Seiyo, Ehime

Seiyo, Ehime
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**Seiyo**
**西予市**
Seiyo's location in Ehime, Japan.
Location
Country	Japan
Region	Shikoku
Prefecture	Ehime
Physical characteristics
Area	514.78 km² (198.76 sq mi)
Population (as of August 31, 2004)
Total	46,908
Density	91.12 /km² (236 /sq mi)
Location	33°22′N 132°31′E / 33.367, 132.517
Symbols
Tree	Japanese beech (山毛欅, Buna^?)
Flower	Chinese milk vech (蓮華草, Rengesō^?)
Bird	Japanese bush warbler (鶯, Uguisu^?)
Seiyo Government Office
Address	3-434-1 Unomachi, Uwachō, Seiyo-shi, Ehime-ken 797-8501
Phone number	(0894) 62-1111
Official website: City of Seiyo

Seiyo (西予市, Seiyo-shi^?) is a city located in Ehime, Japan.

The city was formed on April 1, 2004 from the merger of 4 towns from the former Higashiuwa District (Akehama, Uwa, Nomura, and Shirokawa) and the town of Mikame from Nishiuwa District.

1 Attractions
2 External links

Attractions

Kannon Spring Water

A small waterfall of Kannon Spring Water

In the former town of Uwa there is a natural spring, the water of which is known as Kannon Spring Water (観音水, Kannon-sui^?). This water was designated as one of Japan's 100 best water sources (名水百選, meisui hyakusen^?) by the Ministry of the Environment in March of 1985. Hiking trails along the spring's mountain rivers are a popular destination in the summertime. The spring is also used for somen nagashi (そうめん流し, somen nagashi^?), a Japanese cuisine where bundles of cold somen noodles are set into a stream of water that flows down a track, with hungry patrons waiting alongside.

Otoi Sumo

The former town of Nomura, now a part of Seiyo, holds an annual sumo competition for children and amateur adults known as the Otoi Sumo (乙亥大相撲, Otoi ōzumō^?) Tournament. It is held after the Kyūshū basho and usually attracts a few professional sumo wrestlers, such as Tamakasuga, who originally hails from Nomura. The pros do not actually wrestle in serious matches, but instead allow children to go up against them, with comical results.

Castle Land

A wealthy eccentric built a castle on the side of a mountain near the Nomura Dam in the former town of Nomura. It was originally a retreat for parties, complete with overnight lodging facilities. It never achieved any measure of popularity, and the owner eventually donated it to the city of Seiyo. It now lies uninhabited and largely unused.