Saijo City

Its scent is said to bring the festival.

Kinmokusei tree, Oshimori-ji

01 ／ Ishizuchi Kurocha Production Technique (石鎚黒茶の製造技術)

Two stages of fermentationturn the leaves black.

A post-fermented tea handed down in the Ishizuchi district of Komatsu, at the foot of Mt. Ishizuchi. Steamed leaves ferment about a week with filamentous fungi, are rolled, then ferment about two weeks with lactic acid bacteria and are sun-dried. Widely made from the Edo to the Taisho era, it is still made by producers in the city.

National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property (designated March 22, 2023)
Protected by the Ishizuchi Kurocha Preservation Society
Aerobic fermentation about 1 week, then anaerobic about 2 weeks

02 ／ Stibnite of the Ichinokawa Mine (市之川鉱山の輝安鉱)

Many of this mine's stibnitecrystals were exported abroad.

Ichinokawa Mine yielded stibnite, an antimony mineral. From 1875 to 1957 it produced 19,000 tons of antimony, and from 1882 to 1897 about half of Japan's annual antimony output. Many crystals were exported abroad. A specimen at the Natural History Museum in London was bought in 1884.

Produced 1875–1957
Antimony content 19,000 tons (52% grade)
Largest crystal on the London specimen: about 25cm

03 ／ Hokoku-ji Garden (保国寺庭園)

Most of the garden's stonesare Iyo blue stone.

The garden behind the main hall of Hokoku-ji. A stone triad stands on the front mound, a dry waterfall of stones below it, and a turtle island in the pond. It is presumed to have been built around 1430, in the time of the fourth abbot, Taigu.

National Place of Scenic Beauty (designated October 16, 1975)
Stone triad, dry waterfall, turtle island
Presumed built around 1430

Living here

Mt. Ishizuchi to the south, the Inland Sea to the north.On the plain, water wells up.

about 100,000 people

Saijo lies in eastern Ehime, with Mt. Ishizuchi, the highest peak in western Japan, to the south and the Seto Inland Sea to the north. Across the plain there are said to be about 3,000 self-flowing wells called "uchinuki," and the water is among Japan's 100 Famous Waters. At the October Saijo Festival, more than a hundred floats from the parish neighborhoods are offered to the shrines.

People living here: 104,791people
Area: 510.04km²
Households: 45,193households
Rent (average for rentals): 42,632yen
Healthcare: 10 hospitals ／ 81 clinics

Area and habitable land at the same scalee-Stat B1101 / B1103

Population from 2005 onward (municipal boundary changed).2004-11-01 に合併。2005年調査から市域が変わっている。

Children waiting for childcare: —30 nurseries and similar
Home purchase subsidy: —
Average annual temperature: —

These 3 items are waiting on a nationwide data source. We do not fill them with estimates.

ACCESS

Where you can go from here.

Saijo City in Japan33.920°N 133.181°E

to OsakaHighway bus295min
to KobeHighway bus245min

Travel times follow 阪神バス（サラダエクスプレス「大阪梅田・神戸三宮～川之江・新居浜・西条・今治」）公式の時刻表（www.hanshin-bus.co.jp/salad/index_kawanoe.html が読み込む timetable.php?route=salad/kawanoe1 の値を 2026-09-30 に取得）の大阪梅田・神戸三宮発（下り） (checked 2026-09-30). They vary by time of day.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities across 1 prefectures.

Territory of Saijo City

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

25.8km

Ehime Prefecture: 東温市, 新居浜市, 久万高原町, 今治市
Kochi Prefecture: いの町

Saijo City isthis kind of town.

01The Kinmokusei of Oshimori-ji (往至森寺のキンモクセイ) is a giant sweet osmanthus at Oshimori-ji (王至森寺) temple, designated a national natural monument in 1927. It is also one of the Ministry of the Environment's 100 Fragrant Landscapes, and its scent has long been said to bring the Saijo Festival.
02The Ishizuchi Kurocha production technique, a two-stage fermented tea from the foot of Mt. Ishizuchi, is a national Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property. The Ichinokawa Mine site is where stibnite crystals were produced, and Hokoku-ji Garden is a national Place of Scenic Beauty.
03The city has the Saijo plain, where self-flowing wells called uchinuki spring up, the Saijo Festival, the collective name for the annual festivals of four shrines, and Mt. Ishizuchi, the highest peak in western Japan.

See the town as it is now.

Source: Wikidata (P2002, P2003, P2013, P2397)

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Saijo City official site ↗Wikipedia ↗