The train: Japan Rail

Route Okayama to Matsuyama (the island of Honshu to Shikoku)

Distance 215 kilometres; two hours and 41 minutes

Operator Japan Rail

Class Ordinary (reserved/non-reserved)

Frequency Up to 36 express train connections each day.

The journey

The city of Matsuyama’s revered hot springs, Dogo Onsen, is one of the oldest in Japan. iStock

This rail journey begins in Okayama – the capital city of the eponymous prefecture in western Japan, about 215 kilometres southwest of Kyoto – and is bound for Matsuyama, capital of the prefecture of Ehime on Shikoku, the smaller of Japan’s four main islands. Okayama is famed for Korakuen, rated among the three leading gardens of Japan, while Ehime is beloved throughout Japan as the nation’s “citrus kingdom”, especially for its mikan mandarin oranges. Matsuyama is also home to Dogo Onsen, one of Japan’s oldest hot springs.…