Japan Guide
Shikoku
Getting around
Matsuyama's city centre is easily covered on foot, but to travel between here and Dōgo you'll almost certainly use the tram network. There are four tram routes: one loop line and three other routes all running through the city centre at Ichiban-chō, past the castle and ending at the delightfully old-fashioned Dōgo terminal. Fares are a flat ¥150 and must be paid to the driver on leaving the tram. A one-day ticket, offering unlimited travel on the trams and the Loop Bus, is a bargain at ¥300, and can be bought from the ticket offices at Ōtemachi (a five-minute walk east from the JR station), Shi-eki and the Dōgo terminus, or on the trams themselves. A couple of special tram services are pulled by the Botchan Ressha, designed like the steam trains that ran through the city during the Meiji era; a single trip on these is ¥300, a day pass ¥500. Retro-fans might also want to experience the Madonna Bus (single trip ¥200, day pass ¥400), an old-fashioned bus named after the heroine of Botchan that runs a circuit of Matsuyama's main sights. Regular buses are most useful for reaching further-flung areas of the city, such as the airport and Oku Dōgo. Apart from the castle hill,