Central Ehime · OzuNo.640★Open in map →

Ohanahan Street

— Ozu's preserved Edo-era lane

localOff the trail — and worth it

A short, unusually wide street at the eastern edge of Ozu's old quarter, close to the Hiji River. The north side was merchant storehouses, the south side samurai residences, and the layout between them has never been redrawn.

FromMatsuyama Station
~65 minJR limited express, hourly
Get off atIyo-Ozu Station (JR Yosan Line)
From there
Ohanahan Street

Directions ↗

The sweet spot

Ozu is documented and signposted; it is simply passed through. Most travellers on this line ride on to Uchiko or Uwajima, and the lane is a residential street rather than an attraction with a gate, so it never fills up.

Where it is

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What to look for — in walking order

Ozu Castlethe castle above the Hiji River, at the western end of the old quarter
Ohanahan Streetthe wide lane itself, with a water channel running beside the frontages
Meiji no Ienamithe adjoining row of board-skirted samurai frontages and namako-walled storehouses
Garyu Sansothe riverside villa at the eastern end, whose garden is a national scenic site

How to actually get there

Matsuyama Station → Iyo-Ozu Station (JR Yosan Line, Uwakai limited express, about 45 minutes, roughly hourly).
Iyo-Ozu Station → the old Konan quarter (walk south through the Tonomachi and Tokiwacho shopping streets).
Walk the lane from the castle side towards the river, past the Meiji-era frontages.
Finish at the riverside villa at the eastern end, then return the same way.

JR Yosan Line limited express from Matsuyama: Matsuyama Station → (JR Yosan Line, Uwakai limited express) → Iyo-Ozu Station, roughly 45 minutes, with departures about once an hour. From the station the old quarter lies south, towards the Hiji River. Local buses also serve the Ozu-Honmachi area close to the lane, but on foot the walk is straightforward.
Return from Iyo-Ozu Station: Walk back north to Iyo-Ozu Station for the limited express to Matsuyama, or carry on south to Uwajima on the same line. The station is unstaffed early and late in the day, and at those hours tickets are collected on board, so keep yours to hand.

Directions from my location (Google Maps) ↗

About the place

Ozu sits inland in central Ehime, on a bend of the Hiji River, and calls itself the little Kyoto of Iyo. Its old quarter, Konan, is small enough to cross on foot, and this lane runs along its eastern edge. What makes the street noticeable is its width. It marked the boundary between two social worlds, with warehouses belonging to the merchant families on one side and samurai houses on the other. It also served as the approach road the domain lord used when travelling from the castle to his villa downstream. The city and the tourism association both describe the Edo-period street plan and much of the frontage as still intact here.

How to enjoy it

The street is outdoors and free, so it drops into any part of the day. From Iyo-Ozu Station it is roughly a 20-minute walk southwest, which makes a loop of castle, lane and villa comfortable within half a day. The Uwakai limited express runs about once an hour, so there is no need to build the day around one train.

Background & history

The street's name is borrowed, and fairly recent. In 1966 NHK filmed part of its morning drama serial Ohanahan in this quarter, and the lane has carried the show's name ever since; the sign at Iyo-Ozu Station still introduces the town by it. What the cameras came for was much older: plaster storehouses with namako lattice walls, board-skirted samurai frontages, and a road width fixed long before cars. The castle above the river and the lord's villa at the eastern end anchor the two ends of the same short walk.

Before you go

Cash: The lane is a public street and costs nothing to walk. The castle and the villa at either end are managed separately, so check their own conditions on the day if you plan to go inside.
Good to know: There is no gate and no closing time, but this is a lived-in street: the frontages are private homes and businesses, so keep to the roadway. There is little shelter if the weather turns.
Another way: Coming from the south, Iyo-Ozu is reached from Uwajima on the same Yosan Line, which makes the town an easy stop between Uwajima and Matsuyama.
After you get off: From Iyo-Ozu Station, walk south through the Tonomachi and Tokiwacho shopping streets and keep going towards the river; the lane lies at the far eastern edge of the old quarter, about 20 minutes from the platform.