, there's a shrine at the top of the mountain. At New Years, there is a pilgrimage up the mountain, despite the snow.

Thought the mountain is fairly gentle, it becomes a lot more severe at its highest point. This is the view from the shrine.

It's possible to walk out along this ridge, though it gets uncomfortable since there are no safety precautions.

The view from here is fantastic though. Barely a trace of human civilization, just the mark of some paths.

At the peak of these rocks is this small shrine. Unobtrusive. The walk along the ridge is panic inducing, but I was happy to see this.

A few hours to get up, and a few hours back. A perfect day as far as I'm concerned.