Niihama 新居浜市, Ehime Prefecture

Niihama (Japanese: 新居浜市) is a city on the eastern part of Ehime Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It covers 234 sq km (90 sq mi) and has a population of 126,000 people (2012 estimate).

Facing the Seto Inland Sea to the north, Imabari is surrounded by hills and mountains to the south, east and west. Due to the mountains, the city is isolated from neighboring cities such as Saijo to the west and Shikokuchuo to the east.

Facing the Seto Inland Sea to the north, Niihama is surrounded by hills and mountains to the south, east and west. Due to the mountains, the city is isolated from neighboring cities such as Saijo to the west and Shikokuchuo to the east.

Perhaps the best time to visit Niihama is during the Niihama Taiko Festival, usually on 16-18 October annually. During this festival, huge floats - some weighing as much as two and a half tons or even more - are paraded through the streets. Within the float is a drummer beating a taiko, or big drum. These floats are carried by men and boys to the local shrines to be blessed by the Shinto priests. As with many Japanese festivals, this is accompanied by the drinking of copious amounts of sake.

Among the sights in Niihama includes Zuio-ji Temple, a Zen temple in south Niihama. There are also two waterfalls in the area. The city also has the world's largest planetarium at the Ehime Prefectural Science Museum. The Ootorii of Uchinomiya-jinja Shinto Shrine in Niihama, Japan

Planning your trip to Niihama

Niihama is served by the Yosan Line of Japan Railway between Uwajima and Takamatsu.

Niihama Taiko Festival

Places of Interest in Niihama

 Latest updates on Penang Travel Tips

Map of Roads in Penang

Looking for information on Penang? Use this Map of Roads in Penang to zoom in on information about Penang, brought to you road by road.

About this website

Dear visitor, thank you so much for reading this page. My name is Timothy Tye and my hobby is to find out about places, write about them and share the information with you on this website. I have been writing this site since 5 January 2003. Originally (from 2003 until 2009, the site was called AsiaExplorers. I changed the name to Penang Travel Tips in 2009, even though I describe more than just Penang but everywhere I go (I often need to tell people that "Penang Travel Tips" is not just information about Penang, but information written in Penang), especially places in Malaysia and Singapore, and in all the years since 2003, I have described over 20,000 places.

While I try my best to provide you information as accurate as I can get it to be, I do apologize for any errors and for outdated information which I am unaware. Nevertheless, I hope that what I have described here will be useful to you.