Imabari is known for its high-quality towels. These are highly absorbent, they don’t need to be washed before they can be used, and they come in a huge area of appealing designs. The towels can be found in shops all over Ehime, but besides shops, there are several museums celebrating this aspect of Imabari’s industry. The biggest of these is the Towel Museum of Art.

This big modern building sits in the mountains outside the city of Imabari. In equal parts museum and department store, it features art objects made of textiles. There are also many Ehime food products on sale. The presentation of the towels and other products is very attractive, and if you’re looking for something to take home, you’ll find plenty of options.

The museum part or “gallery” is housed in an immensely long room that shows the towel-making process from start to finish, from raw cotton, through spinning, and weaving on an automatic loom. Other rooms feature a wall of 1,800 large spools of thread, and various artworks made of towels, or woven in towelling. A visit to the Towel Museum is sure to result in some interesting shots for your Instagram feed.

The museum has a license agreement with the Moomin franchise, so Moomin and his friends are much in evidence. There’s also a garden with some nice displays of citrus trees and Moomin statuary, and a restaurant with reasonably-priced family fare.

Those who enjoy a bit of shopping and brand stuff will no doubt enjoy the Towel Museum for what it is. Otherwise, it’s a good place to kill some time pleasantly on a rainy day.