Moopon

1. Once visitors exit immigration and customs at Kansai Airport, visitors will be on the 1st floor. Follow the signs for “Railways”, taking one of the 4 escalators or 3 elevators to arrive at the 2nd floor.

2. Once on the 2nd floor, follow the signs to one of several walkways and walk across the road to Kansai-airport Station. Visitors need to exit the air terminal building to arrive at the JR Station (two separate buildings connected by a walkway). Two train companies use Kansai-airport Station: JR (blue/green) and Nankai (orange). Only JR can take visitor to the platform Haruka departing from. DO NOT use Nankai.

3. Before entering tickets gate, find JR Ticket Office where visitors can purchase ticket or reserved ticket for JR train.(there is a huge sign in English above their head).JR ticket office staff may or may not speak English, but they can read place names and train types written in the Roman alphabet. 

4. With one’s tickets, go through JR ticket gate and take an escalator to get to Platform 4.

Uwajima (宇和島) is the southernmost city in Ehime. It’s a compact city, facing the Bungo Channel that separates Kyushu from Shikoku.The city is home to one of only twelve extant original castles from the Edo Period (1603-1867). The Date Museum recollects the history of Uwajima and the Date clan which ruled the region around Uwajima for around two and a half centuries during this period.

As a coastal city, Uwajima backs a couple of industries related to the sea, such as fishing and pearl cultivating which is one of the top pearl producers in Japan. Local specialties include Taimeshi (a dish of rice and sea bream) and Jakoten (processed fish paste). The waterfront around the city gives beautiful coastal scenery. Uwajima is also known for the bull fight events which are hold five times a year.

Uwajima is one of nine locations to watch bull fighting in Japan. Uwajima Bull Fights (宇和島闘牛, Uwajima Tōgyū) are held on five days per year in January, April, July, August and October. In domed bullring located on a small hill, huge cattle which weight more than one ton smash into each other.

The competitive bulls are categorized in a similar hierarchical structure as the wrestlers in sumo, each with a rank that befits their performances in the past. The rank names imitate those applied in sumo with the exception of the highest ranked bulls which are named "champions" rather than "yokozuna". In addition, there is a middle weight and a heavy weight class difference in bull fighting, unlike in sumo where there are no weight classes.

At each tournament, around ten matches are placed at the Uwajima Bull Fighting Arena on a hill just above the city center. The arena has a roof, allowing the fights to also take place in rainy weather. The event usually starts at noon and last about three hours, although the day could go on longer because there is no time limit for each bout. The arena offers a shop where drinks and snacks are sold. It is also possible to go inspect the bulls outside of the stadium as they wait for their appearance.

The two bulls are introduced and walked into the arena by their trainers Before each bout. Some crowd favorites have their tailor-composed theme music played, which adds to the spectacle. The stylized tone used by the ring announcer further creates a lively atmosphere. A match starts as the participating bulls lock horns and ends when one of them runs from the fight. Needless to say, the bull that does not flee is declared the winner. The trainers of the winning bull are then presented with a flag and a trophy to the applause of the spectators.

Matches can be short, but typically take several minutes and sometime over half an hour. At times one of the bulls does not show any fighting spirit and is declared loser without any action happening.

Access info
Uwajima Bull Fights take place at the Uwajima City Bull Fighting Arena (宇和島市営闘牛場, Uwajima Shiei Tōgyūjō), about 1.5 kilometers east of Uwajima Station. On event days, free shuttle buses transport spectators between the station and the arena. Free parking is also available on a large unpaved lot.

Information
Advance tickets:2500yen (required to purchase by the day before the fighting)
Doors tickets:3000 yen  (per person)
All seats are non-reserved. Online reservations are possible from one month until two days in advance over an online form in Japanese.

Uwajima Castle (宇和島城, Uwajimajō) is one of only twelve original castles that survive intact from the Edo Period (1603-1867). The small but atmospheric castle was built around the turn of the 17th century and was later furbished up when the Date family took over ownership in 1615. The Date clan continued to rule Uwajima from Uwajima Castle through the Edo Period. The castle stands on a hill which was located just by the sea in the past, but land reclamation along the coast has resulted in it standing further inland today.

Visitors can approach the castle's keep starting from the north or south. The each route travel uphill on flights of stone steps meandering past moss covered stone walls and leading through the forest, which consists of an interesting variety of vegetation. About halfway up the hill along the northern approach stands the Yamazato Soko(山里倉庫), a storehouse built relatively recently in 1845. The structure now serves as a small museum, exhibiting festival props, craft tools, an old rickshaw and other items.

After a 10-15 minute climb, visitors will reach the castle's three storied main keep at the hill's flat-topped summit. The keep's genuine wooden interior is well-preserved, and climbing up two floors worth of steep wooden stairs to the top floor rewards visitors with nice views over Uwajima City. There are some exhibits within the main keep, such as armors and swords belonging to past feudal lords, besides portraits of them. 
Access info
The northern trailhead to Uwajima Castle can be reached in a 10-15 minute walk from Uwajima Station. From there, it takes an additional 10-15 minutes to climb up the hill and get to the main keep.

Schedule & cost
Hours: 6:00 to 18:30 (until 17:00 from October to March)
Closed: No closing days
Admission: Free
Main Keep
Hours: 9:00 to 17:00 (until 16:00 from October to March)
Closed: No closing days
Admission: 200 yen

Yamazato Soko Storehouse
Hours: 9:00 to 16:00
Closed: Mondays (or following day if Monday is a national holiday), December 29 to January 3
Admission: Free

Tenshaen Garden (天赦園) a typical Japanese garden with a large pond in the center located southwest of Uwajima Castle. It was built in 1866 as a recreation venue by the ruling lord from the Date Clan. The garden offers changing scenery. Various flowers are in bloom at all seasons. Wisteria and iris are particularly beautiful.

In front of Harusametei is a pond in the shape of the kanji "kokoro", meaning "heart" in English. Photogenic views of the pond and Harusametei can be enjoyed together with strategically placed rocks, pine trees and stone lanterns that enhance the scenery. Around mid April, wisteria flowers are usually in bloom, including an arch bridge fully lined with white wisteria that extends over the pond. Bamboo groves are another prominent item of Tenshaen. 22 varieties of bamboo trees including rare species can be found here.

Schedule & cost                                   
Hours: 8:30 to 16:30 (until 17:00 from April to June)
Closed: Mondays during winter (or following day if Monday is a national holiday), December 28-31
Admission: 300 yen

Access info                                                                 
Tenshaen Garden is located just next to Date Museum.It takes a 20-30 minute walk from Uwajima Station. Instead Uwajima Bus operates hourly buses between the station and Tenshaen-mae bus stop (天赦園前, 10 minutes, 150 yen one way), which is placed a few steps from the garden.