Ozu travel guide
Where to base yourself, what to eat, how to save money and ready-made day plans for Ozu.
Staying in Ozu
Most visitors come for a few hours, but Ozu is one of the best places in Ehime to spend a night. The dispersed heritage hotel gives you a restored merchant house or storehouse as your room, with reception and restaurant in other buildings nearby. The castle stay is a different order of things: one party per night sleeps in the keep, at a price of around a million yen for two, on a limited calendar. Both should be booked well in advance.
What to eat
River fish such as sweetfish (ayu) in summer, and in autumn imotaki — a hotpot of taro, chicken and vegetables eaten at long tables on the riverbank under the harvest moon, an Ozu tradition said to be some 300 years old. Year-round, look for shigure, a steamed sweet of adzuki beans and rice flour, and cafés in the restored storehouses.
Practical tips
Buy the combined ticket for the castle and Garyu Sanso. Both close at 17:00, so start by early afternoon at the latest. Pairing Ozu with Uchiko makes a full, easy day from Matsuyama; with a car you can add the sunset at Shimonada on the way back.
Where to stay in Ozu
Ozu’s signature stay is the “dispersed hotel” that has turned restored merchant houses around the old town into guest rooms; there are also ordinary business hotels near the station and expressway. The castle stay is sold separately, for a small number of nights each year.
- NIPPONIA HOTEL Ozu Castle Town — Ozu’s dispersed heritage hotel: guest rooms in restored merchant houses and storehouses scattered through the old town.
- Hotel Ohta — A simple, friendly business hotel in central Ozu.
- Super Hotel Ehime Ozu Inter — A chain business hotel near the expressway interchange, practical for drivers.
How to spend your time in Ozu
Half day
Bus or taxi from the station to Ozu Castle, walk through the storehouse lanes and Ohanahan-dori to Garyu Sanso, coffee at the Red Brick Hall and back to the train.
Summer evening
Arrive mid-afternoon, see the villa and castle, then board a cormorant-fishing boat at dusk and stay the night in the old town.
With Uchiko
Morning in Uchiko, lunch there, then the short train ride to Ozu for the afternoon.
Ozu: frequently asked questions
Can you really stay in Ozu Castle?
Yes. Since 2020 the wooden keep has been offered as accommodation for one party a night on a limited number of dates. It is very expensive and must be reserved far ahead through the operator.
Is Ozu Castle original?
Four turrets are original and nationally designated. The main keep is a 2004 reconstruction, but it was built in wood with traditional techniques from historical records, which makes it unusually convincing.
When is cormorant fishing held?
Normally every evening from 1 June to 20 September, except when the river is too high. Daytime cruises run in other seasons.
Ready for Ozu?
Lock in a guide, a tasting or a day trip for Ozu now — most GetYourGuide bookings can be cancelled free up to 24 hours before.