Our journey begins at Minetopia Besshi Roadside Station on Prefectural Route 47. It is home to a mining theme park which utilizes the remains of the main part of the Besshi Copper Mine, a mine which once ranked among the top three of its kind in the country. Attractions include riding the mine’s actual mining train around the facility, checking out the giant dioramas in the Besshi Copper Mine, and watching a documentary video on the mines. This facility is also the perfect place to energize before you start your ride as it houses a gift shop full of specialty goods from Niihama City and other parts of Ehime Prefecture, as well as a restaurant where you can savor a citrus-flavored iyokan soft-serve ice cream made with locally-sourced ingredients.

Explore the industrial heritage structures of the Besshi Copper Mine, located deep in the mountains of Niihama. Nestled in these mountains are ruins that attract many visitors, including an ore storehouse and other buildings collectively referred to as the Machu Picchu of the Orient for their picturesque mystique. On a fine day, this area offers views out over the Niihama City streets and distant Inland Sea from its lofty altitude of around 750 m. If you attempt it on a bicycle you will encounter a series of steep mountain roads so we advise you to take the tourist bus that departs from Minetopia Besshi Roadside Station.

Take a 20-minute walk from the Hiura Trailhead located on the southern side of the Tonaru Industrial Heritage Zone and you’ll come to the earliest set of mine ruins, known as the old Besshi Copper Mine Area. Here you’ll come across a tunnel that was used for carrying out ore, as well as the ruins of structures such as an elementary school and theater, and you’ll find that the industrial and cultural remains from that time have fused with nature over time. Why not enjoy a stroll via the hiking course?

Once you’ve exhausted the possibilities of the Besshi Copper Mine, leave Minetopia Besshi Roadside Station and continue down Prefectural Route 47 until you come to the Besshi Mountain Furusato Museum. In the corner that introduces the history of the Besshi Copper Mine, you’ll find mining equipment such as helmets and gas lamps that were once used in these copper mines, as well as stuffed specimens of creatures that live on Besshi Mountain. There is also a café in the building, and we recommend taking a break here and tuning in to the murmur of the Dozan River.

Midway up Besshi Mountain is a vast nature park, and lying at the center is one of Japan’s largest dome-shaped wisteria pergolas. In May each year, when the flowers are in full bloom, the city holds a Wisteria Pergola Festival, complete with concerts and other events. At the park’s hotel restaurant, Auberge Yuragi, you can feast on western-style dishes made from locally produced chicken, and salads containing fresh organic vegetables grown in their own garden. There is also the option of making use of their facilities and glamping in the hotel grounds.

From Yuragi no Mori, head along Prefectural Route 6 until you come to a square that sits on the edge of a lake. Venture into the grounds and you’ll see Tera no Mizu no Yakata, a museum that exhibits historical materials on the surrounding region. The second floor of the museum houses a restaurant serving dishes made with local ingredients. Their specialty is a deep-fried freshwater fish known as amego. This fish has little of the bitterness expected from freshwater fish, and the entire fish is edible from the head to the tail (including the bones). There are few restaurants in the surrounding area, so this is somewhere you’ll want to visit if you’re feeling hungry.

Photograph: Shikokuchuo City Tourism Association

Explore the dynamic scenery fashioned by nature as you traverse the 6 km span of the Tomisato Gorge. One particularly delightful spot is the 60 m high stone wall known as Modorigadake. Lush greenery sprouts from between cracks in the rock, creating a scene that resembles a painting in its beauty. The seasons invite different kinds of enjoyment here, such as mountain stream fishing in summer and autumnal colors in fall.

Photograph: Shikokuchuo City Tourism Association

As you leave Tomisato Gorge behind and ride along the leafy Prefectural Route 6 toward Shikokuchuo City, you’ll begin to catch glimpses of the Kinsha Lakeside Park that sits beside an expansive man-made lake approximately 7 km long. The scarlet Hirano Bridge spanning the lake looks stunning against a background of the beautiful mountain range reflected in the water. Different seasons offer different pleasures—this spot is famed for cherry blossoms in spring, and autumnal colors in the fall. The park also has a well-maintained walkway running through it that rewards a gentle stroll.

Mt. Suiha is located in Ehime’s Shikokuchuo City. From the Suiha Kogen, a highland area which ranges over 100-odd hectares at elevations of around 760 m, you can enjoy 360˚ panoramic views that stretch as far as the Seto Inland Sea and the Shikoku Mountains. This highland area greets visitors with a profusion of vivid yellow rape blossom in spring, and swathes of early cosmos in fall. There are also festivals that celebrate the blossoming of these flowers and attract large numbers of both locals and tourists—the Rape Blossom Festival in late April and the Cosmos Festival in late August.

