Things to Do in Hijikawa Valley

Most visitors to Ozu Castle in Ehime Prefecture never realize that just 30 minutes away, the Hijikawa Valley reveals a completely different side of the region’s culture. Here you can discover traditional crafts, local puppet theatre, sake brewing, and historic inns nestled along the river valley. It is one of the most fascinating cultural areas in southern Ehime.

Running through the center of the Hijikawa Valley in Ehime, the Hijikawa River has long defined the landscape. The valley once supported thriving industries including Japan wax production, silk farming, washi paper making, and timber trade. Goods were transported downstream along the Hijikawa River to coastal ports, where they were shipped across Japan.

In 2018, the Hijikawa River, which had supported life in the valley for generations, also showed its destructive side. Heavy flooding damaged homes and disrupted daily life across the region.

But what struck me most when visiting the Hijikawa Valley near Ozu in Ehime Prefecture was not the disaster itself, but the determination of the communities that call this valley home. In the years since, people here have rebuilt while continuing to preserve the traditions that developed along the Hijikawa River.

Hijikawa is a place where local communities are working to keep their culture alive. I felt this very strongly during my visit and was so moved by it that I couldn’t resist dedicating a whole article to this area. I hope you will visit the valley someday and support these communities as well.

Ehime is one of the four prefectures that make up Shikoku Island, Japan’s smallest main island. Despite feeling remote and peaceful, the region is surprisingly accessible.

Flights from Tokyo or Osaka to Matsuyama Airport take only about 1–1.5 hours. From Matsuyama, the historic town of Ozu can be reached in about one hour by train or car.

In recent years, Ozu has become known for its thoughtful cultural revitalization, including the restoration of historic merchant houses and the creation of NIPPONIA Ozu Castle Town, one of Japan’s most innovative heritage tourism projects. You can read more about it in my other articles. But beyond Ozu Castle lies another story, one that follows the course of the Hijikawa River, the largest river in Ehime Prefecture.

The easiest way to reach the Hijikawa Valley is via the historic castle town of Ozu in Ehime Prefecture. Most travelers first arrive in Matsuyama, the largest city in the prefecture, before continuing south toward Ozu by train or car.

From Ozu castle town, the villages and cultural sites of the Hijikawa Valley can be reached in about 30 minutes by car.

Although the Hijikawa Valley in Ehime Prefecture remains little known to international travelers, the area offers several unique cultural experiences, each of which we’ll explore in more detail throughout this article.

Before talking about the activities mentioned above, I want to mention an important event that deeply affected the Hijikawa Valley and revealed the true strength of the local community.

In 2018, the Hijikawa River, which had supported life in the valley for generations, also showed its destructive side. Heavy flooding damaged homes and disrupted daily life across the region.

During the West Japan Floods of 2018, record-breaking rainfall caused the Hijikawa River to overflow, sending muddy water through towns and villages across the valley. In some places the water rose several meters high, damaging homes, farmland, and roads that had supported daily life for generations.

For people who had lived alongside the river for decades, the flood became a turning point. But what stayed with me most when visiting the area was not only the scale of the disaster, but the way local communities responded afterward. Instead of simply rebuilding what had been lost, many residents began thinking about how to protect and continue the traditions that have long shaped life along the Hijikawa River.

Yoro Shuzo, a traditional sake brewery in the Hijikawa Valley, has been producing sake using locally grown rice and pure mountain water for generations.

When the 2018 floods struck, the brewery suffered catastrophic damage. Floodwaters surged through the building, rising more than three meters inside the brewery. Large fermentation tanks were lifted by the current and slammed into the ceiling. Brewing equipment, tools, and decades of accumulated records were destroyed or washed away. Two of the brewery’s buildings were damaged so severely that they had to be demolished.

In the immediate aftermath, the owners considered closing the brewery permanently.
But the response from the community changed everything.

Within days of the flood, volunteers began arriving to help. Local residents, sake brewers from other regions, and supporters from across Japan gathered to shovel mud, remove debris, and salvage what remained of the brewery.

Thanks to this collective effort, brewing resumed just six months later, although production initially returned at only a fraction of its previous level. Today, Yoro Shuzo has not only recovered but grown beyond its pre-2018 production levels.

One of the first bottles released after the disaster carried the name “Tomo” (共), meaning together. The sake was dedicated to everyone who helped rebuild the brewery: neighbors, volunteers, and supporters who contributed to the recovery effort.

The inn where we stayed in the valley also served Yoro Shuzo’s sake alongside regional dishes, making it possible to enjoy these brews as part of a relaxed evening experience in the area.

Another cultural tradition that has been passed down since 1853 in the Hijikawa Valley near Ozu is the intricate world of Bunraku puppet theatre, known locally as Otani Bunraku (大谷文楽).

Bunraku is one of Japan’s most sophisticated performing arts. Developed in Osaka during the 17th century, it combines dramatic storytelling, narration, and shamisen music with large handcrafted puppets operated by skilled puppeteers. Each puppet is controlled by three performers, whose precise movements bring the characters to life.

In the Hijikawa region of Ozu City, Bunraku developed not as a large professional theatre but as a local folk tradition. Historical records suggest the practice was introduced from Awaji Island, one of Japan’s historic centers of puppet theatre.

