The city of Ozu is located in the south of Ehime prefecture.

Also known as “Little Kyoto of Iyo (old name of Ehime),” Ozu is an old castle town that was developed around Ozu Castle located in the Hijikawa Valley.

The city of Ozu—a castle town with history and culture—has been developed around the Ozu Castle, which is built on the riverside of Hijikawa.

Around the castle remain some streets of old houses and buildings reminiscent of those old days. The area, as is called “Little Kyoto of Iyo” warmly welcomes the visitors.

The clear stream of the Hijikawa River runs through the center of the city. At the river, in summer people come out to enjoy the cormorant fishing, known as one of three major cormorant fishing events of Japan, and in autumn many people gather on the riverside to have a picnic-like “imotaki” party. The imotaki is one of the local dishes of Ozu.