Uwajima is a compact port city, built around a small castle on a hill. The city was the feudal seat of Date Masamune, a lord who promoted Uwajima as a centre of industry, education, and culture. At the Date Museum, you can see artefacts from the clan that seem as good as new.

‘Bull sumo’ is held several times a year in a dedicated ring on a low hill above the town. In this version of bull fighting, the bulls lock horns and push until one of them turns and flees the ring. You may see farmers taking their bulls for a morning walk. Uwajima’s other bulls are the ‘ushi-oni’ or bull-devils with fierce mask faces which are trundled around at the Warei festival in July.

Uwajima is home to a fertility shrine called Taga Shrine, featuring a large phallus carved from a log and a historical sex museum.

In Uwajima, nature is close at hand. The highly indented ria coastline dotted with small islands is home to an active pearl and fish farming industry. Much effort has been made to establish sustainable fisheries using waste fruit from citrus production as feed. A visit to the fish farms by fishing boat or kayak is a memorable experience. Behind the city towers Mt. Onigajo, the Devil’s Castle, a mountain that’s topped with white in winter.