7 spots โ sorted by traveller rating
Ehime's most celebrated local dish, served in two regional styles: Matsuyama-style (raw sea bream on hot rice with egg and dashi broth) and Uwa-style (whole grilled sea bream cooked directly over rice). Both versions showcase the exceptional quality of Ehime's Seto Inland Sea snapper.
Saijo City is one of Japan's most celebrated sake-brewing towns, famous for its exceptionally soft water drawn from the Nishiyama groundwater system. The city has 8 active breweries in a small area, many offering tastings. Labels including Chitosetsuru and Sachi no Tsuru are sought after.
Ehime produces around 20% of Japan's mikan (mandarin oranges) and is also famous for iyokan, dekopon, and beni madonna โ some of Japan's finest citrus varieties. The terraced orange groves spilling down hillsides to the Uwa Sea are iconic Ehime scenery.
Ehime has two distinct local ramen styles: Matsuyama-style, featuring a soy-based broth with a delicate balance of sweetness, and Imabari-style featuring thick noodles with a strong pork-bone broth and distinctive 'yakibuta' (grilled pork slices). Both reflect the prefecture's confident food culture.
A beloved Ehime snack made from small ground fish (primarily small sharks and other bycatch), mixed and deep-fried into a flat cake. The texture is dense and chewy with a pleasantly savoury, slightly salty fish flavour. Sold hot from the fryer at market stalls.
Ehime's Seto Inland Sea location makes it exceptional for seafood-based preserved foods. Kamaboko (steamed fish paste), chikuwa (grilled fish tube), and satsuma-age (fried fish cake) are produced locally in many regional styles. Yawatahama's morning market is the best place to sample and buy.
Jakoten โ deep-fried fish cake made from small bony fish (jyako) ground skin-on with bone into a paste and fried in hot oil โ is Ehime's most distinctive street food, found nowhere else in Japan. The fish oils give it a rich, savoury depth quite unlike kamaboko. Bought from stalls at Uwajima fish market or Imabari ferry terminal still warm, it's unexpectedly addictive.
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