The Akagane Museum, located on the plaza fronting JR Niihama Station, is an elegant modern building. Its rectangular glass entrance is flanked by gently curved wings clad in copper scales. Akagane means ‘copper’, a material that brought prosperity to the city of Niihama. The combination of curves and straight lines continues inside the building, creating a very airy and agreeable space. The walls are white, while darkly stained wood is used on the stairs and benches for contrast and emphasis.

Despite its name, the Akagane Museum is more of a community centre with an exhibition function than a museum. When you enter, there’s a sunken amphitheatre with wooden seating, and musicians frequently serenade the visitors. Looking onto this entertainment area is a cosy underground café.

The Taikodai Museum celebrates the lively autumn festival held in Niihama, when juggernauts known as taikodai or ‘drum platforms’ are trundled through the city. Each locale has its own unique taikodai, and the taikodai of each district is exhibited on a rotating basis. These juggernauts are richly adorned with traditional Japanese arts such as wood carving, embroidery, tasselling, and fabrics. In the atrium of the museum stands a taikodai from the early twentieth century, attesting to the long continuity of local traditions.

If you’re not in Niihama for the Taiko Festival, you can get a surprisingly real flavour of it in the 360° cinema, where scenes and sounds of the three days of energetic revelry surround you.

The other exhibition halls are home to temporary exhibits of interest to the people of Niihama. This includes anything from Buddhist iconography, to twentieth century politics, to high-school pupils’ views on local tourism. Small, permanent exhibits like the diorama of the nearby Ishizuchi mountain range are enlightening.

Entry to the permanent exhibits of the museum is free of charge, although charges apply to special exhibits. If you’ve enjoyed your time in Niihama, you may be tempted to purchase one of the unique souvenirs from the shop near the entrance.