A warm and cozy shopping street in the center of the city

“Ropeway Shopping Street” is about 500 meters long and located in the center of Matsuyama-shi , Ehime Prefecture.
This street leads to the Ropeway Station, which takes you to Matsuyama Castle.
The entrance to the street is along Ichiban-cho Street, where the tram line runs.

When you get off the tram at Okaido Station, to the north is the entrance to the street.
The atmosphere of the street is very gentle, with earthy colors and barrier-free structures.
You can get a wide view of the sky because the electric wires are all buried underground.

Tasteful places, hip and cool shops

This street is distinctive because there is a balance of old and new shops side by side.
“Shinoura Shoten,” near the entrance gate, sells dried bonito shavings and small dried sardines for dashi stock.

The store, with 70 years of history, has a showcase made of wood which is a pretty old and retro style.

This store, “Koju,” sells traditionally styled incense.
You can enjoy the mild aroma of Japanese incense, from very proper styles to casual ones.
Maybe some sachets of incense would be very good souvenirs!

In addition, you can find some antique shops, secondhand bookstores, stylish clothing stores or variety shops on this street.

Satisfy your appetite!

Of course, you can get various kinds of food on this street, too!

“Agetai” serves Red sea bream, a fish which is one of the specialties of Ehime Prefecture.
Red sea bream is often eaten as Sashimi or in some traditional Japanese style, but here, you can eat it like fast-food.
Eat-in or to-go, either way is OK!

How about the “Agetai burger”?
The burger of deep-fried Red sea bream (Agetai) is really crispy, but the white meat inside is light and delicate.

This fried fish with tartar sauce is the perfect combination for this special burger!
Also, another menu item I highly recommend is the fish & chips!

“sova sova” is a stylish soba noodle cafe which plays jazz in the background.
It is a good place to have soba noodles for lunch, or to have some drinks or sweets for your coffee break.

The interior of the cafe is very woody and feels like a very old Japanese-style house.
You can see a big stone wall from the window at the end of the room.
This cozy and relaxing space is waiting for you.

Among all the old-style-tearooms, ramen shops, Italian restaurants, or cafes, I believe you might have a hard time deciding which place you would like to visit to eat or take a break at!

You can enjoy all the places on the street!

The Matsuyama Castle Ropeway Station is near the end of the street in a very artistic spot, so you should visit it even if you won’t ride the ropeway.

You can’t miss the huge, spectacular picture on the wall of this building.
This black-and-white painting was drawn by an artist from Matsuyama City, and the Akiyama brothers, who were well-known soldiers born in Matsuyama, are the models for this painting.

You can find another big wall painting inside of the building, called “Matsuyama Sanka (paean).” It is 5.3 meters high and 7.5 meters wide.
This artwork was made by Seiji Fujishiro, a renowned artist who makes Kiri-e, or silhouette pictures.
The picture shows Matsuyama Castle on the top of the mountain and Dogo Onsen (hot spring) in the castle town below.

Looking around at each shop or place on the street that is really unique, you might be surprised to find that time flies so fast!
So please allow enough time in your schedule to see all the great spots here!

Photographs and text by Tomoko Yano