(松山城) Matsuyama Castle Hike (?)

The Castle Hill rises 132m above sea level, and is a symbol of Matsuyama that can be seen from every part of the city. Surprisingly, hill was treeless when the castle was built in 1602, and the forest had to be planted.

Budget: JPY0 (~USD0)

*JPY520. Entrance, Matsuyama Castle, optional
*JPY270. Chairlift/ropeway, one way, optional

"Hike" Date / Difficulty (Elevation: 132m / 433ft)

September 20, 2020
Difficulty: 0 out of 5. Ok, this is a joke, so please don't take it seriously.
Route below is around 2.4kilometers, with an elevation change of ▲132m/ ▽132m
I did this trip as part of a four night-four day trip to Shikoku. I'll link the blog post once it's published.

When to Go

Open throughout the year.

Time wise, the gate is open around 5:30am until 9pm.

Special Notes

There are three entrances, as described in the map below.
The path from the ropeway seems to be PWD friendly, with ramps in the stairs. However, it would still be a rather significant challenge.

Itinerary

09:00am. Started walking to Matsuyama Castle. I mainly followed google maps.
09:30am. I arrived at entrance designated by google maps, only to find it closed due to soil erosion and fallen trees. There are three entrances, so I started walking to the other one. Here's the map, with the X marking the place I first went to.

09:38am. Arrived at the other entrance. Started hiking up. Yes, hiking.
10:00am. Sum- er, arrived at the castle. It's a big flat spot with restaurants at lining one side, and some benches on the left, overlooking the city. If you wish to enter the castle, it'll be JPY520 per head. I, however, decided to skip the castle and just walk around. Going down, I had the option to turn left to the ropeway/chair lift, or go back the way I came. I decided to go to the route of the ropeway, though I did not take the ropeway/chairlift.
10:18am. Arrived at the chairlift boarding area. The ropeway boarding area is about 5 meters to the right of it. There are also some stores nearby. I've decided to just continue walking down.
10:29am. Arrived at the foot of the hill, turned right and immediately saw the building for the ropeway/chairlift. I decided to just walk in the direction of Matsuyama Station, and look for a good place to eat lunch in. I stumbled on the shopping street, which was mainly closed either because it's not 11am yet or the covid, I don't know. Either way, that concludes the Matsuyama Castle Hill trip!