ANA Crowne Plaza Matsuyama
Matsuyama’s best-known full-service hotel, on the main avenue below the castle with the tram stop outside and Okaido a short walk away.
Where to stay in Ehime
Hand-picked hotels and ryokan for each destination, with links to live prices and reviews on Trip.com.
For most trips the question is simply Matsuyama or Dogo Onsen. They are ten minutes apart by tram: the city centre has more restaurants, lower prices and faster access to trains; Dogo has the ryokan, the baths and the atmosphere. A common solution is two nights in each — or a city hotel with one splurge night in a ryokan.
Beyond the capital, stay in Imabari or on an island if you are cycling the Shimanami Kaido, in Ozu or Uchiko for a night in a restored merchant house, in Uwajima to explore the far south, and in Saijo before climbing Mount Ishizuchi. The lists below are grouped by destination; each destination’s own travel guide explains the neighbourhoods in more detail.
Hotel links go to Trip.com. We show no prices or scores because they change daily — each link opens the live rate and guest reviews.
Matsuyama & central Ehime
Where to stay in Matsuyama
Stay around Okaido and Ichibancho for restaurants, the castle ropeway and trams in every direction; near Matsuyama City Station for buses and airport links; or sleep in a ryokan at Dogo Onsen, ten minutes away by tram.
Candeo Hotels Matsuyama Okaido
A modern hotel at the top of the Okaido arcade, steps from the castle ropeway, with a rooftop spa for guests.
Daiwa Roynet Hotel Matsuyama
A dependable upper-business hotel in the centre, close to the arcades, with larger-than-average rooms.
Dormy Inn Matsuyama Natural Hot Spring
A city-centre hotel from the popular Dormy Inn chain, with its own natural hot-spring bath.
REF Matsuyama City Station by Vessel Hotels
A contemporary hotel beside Matsuyama City Station, convenient for airport buses, Iyotetsu trains and the Gintengai arcade.
Hotel MyStays Matsuyama
A good-value business hotel near the castle moat park, between the JR station and the centre.
Setouchi Retreat Aonagi
A small, exclusive design retreat in the hills north of the city, with all-suite rooms and wide views over the Inland Sea.
See all hotels on Trip.com Matsuyama Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Food & Tips
Matsuyama & central Ehime
Where to stay in Dogo Onsen
Dogo is where Ehime’s classic ryokan are: historic houses such as Funaya and Yamatoya Honten, large onsen hotels with rooftop baths, and a few simpler places. Almost everything is within five minutes’ walk of the Honkan; book well ahead for weekends and holidays.
Funaya
A historic Dogo ryokan with a celebrated stroll garden, long associated with literary and imperial guests, a few minutes from the Honkan.
Yamatoya Honten
One of Dogo’s grand traditional inns, known for its Noh stage and refined kaiseki dinners, close to the Honkan.
Yamatoya Besso
A small, quiet ryokan in a sukiya-style building near the arcade, with attentive service; some rooms have private baths.
Dogo Kan
A large ryokan-hotel on the slope above the Honkan, with spacious public baths including open-air pools.
Hotel Kowakuen Haruka
A modern onsen hotel on the hillside with a rooftop bath overlooking Dogo and the city.
Old England Dogo Yamanote Hotel
A British-themed hotel a few minutes from the Honkan, combining Western-style rooms with hot-spring baths.
Chaharu
A well-regarded onsen hotel near the bathhouses, with rooftop open-air baths and Japanese-Western rooms.
Dogo Prince Hotel
A large onsen hotel a short shuttle ride from the station, popular with families for its range of baths.
See all hotels on Trip.com Dogo Onsen Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Food & Tips
Imabari & the islands
Where to stay in Shimanami Kaido & Imabari
In Imabari, stay near the JR station — several hotels there are set up for cyclists, with bike storage and laundry. To split the ride, book a guesthouse or cyclists’ hostel on Omishima, roughly the halfway point; island rooms are few, so reserve early for weekends.
JR Clement Inn Imabari
Next to Imabari Station and geared to cyclists, with bike-friendly facilities — the easiest base for an early start.
Imabari Kokusai Hotel
The city’s largest full-service hotel, in the centre near the city hall, with several restaurants and a big public bath.
Imabari Urban Hotel
A straightforward business hotel close to the station, used to hosting Shimanami riders.
Imabari Station Hotel
A recently opened budget hotel a minute from the station entrance.
Shimanami Prime Hotel Imabari
A modern business hotel in central Imabari within reach of the station and port.
WAKKA (Omishima)
A cyclists’ base on Omishima near the Tatara Bridge, with a café, a range of room types and bike services.
Omishima Ikoi no Ie
A former primary school by the sea on Omishima, converted into a stylish, simple inn.
See all hotels on Trip.com Shimanami Kaido & Imabari Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Food & Tips
Southern Ehime (Nanyo)
Where to stay in Uchiko
Uchiko has a small number of characterful places to sleep — restored townhouses and storehouses rented as inns, mostly with just one to three rooms. They book up fast; otherwise visit on a day trip from Matsuyama or stay in nearby Ozu.
Uchiko-no-Yado Ori
A restored townhouse inn in Uchiko’s old quarter, with just a few rooms and a great deal of character.
Uchiko Inn Kura
A converted storehouse rented as a private stay in the heart of the preservation district.