Photograph: Shikokuchuo City Tourism Association

This observation deck offers sweeping views of Shikokuchuo City’s streets and the Seto Inland Sea. During the daytime you can see right over the Inland Sea to Honshu, the largest island in the Japanese Archipelago. Then at nighttime, the lights of the manufacturing quarter are so bright it looks like a light show. There are also many cherry trees clustered around the deck, making it a popular spot for cherry blossom viewing in spring. But regardless of the season or time of day or night, this location offers stunning scenery.

Photograph: Shikokuchuo City Tourism Association

Stop by this day-stay bathhouse situated along National Route 11. This facility boasts a skin-beautifying hot spring welling up on site, and here you can enjoy a range of baths including a large bath, an open-air bath, and a bath with a waterfall shoulder massage. It also houses a restaurant offering light meals, a rest area provided with manga comics and magazines, and an area offering foot and body care. This is undoubtedly the perfect place to ease any fatigue from cycling.

With 70 years of history, Aoki Kamaboko is a store of long-standing repute that sells freshly-fried tempura, and chikuwa and kamaboko fish cakes made from fresh seafood caught in the Seto Inland Sea. Their specialty here is shrimp chikuwa in a cute shade of vivid pink. This product is made from a mix of shrimp minced with shells on, white minced fish mashed into a paste, and tofu made in-house. People from Ehime’s Toyo region have been familiar with this delicacy as a local specialty since around 1860. Since you can purchase any number from one upward, this is a great place to stop if you get hungry while cycling.

Stop by one of Shikoku’s largest resort marinas. In summer you can bathe in the waters of the Seto Inland Sea to your hearts content at the resort’s artificial beach. Also known as Palm Tree Beach, the name hints at the photogenic qualities that help make this spot popular. On the grounds you’ll also find a restaurant called Bayside Restaurant Blanc & Bleu where you can enjoy a seafood lunch made using locally-sourced fish.

Make a visit to Besshi Ame Honpo, a sweets store with a venerable 150 year history. Here they make and sell a range of Japanese and western-style sweets, but their main product is Besshi Ame, a local specialty candy named for its connection to the Besshi Copper Mine on which Niihama’s prosperity was built. Still made by a process that adheres faithfully to the original method of cooking the syrup in a copper pot, these Besshi Ame are characterized by a subtle sweetness when you put them in your mouth. There are five flavors to enjoy, including mandarin, one of Ehime’s specialty products. The cardboard boxes and paper wrapping are decorated with retro illustrations that depict the history of the Besshi Copper Mine, and this makes them perfect for a little souvenir. You can also visit the factory next door and watch the Besshi Ame manufacturing process.

This café with a laid-back atmosphere is located inside Aeon Mall Niihama, a large-scale shopping mall. One of the most popular eats here is the ciabatta sandwich containing fillings such as prosciutto and honey cream cheese. For an energy hit in the middle of your ride, order a café au lait shake to go with it, and enjoy the distinctive delicate sweetness produced by wasanbon, a high-grade Japanese sugar.

Akagane Museum is a general cultural facility and museum located next to Niihama Station. Step inside to view the exhibit of a giant taiko drum platform used in the Niihama Taiko Festival, ranked one of the top three festivals in all Shikoku. This exhibit of a real taiko platform is accompanied by video and photographs of the festival in progress, giving visitors a taste of what it’s like to actually participate in the festival.

This museum communicates the history and significance of the Besshi Copper Mine to future generations. Its architecture is distinctive, featuring a semi-underground structure that utilizes the slope of the mountain. Venture inside and you’ll find an exhibit that introduces the lifestyle of miners, offering a valuable insight into what life was like at the time for those engaged in opening these mines. The Besshi Copper Mine was authorized to open in May, and in a nod to this timing, the roof of the museum has been planted with around 10,000 satsuki azaleas, satsuki being the Japanese term for May (the fifth moon) in the old lunar calendar. In late May, when these flowers are in full bloom, the exterior of the museum is dyed a gorgeous pink color, letting visitors enjoy a slightly different view.

The Besshi Rhein is a scenic gorge that runs for 10 km, named for Germany’s river Rhein. Its beauty has seen it selected as one of Shikoku’s top 20 views. Popular with tourists year round, it presents a different face in each season—cherry blossoms in spring, fresh green in summer, and autumnal colors in fall. As you can imagine, cycling Prefectural Route 47 as it follows alongside the Besshi Rhein offers a special level of feel-good charm. Enjoy a refreshing cycle through an untrammeled wilderness!