Historical town walk & Traditional culture

In Uchiko and Ozu town, Ehime prefecture, you can see traditional houses and storehouses with earthen or plastered walls. Most of those houses were built in Edo, Meiji, Taisho era (1600-1900). People still live in these and you can appreciate the beauty of these unique rows of stores and houses. Some parts of this area are designated as a Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings.
The followings introduce some of the traditional cultures in Uchiko and Ozu.

Cormorant fishing (Ukai) is one of the traditional fishing methods. They use cormorants for fishing for sweetfish. Ozu Ukai is one of Japan’s three greatest cormorant fishing methods.

You can ride on a houseboat and see the fishing boats making a fire in an iron basket up close. It is very impressive and you can enjoy the great sweetfish after fishing.

“Japanese candle making”

A Japanese candle making is one of the chief industries in Uchiko. Japanese candle maker, Omori, is the only handmade workshop in Ehime prefecture.

It is made from wax squeezed from the fruits of the Haze tree. The big candle flame is bright and warm and does not drip any wax.

Japanese candle is famous in many countries and the candle is introduced by the British Museum website.

Where is EHIME?

Ehime is a prefecture in Shikoku, an island located southwest of Japan’s main island of Honshu. It faces the Seto Inland Sea and enjoys mild to warm weather. It’s easily accessible from popular cities like Hiroshima and Beppu, and is not far from Kyoto or Osaka. Approx. 1 hr and 30 min by air from Tokyo, 1 hr by air from Osak

a.