Uchiko Inn Cocoro
A small guesthouse within walking distance of the old town and Uchiko-za theatre.
See all hotels on Trip.com Uchiko Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Food & Tips
Southern Ehime (Nanyo)
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.
See all hotels on Trip.com Ozu Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Food & Tips
Southern Ehime (Nanyo)
Where to stay in Uwajima
Uwajima’s hotels cluster within a few minutes’ walk of the JR station, including one built over the station itself. They are mostly practical city and business hotels — comfortable, inexpensive and close to the restaurants of the covered arcade.
JR Hotel Clement Uwajima
Built over JR Uwajima Station, so you step from the train into the lobby — the most convenient address in town.
Uwajima Oriental Hotel
A city hotel in central Uwajima within walking distance of the station, the arcade and the castle hill.
Super Hotel Uwajima Station
A chain business hotel near the station with a hot-spring public bath.
Uwajima Dai-ichi Hotel
A no-frills business hotel in the town centre at a modest price.
See all hotels on Trip.com Uwajima Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Food & Tips
Mountains & eastern Ehime
Where to stay in Mount Ishizuchi & Saijo
Sleep in Saijo, where there are several business hotels beside Iyo-Saijo Station for an early bus, or on the mountain itself: simple pilgrim inns at Joju above the ropeway, a shrine-run lodge and cabin accommodation in the valley. Mountain places are basic and close in winter.
Hotel Route-Inn Iyo-Saijo
A reliable chain hotel in Saijo with a large public bath, handy for drivers heading to the mountain.
Super Hotel Iyo-Saijo
A compact chain business hotel in Saijo, practical before an early start for the mountain.
Saijo Urban Hotel
A simple hotel right by Iyo-Saijo Station and the start of the spring-water walk.
Ishizuchi Jinja Kaikan
The lodging hall of Ishizuchi Shrine in Saijo — plain rooms in a setting used by pilgrims.
Ishizuchi Fureai no Sato
Cabins and simple rooms in a former school in the forested valley below the mountain.
See all hotels on Trip.com Mount Ishizuchi & Saijo Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Food & Tips
Mountains & eastern Ehime
Where to stay in Niihama
Niihama has a full range of city and business hotels around the JR station and in the commercial centre, used mainly by business travellers — so rooms are easy to find except during the October festival, when the whole city books out.
RIHGA Royal Hotel Niihama
Niihama’s leading full-service hotel, with restaurants and banquet halls, a short drive from the station.
Toyoko Inn Niihama Ekimae
A standard chain business hotel directly in front of Niihama Station.
Hotel Route-Inn Niihama
A chain hotel with a public bath and free parking, well placed for drivers visiting the mine sites.
Super Hotel Niihama
A business hotel with a natural hot-spring bath, good value for a one-night stop.
See all hotels on Trip.com Niihama Travel Guide: Where to Stay, Food & Tips
Destinations best visited from another base
- Shimonada & the Iyo-nada Coast — There is nowhere to stay at the station itself and only a handful of small guesthouses along this stretch of coast. Nearly everyone visits from Matsuyama, or stops on the way to or from Ozu — both are well supplied with hotels.
- Kuma Kogen & Omogo Gorge — Accommodation in the highlands is limited to a few lodges, farm stays, a temple lodging and cabins on the karst, few of which appear on international booking sites. Most visitors come for the day from Matsuyama or Dogo Onsen.
- Tobe — Tobe is so close to the city that there is little reason to sleep there, and it has almost no visitor accommodation. Stay in central Matsuyama or at Dogo Onsen and come out by bus or car.
Booking tips
- Ryokan pricing is per person, usually including dinner and breakfast. Check what the rate covers before comparing it with a hotel.
- Book early for Saturdays, cherry-blossom week, Golden Week (late April to early May), Obon (mid-August), the mid-October festival days in Saijo and Niihama, and New Year.
- Rooms are compact in business hotels; look at the floor area if you have large luggage.
- Cyclists should look for bike storage, laundry and luggage-forwarding — several Imabari hotels advertise all three.
- Hot-spring baths are not limited to ryokan: several city hotels in Matsuyama have natural onsen or rooftop baths.
- Small heritage inns in Uchiko and Ozu have only a few rooms each; reserve as soon as your dates are fixed.
Frequently asked questions
Is it better to stay in Matsuyama or Dogo Onsen?
Stay in central Matsuyama for convenience, choice of restaurants and value; stay in Dogo Onsen for ryokan, hot-spring baths and evening atmosphere. They are only ten to fifteen minutes apart by tram, so you cannot go far wrong.
How much does a ryokan in Dogo Onsen cost?
It varies widely with season and room type. As a rough guide, expect from around 20,000 yen per person with two meals at mid-range ryokan, and considerably more at the top historic inns. Check live prices for your dates.
Where should I stay for the Shimanami Kaido?
Near Imabari Station the night before you ride, and on Omishima or Ikuchijima if you split the route over two days. Onomichi is the natural stop at the far end.
Are there hotels near Mount Ishizuchi?
Business hotels beside Iyo-Saijo Station are the practical choice for an early bus. There are also simple pilgrim lodgings at Joju, above the ropeway, open in the hiking season.
Ready to go?
Book your Ehime experiences before you fly
Guided walks in Dogo Onsen, private guides in Matsuyama, sake breweries and Shimanami day trips — reserve now, pay later and cancel free on most tours.