Cycle Shop Field

A sports bike specialty store that opened in 2021. The shop has a wide range of sports bikes, from city bikes to racing bikes. The e-bikes available for rental include three hybrid bikes and one mountain bike. Be sure to book in advance. Even if it’s your first time riding an e-bike, you can rest assured that the cheerful and friendly staff will kindly teach you how to ride. You can also ask them about recommended cycling routes and nearby attractions.

Matsubara Spring

Along the Shigenobu River, there are many springs that were dug from the Edo period onward. One of them is Matsubara Spring. It was filled in during the Showa period, but was restored due to requests from local residents. It is now a popular waterside park where killifish, loaches, and dragonflies live. In the summer, it is a beautiful waterside attraction where you can run across fireflies. (Photo courtesy of Iyo Lifestyle Information Media Hinobori)

Tobe-Porcelain Traditional Industrial Hall

In addition to selling works from around 80 kilns, the gallery also displays historical documents on Tobe ware as well as excellent contemporary works. Various special exhibitions are held on the second floor. At the back of the building is a 4 m tall Olympic flame monument that appears in the movie “The Bonds of Clay,” which was shot entirely in Tobe. Its burning flame motif is very impressive.

Tomi Soba

A soba restaurant where you can enjoy your soba noodles in Tobe ware. When you open the front door, you will be greeted by the “Soba Choko Museum” where a row of Tobe ware soba choko cups are lined up. If you come at the right time, you can even watch the owner make the soba noodles. The cozy interior of the shop is decorated with traditional crafts such as Tobe ware and Iyo kasuri (splashed pattern fabric). The most popular dish is the all-soba menu, which includes soba noodles served in a bamboo steamer, with grated daikon radish, and sobagaki (buckwheat dumplings). The shop closes when it sells out, so it’s recommended to come early.

Baizangama

The kiln was opened in 1882. This is one of the oldest kilns still standing in Tobe. When Muneyoshi Yanagi (an advocate of the Mingei movement) and others came to inspect the pottery, they praised it for its “functional beauty,” which combines the beauty of handiwork with durability that makes it suitable for everyday use. If you ask at the shop, you can also take a tour of the factory where the potters are working. The large brick climbing kiln, which has been designated a cultural asset by the town, is also worth seeing.

Tobe Pottery Center

The large shop on the first floor displays and sells works from 33 kilns. On the second floor, you can try your hand at pottery painting, hand-building, and wheel-throwing. Advance booking is required for hand-building and wheel-throwing. No booking is required to try pottery painting, so feel free to give it a try. Although it takes about one to one and a half months for the finished product to be ready, you can look forward to it while reminiscing about your trip. Don’t miss out on the adorably charming Tobe ware tiles embedded around the entrance of the building. Make sure to check them out.

Toubou YuuCafe stand tOt

A kiln cafe that is only open on weekends. The workshop and cafe are built side by side on the premises, and you can see work being done in the workshop from outside. The cafe doubles as a gallery, and the “Rust Blue” series (created during the COVID-19 pandemic) has been extremely popular and has sold out repeatedly. You would be lucky to come across this one-of-a-kind item. The first floor of the cafe space has tables, and the second floor has tatami seating like an attic. Enjoy your meal on tableware made in the workshop next door.

Shigenobu River Kasumi Forest Park

The Shigenobu River Cycling Road is approximately 24 km long and connects Matsuyama Central Park and Shin-Yokogawara Bridge in Tōon City. On the opposite bank of the cycling road is the Shigenobu River Kasumi Forest Park, which is a very popular park with a vast grassland. Originally, bicycles could only be ridden on the road on top of the embankment where there was also vehicular traffic, but a new road has been constructed next to the park. This beautiful park features a stream running through a natural forest. It’s the perfect place to take a break.