Ozu

Ozu was the seat of the Kato lords for more than 250 years, and the grid of streets they laid out below the castle still shapes the old quarter. The town calls itself the “Little Kyoto of Iyo”, and although it is far smaller and quieter than its namesake, the comparison is fair in one respect: craftsmanship. Garyu Sanso, a villa completed in 1907 on a cliff above the river, is a masterpiece of the carpenter’s art, and the castle keep was rebuilt in 2004 entirely in timber using traditional joinery.

In recent years Ozu has become known for an unusual revival project: empty merchant houses across the old town have been restored as hotel rooms, shops and restaurants, and on a limited number of nights guests can even sleep in the castle keep itself. Add summer evenings watching cormorant fishing from a riverboat, and Ozu rewards more than the quick stop most itineraries give it.

Ozu highlights

• Climb the four-storey Ozu Castle keep, rebuilt in wood from original plans and models.
• Sit in the Furo-an tea house at Garyu Sanso, cantilevered over the river on living tree trunks.
• Wander Ohanahan-dori and the lanes of white-walled storehouses.
• Watch cormorant fishing by torchlight from a roofed riverboat in summer.
• Stay in a restored townhouse — or, for a once-in-a-lifetime price, in the castle.