Matsuyama Castle (Matsuyama-jo), with its constrcution starting in 1603, was completed in 1627 by Kato Yoshiaki, who had once served under the hegemon Toyotomi Hideyoshi, the ruler of Japan in the latter half of the 16th century. It stands on the summit of Katsu-yama, which is positioned almost in the middle of Matsuyama, and the castle building, stone walls and moat with the donjon at the center retain their former images well. The donjon was originally a five-tiered building but was renovated as a three-tiered structure in the 17th century. This donjon was destroyed in a fire afterwards, and the existing one was built in 1854. The exterior shows a slight curvature in the small triangular gables on the roof and is nothing ostentatious. Fine, thick pieces of timber are used for the interior, however.
Matsuyama also has a lot of old buildings worth visiting so its a good choice when going for traditional architecture.
The castle can be accessed by ropeway (¥250 per ride)
Admission: ¥500 (¥150 for primary school pupil)
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