Uchiko Town

After the flood, rebuilt without piers.

Tamaru Bridge, covered bridge

Photo by Reggaeman (CC BY-SA 3.0)

01 ／ Wood wax

A house where the boiling shed and storehousewere kept together within the grounds.

The Kamihaga family was a branch of the Haga family, which stood at the center of Uchiko's wood-wax industry, and opened its shop on the present site in 1861. The main house was raised in 1894, and wax-making facilities such as the boiling shed and the shop storehouse remain together in the grounds. The town runs it as the Wood Wax Museum Kamihaga House, and its exhibition building shows part of the 1,444 wax-making tools.

Main house raised in 1894 (Meiji 27)
10 buildings, Important Cultural Property (designated 1990)
1,444 wax-making tools (designated 1991)

02 ／ Kite battle

A blade called "gagari" on the kite stringcuts the rival's line.

Flyers split into the Ikazaki side and the Tenjin side and fly their kites across the Oda River. Each string carries a blade called gagari, used to cut the opponent's line. The town calls it an event with a history of about 400 years and the town's largest traditional event; it is a prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Property and was held again on May 5, 2026, at Toyoaki Riverbed.

Prefectural Intangible Folk Cultural Property
History of about 400 years (town)
100-tatami kite, about 14 m by 12 m

03 ／ Early cinema

In a former motion-picture hall,young locals aim for a place open to the town.

Asahikan is a former motion-picture hall completed in 1926 (Taisho 15) and closed in 1968 (Showa 44). It was later used to display furniture and as a warehouse, until a preservation society formed in 2013. Since 2024, young people in the area have been running screenings and cafe events there.

Completed in 1926 (Taisho 15)
Closed in 1968 (Showa 44)
Nationally registered tangible cultural property

Living here

Forest covers about 80% of the land,and the Oda River runs roughly east to west.

about 20,000 people
Rural district town

Uchiko lies in the middle of Ehime Prefecture in Kita District, covering 299.43 km2, 30.0 km east to west and 17.9 km north to south. Flat land is scarce; most of it is mountains and hills. The Oda River runs through the center, and orchard crops such as persimmons, grapes, pears and peaches are widely grown.

People living here: 15,322people
Area: 299.43km²
Households: 6,258households
Rent (average for rentals): 36,169yen
Healthcare: 1 hospital ／ 14 clinics

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

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

Children waiting for childcare: —5 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.

Shape

Borders 5 municipalities.

Uchiko Town in Japan33.533°N 132.658°E

Territory of Uchiko Town

Boundaries: National Land Numerical Information (N03)

North to south

18.2km

大洲市, 久万高原町, 伊予市, 砥部町, 西予市

Travel times per leg are not published by the municipality, so they are not shown.

Uchiko Town isthis kind of town.

01Tamaru Bridge spans the Fumoto River in Kawachi, Uchiko, a wooden bridge with a cedar-bark roof. The roof was first put on to keep the bridge durable, and later the bridge also served as a storehouse for harvests and a community gathering place. After a great flood swept it away in 1943, it was rebuilt with an arch and no piers, and it was designated a town cultural property in 1982.
02Yokaichi-Gokoku is a street that prospered on wood wax from the late Edo period into the Meiji era. Along about 600 m of old highway stand 93 designated traditional buildings and three national Important Cultural Properties, and in 1982 it became the first Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in Shikoku. The Uchiko-za theater, built in 1916, has been closed since September 2 2024 for about four years of conservation and seismic-retrofit work; its dressing rooms are open to visitors.
03Uchiko lies in the middle of Ehime Prefecture in Kita District, a mountain town where forest covers about 80% of the area. The former towns of Uchiko, Ikazaki and Oda merged in 2005. The town's own access guide names JR Ikazaki Station as its rail station.

If something caught your eye, ask the town itself.

Uchiko Town official site ↗Wikipedia ↗