Arrival and Information
Trains and buses pull in at the JR Matsuyama Station, just west of the city centre - from here it's roughly a ten-minute walk to the castle. Matsuyama's airport lies 6km west of the centre; bus #52 from here takes about twenty minutes to reach the JR station (Y330) and continues on to Dogo. A taxi from the airport will set you back around Y2000. Ferries from several ports in Western Honshu and Kyushu dock at Takahama and Matsuyama Kanko ports - both around 10km north of Matsuyama. The terminus of the Iyo Tetsudo train line is within walking distance of both ports, from where it's a thirty-minute bus journey (Y490) into the Shi-eki Station, just south of the castle. The fastest connection with Honshu is the hydrofoil from Hiroshima (1hr; Y5800). Matsuyama has several information points for visitors. You can pick up English maps and leaflets at the small tourist booth (daily 8.30am-5.15pm) just to the left as you exit the JR station, but for more detailed help head for Ehime Prefectural International Centre (EPIC; Mon-Sat 8.30am-5pm; tel 089/943-6688), on the south side of the castle park, where you can also browse through the small library of English-language books. EPIC also organizes many free classes on Japanese traditional arts and has bicycles that can be borrowed free of charge. From either EPIC or the tourist booth you should pick up the free Seto Inland Sea Welcome Card , which will give you discounts at many places around town. Finally, the Matsuyama International Centre (Tues-Sat 9am-5.30pm; tel 089/943-2025), on the ground floor of COMS, 6-4-10 Sanbancho, can arrange volunteer guides who show you around the city for no charge, and publishes the free monthly What's Going On? booklet, available here, at EPIC and on the fourth floor of the Kinokuniya bookstore.
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