[Ainan Town, Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku] Local experience tours unique to the area have started!

Where is Ainan Town in Ehime Prefecture located?

Ainan Town is a town located at the southernmost tip of Ehime Prefecture, where primary industries thrive. Getting to Ainan Town is a long journey. Since neither trains nor highways go all the way, the smoothest way to get there is by rental car from Matsuyama Airport. If you use a rental car, the journey from Matsuyama Airport to Ainan Town takes approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.

The longer the journey, the more abundant the natural beauty remains. Please take your time and enjoy the scenery along the way.

What is the general incorporated association Umidas?

As part of the Fisheries Agency's initiatives to promote the marine industry, a general incorporated association called Umidas was established in Ainan, the southernmost town in Ehime Prefecture, Shikoku, as an intermediary support organization.

A town where you can take on challenges. Creating an exciting future together. To "create" throughout the town, we will fully support everyone as an intermediary connecting people and businesses, aiming for the town's development. In order to create a new economic cycle in the town, we are planning and operating monitor tours for fish and food experience tourism targeting visitors and tourists, training guide personnel, and disseminating information on events held in the town. Furthermore, through workshops that help people discover the charm of their own town, we are simultaneously challenging ourselves to build a community and generate income, so as to foster civic pride.

What is a local experience tour?

Through experiences that can only be had here (experiences utilizing local resources), you can learn, appreciate the richness of food, and experience the kindness of the local people.

For over 20 years, our "Fishery Education" program has been offered to children in our town, providing a broad range of learning opportunities from fish production and consumption to lifestyle and culture. The program aims to cultivate future leaders by teaching them about the allure of the nearby sea, the fishing industry, and related jobs. While continuing this program, we at Umidas will leverage the experience gained from our fishery education to plan and operate experiential tours for visitors and tourists from outside the town and prefecture.

Here are some photos of the local experience tour I took in the winter.

When you think of Ainan Town as a place where we are involved in marine industries and fisheries education, you might imagine it's just the sea, but it is surrounded by mountains and is blessed with abundant nature. The mountains and the sea are connected and have a close relationship. It is a region where not only the fishing industry but also agriculture (vegetables, citrus fruits) is thriving.

When you think of Ainan Town, you think of the sea! We visited a farm where they cultivate scallops. Everyone helped sort the colorful scallops by size. The vibrant colors of the shells are natural; no artificial coloring is used!

The child is delighted to be touching a scallop shell for the first time; the joyful atmosphere is palpable in the photo.

Since I had the opportunity to experience the production area firsthand, I also sampled some steamed scallops prepared in the workshop.

In Ainan Town, there's a boat that lets you see the seabed. Participants came to see the underwater world. Everyone was engrossed in searching for fish swimming in the sea 🐟 and coral reefs ♪ It operates all year round, so I highly recommend you try it.

There's the sea, but there are also mountains. We also got to experience being citrus fruit producers. We all worked together to sort the harvested citrus fruits. It was a new experience for us, and we enjoyed the work.

Citrus Harvesting Experience: Under the bright sunshine, we walked to the orchard and harvested sweet summer oranges together. Our baskets were filled with the harvested citrus fruits.

After working up an appetite harvesting, we made pizza using game meat under the open sky. We stretched the dough, added our favorite toppings, and baked the pizzas in a portable stone oven! The pizza and game meat stew we ate outside were delicious, and the kids kept asking for seconds!

We've only just started, and we'll continue to work through trial and error as we prepare to hold the tour.

Please check our website for details on Umidas's initiatives. It's a long distance from the airport, but in return, you'll find abundant nature and kind people here. We look forward to welcoming you to Ainan Town!