CHUGOKU / SHIKOKU
Shimanami Kaido
Travel journal from Shimanami Kaido, with 12 notes on the places I ate, the dishes I cooked and the sights: Hirakiyama Park, The Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge and the Shimanami Kaido, The beach and harbor at Asanamihara, Mackerel sandwich with Setouchi lemon.
Journeys: 2 · Notes: 12
Journeys
6 Best Cherry Blossom Viewing Spots in Tokyo and Amazing Sakura Views at Shikoku Shiudeyama
Chasing the cherry blossoms across spring Japan
I'd assumed Japan's cherry blossoms start in Kyushu, but the first Somei-yoshino open in Tokyo.
Film published 2024.04.06
Living in an Old House by the Seto Inland Sea
Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
I spent a day in an old house in Asanamihara, a fishing village in Ehime facing the Seto Inland Sea.
Film published 2023.01.02
01
Cook the local flavors once more
Dishes made in borrowed kitchens, and how each one connects to the land.
Matsuyama, Ehime
Mackerel sandwich with Setouchi lemon
Breakfast in a fishing village on the Seto Inland Sea, made with the region's Setouchi lemon and eaten on the beach in front of the inn.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Jako-ten, prawns and Ehime wagyu on a charcoal grill
Jako-ten is a deep-fried fish-paste cake from the Nanyo region of southern Ehime.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Tai-meshi, sashimi-bowl style
Ehime has two kinds of tai-meshi.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Tai-meshi, pot-rice style (Hojo tai-meshi)
Hojo tai-meshi is the regional dish of Hojo, in Matsuyama: a whole sea bream cooked with the rice, with nothing but bream and kelp dashi, no burdock, carrot or…
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
02
A little of each town’s story
Sights, specialties and how the towns came to be: small cultural notes beside each journey.
Shimanami Kaido
Hirakiyama Park
A park at the top of Mt.
From: Chasing the cherry blossoms across spring Japan
Matsuyama, Ehime
The Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge and the Shimanami Kaido
The Shimanami Kaido (Nishiseto Expressway) is a roughly 60-kilometer motorway that threads through the islands of the Geiyo archipelago, linking Onomichi in Hir…
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Ehime sea bream
Ehime has led Japan in farmed sea bream production for 33 consecutive years, according to the prefecture's 2024 fisheries statistics.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Hojo tai-meshi (ready-to-eat, with a little pot)
A boxed, ready-to-eat version of Hojo tai-meshi, the regional dish of Hojo in Matsuyama.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Botchan dango
A Matsuyama confection: balls of soft gyuhi mochi coated in three colors of bean paste (matcha, egg and adzuki), three to a skewer.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
The beach and harbor at Asanamihara
A seaside village in the Asanami area of former Hojo City, at the northern tip of Matsuyama.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
03
Places we stopped along the way
What we ate and bought, with shop details checked against published listings.
Matsuyama, Ehime
Kurushima Kaikyo Service Area (mandarin juice from a tap)
A service area at the Shikoku end of the Shimanami Kaido, overlooking the Kurushima Strait and its bridge.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Matsuyama, Ehime
Tenmaya Shokudo
An old-fashioned neighborhood eatery in Namikata, Imabari, serving chuka soba, okonomiyaki, udon and soba.
From: Shimanami Kaido: sea-bream rice and a salty breeze
Other places in Chugoku & Shikoku
Chugoku & Shikoku
Onomichi
Cinema Onomichi, The former Yamato-yu bathhouse, Onomichi Hondori Shopping Street
Journeys: 2 · Notes: 16
Chugoku & Shikoku
Sanagi Island
Sanagi Island, Maki Hachiman Shrine, Awashima
Journeys: 1 · Notes: 7
Chugoku & Shikoku
Awashima & Shishijima
Awashima, Shishijima, The Great Camphor Tree of Shishijima
Journeys: 1 · Notes: 9
Chugoku & Shikoku
Futami
Shimonada Station, Futami, where the setting sun stops for a moment, Fisherman's rice in dashi
Journeys: 1 · Notes: 11
Chugoku & Shikoku
Mitoyo (Mt. Shiude)
Mt. Shiudeyama, Chichibugahama Beach, Café corner, Shiudeyama Site Museum
Journeys: 1 · Notes: 4