The origins of Otani Bunraku date back to 1853, when a travelling troupe from Awaji Island performed in Otani village. When the troupe later disbanded, several performers remained and began teaching local residents how to operate the puppets. Over time, the tradition was passed down through generations and became the community theatre known today as Otani Bunraku.

For many years, these performances were held during local festivals and gatherings. After long days working in the fields, villagers would gather to watch the stories unfold on stage.

Today, the tradition is preserved by local performers, although like many rural performing arts in Japan it faces challenges such as aging members and a shortage of successors. During the performance we attended, one of the puppeteers was a high school student learning from the older members of the troupe. Watching this exchange between generations made the experience feel especially meaningful.

At the moment, there is no regular venue where visitors can easily experience Otani Bunraku, but the local preservation group is working to create opportunities for travelers to learn about the tradition in the future. If such experiences become available, I will update this article.

Even without understanding Japanese, the performance was surprisingly immersive. The rhythm of the narration, the music, and the expressive movements of the puppets pulled the audience into the story. At times I found myself laughing, and even tearing up, alongside the characters.

Even the region’s traditional sweets reflect the cultural heritage of the Hijikawa Valley near Ozu in Ehime Prefecture. One example is Bunraku Monaka, a traditional monaka sweet made from crisp rice wafers filled with smooth red bean paste, inspired by the valley’s long-standing Bunraku puppet theatre tradition.

The sweet is made by Fukueido Kashoho (福栄堂菓子舗), the only remaining wagashi shop in Hijikawa Town. Founded in 1922 during the Taisho era, the shop first operated as a general store selling food and medicine before later specializing in traditional Japanese sweets.

Today it remains a small family-run business closely connected to the local community, continuing to produce wagashi that reflect the culture and traditions of the Hijikawa Valley.

For those who want to spend more time in the valley, there are several places to stay that are both surprisingly affordable and high quality.

During this visit, we stayed at Kanogawaso (鹿野川荘) and also stopped by the retro Oyabu Onsen (小薮温泉). Unfortunately, the onsen itself was closed during our visit, as Tuesdays are their regular day off. Still, we were able to admire the beautiful three-story wooden main building, constructed in the mid-Taisho period (early 20th century).

Surrounded by wooden verandas with traditional railings, the building feels almost frozen in time. Large wooden structures of this age are increasingly rare in Japan, and the building was designated a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in 2000.

Tucked into the mountains near the Hijikawa River, Kanogawaso offers a peaceful stay surrounded by forested hills and access to its own hot spring baths. The inn sits near Kanogawa Dam, built to help control flooding along the river, a reminder of how closely life in this valley has always been connected to the Hijikawa River.

During our stay we chatted with a local grandmother who visits the onsen every day. She enthusiastically told us how delicious the food at the inn was. Later that evening, we discovered she had not exaggerated at all!

Dinner highlighted ingredients from the surrounding countryside, seasonal vegetables, river fish, and dishes paired with sake brewed just a few hours earlier at Yoro Shuzo, the brewery we had visited earlier that day.

If you are exploring the area during the day, Kanogawaso is also open for lunch, making it a convenient stop even if you’re not staying overnight.

After breakfast, we visited our final destination in the Hijikawa Valley near Ozu in Ehime Prefecture — a small cultural facility called Kaze no Hakubutsukan Utamaro-kan, a museum dedicated to the world of ukiyo-e woodblock prints.

Ukiyo-e, the iconic woodblock prints of Japan’s Edo period, are among the most internationally recognized forms of Japanese art. Artists such as Hokusai and Utamaro influenced painters in Europe and helped shape artistic movements such as Impressionism.

The museum was established after original woodblocks connected to the ukiyo-e master Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806) were discovered in a local storehouse. No one knows exactly how they ended up in this rural valley.

In many places, discoveries like this might simply be transferred to large museums in major cities. But in the Hijikawa Valley, the community made a different decision. Instead of sending the woodblocks away, they chose to preserve them locally and share their history with visitors.

One of the highlights of visiting Utamaro-kan museum is the chance to try traditional ukiyo-e woodblock printing (摺り体験) yourself.

The process is far more intricate than it might first appear. A single ukiyo-e print is not created by just one artist. Traditionally, four specialists worked together: the artist who designed the image, the carver who cut the design into wooden blocks, the printer who applied pigments and pressed the paper, and the publisher who coordinated the entire production.

For multicolored prints, a separate woodblock must be carved for each color, sometimes ten or more blocks for a single image. Each sheet of paper must then be aligned perfectly with every block during printing. Even the smallest shift can ruin the entire print.

After trying the printing process myself, I gained a completely new appreciation for the patience and craftsmanship behind what might otherwise look like a simple image.

While many travelers visit Ehime for destinations such as Matsuyama Castle, Dogo Onsen, or the Shimanami Kaido cycling route, the countryside around Ozu offers a quieter side of the region.

The Hijikawa Valley is one of the most fascinating places to explore in southern Ehime. Here, visitors can experience sake brewing, Bunraku puppet theatre, traditional wagashi, and hands-on ukiyo-e woodblock printing.

Other nearby destinations worth exploring include:

These destinations can easily be explored together with Ozu as part of a multi-day trip through southern Ehime Prefecture. You can also read my guide to Ozu Castle Town and the NIPPONIA Ozu Castle Town project, as well as a 3-day train journey through southern Ehime.