- See Matsuyama (disambiguation) for other places having a name Matsuyama.
| Matsuyama Data |
| Area |
165.58 miles²
428.86 km² |
| Population |
512,982 people
（as of January 1st, 2005） |
| City Flower |
Camellia |
| Area code |
089 |
Matsuyama (松山市; -shi) is the capital city of Ehime Prefecture on the Shikoku island of Japan. It is located on the northeastern portion of the Dogo Plain .
The city is famous for hot springs and is home to Dogo Onsen, the oldest hot spring in Japan.
The famed novel Botchan by Natsume Sōseki takes place in Matsuyama. As a result, there are several sites named for the main character including Botchan Stadium, and the Botchan Street Train.
There is a regular night ferry to Kokura Kita-ku, Kitakyushu.
On January 1, 2005, the city of Hojo and the town of Nakajima (from the former Onsen District) merged with Matsuyama.
As of this merge, the city has an estimated population of 512,982 and the density of 1196 persons per km². The total (merged) area is 428.86 km².
The city was founded on December 15, 1889.
It is a sister city to Sacramento, California in the USA.
It is also a sister city to Freiburg, Germany.
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