From Matsuyama Airport to Imabari Castle, by the Imabari-Komatsu Expressway or National Route 196

Expressway and local roads: how to read the times on official pages

To reach Imabari Castle, there is a road that goes from the Matsuyama Expressway onto the Imabari-Komatsu Expressway, and a local road on National Route 196. We could not find an official page that gives a travel time all the way from the airport to Imabari Castle. What we found are the following numbers, each with a different starting point.

What is written	Start and end	Which page
About 1 hour 20 minutes by expressway	The start is “Iyo-Komatsu-kita IC”	Matsuyama Airport, “空港までのアクセス”
About 1 hour 30 minutes by local roads	The start is “near Imabari City Hall”	Matsuyama Airport, “空港までのアクセス”
About 1 hour 20 minutes from the airport to Imabari Station	The end is Imabari Station	Official Ehime tourism site (Iyokan Net)
About 20 minutes from Imabari Yunoura IC to Imabari Castle	The start is Imabari Yunoura IC	Imabari City (Imabari Castle page)

The Matsuyama Airport page divides cars going toward Imabari into two groups. The expressway column is for the route through Matsuyama IC and the Matsuyama Outer Ring Road, and its starting point is Iyo-Komatsu-kita IC, not near Imabari City Hall. The local road column starts near Imabari City Hall. Even if you put the two side by side, you cannot say which is faster by how many minutes.

The Ehime guide gives a breakdown from the airport to Imabari Station.

マイカーをご利用の場合 松山空港～今治駅（約1時間20分） 松山空港 県道22号線・190号線約15分 余戸南IC 松山外環状道路、松山・今治小松自動車道約45分 今治湯ノ浦IC 国道196号線約20分 今治駅

Translation: “If you use your own car: Matsuyama Airport to Imabari Station (about 1 hour 20 minutes). Matsuyama Airport. Prefectural Roads 22 and 190, about 15 minutes. Yogominami IC. Matsuyama Outer Ring Road and the Matsuyama and Imabari-Komatsu Expressway, about 45 minutes. Imabari Yunoura IC. National Route 196, about 20 minutes. Imabari Station.”

Source: 松山空港から今治駅へ｜アクセス（愛媛県内の移動）｜愛媛県の公式観光サイト【いよ観ネット】

The breakdown of about 15 minutes, about 45 minutes, and about 20 minutes adds up to about 80 minutes, which matches the heading of about 1 hour 20 minutes. The destination is Imabari Station, not Imabari Castle.

By expressway: from the Matsuyama Outer Ring Road to Imabari Yunoura IC

The expressway route enters the Matsuyama Outer Ring Road at Yogominami IC from the airport, goes through Matsuyama IC, Iyo-Komatsu JCT, and Toyo-Tanbara IC, and leaves at Imabari Yunoura IC. This section is the same road as in the Itoyama Park article.

The Imabari-Komatsu Expressway is connected only as far as Imabari Yunoura IC on the Imabari side. The Matsuyama River and National Highway Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism writes the following as the issue to be solved between Imabari IC and Imabari Yunoura IC.

瀬戸内しまなみ海道と松山自動車道との未連結

Translation: “The Setouchi Shimanami Kaido and the Matsuyama Expressway are not yet connected.”

Source: 国道196号 今治道路 | 松山河川国道事務所

The same page shows the section between Imabari Asakura IC and Imabari Yunoura IC as “令和８年度 開通予定” (scheduled to open in fiscal year Reiwa 8) (checked on October 13, 2026). It does not give an opening date. When it opens, the exit may change, so check the Ministry’s page before you leave.

The Imabari Castle page of Imabari City gives the time from Imabari Yunoura IC like this.

瀬戸内しまなみ海道（西瀬戸自動車道）「今治北IC」から車で約15分 松山自動車道　→　今治小松自動車道「今治湯ノ浦IC」から車で約20分

Translation: “About 15 minutes by car from Imabari-kita IC on the Setouchi Shimanami Kaido (Nishiseto Expressway). Matsuyama Expressway -> Imabari-Komatsu Expressway: about 20 minutes by car from Imabari Yunoura IC.”

Source: 今治城 | 交通アクセス | 今治市 文化振興課

Imabari-kita IC is an interchange of the Shimanami Kaido. The “about 10 minutes by car from Imabari IC on the Setouchi Shimanami Kaido” that the official Ehime tourism site writes is also Imabari IC on the Shimanami Kaido side. When you come by expressway from the Matsuyama side, Imabari IC and Imabari Yunoura IC are not connected, as in the “not connected” above. The time you can use for Imabari Castle is the about 20 minutes from Imabari Yunoura IC.

For tolls, the Imabari-Komatsu Expressway page of Imabari City has a link to the toll search of West Nippon Expressway Company under “About tolls.” It does not give amounts. The “Imabari-Komatsu Road” is also in the Shikoku column of the simple toll table of NEXCO West Japan, but the PDF of the table is as of March 23, Reiwa 6, and this article does not give amounts. Enter your vehicle type and the date and time in the toll search to check.

By National Route 196: from Nishihoribata in Matsuyama to the center of Imabari

In the map data, National Route 196 starts north of the Nishihoribata intersection in Matsuyama. Prefectural Road 18, which goes from the airport into the city, runs into National Route 56 at the Kitafujiwara intersection at its east end, and if you go north on National Route 56, you reach the Nishihoribata intersection. This order is the same as points 3 to 5 in the Matsuyama Castle article.

Beyond Nishihoribata, National Route 196 goes north under the name Matsuyama-Hojo Bypass. In Imabari, it connects with National Route 317 at the Katayama intersection (map data). We could not find an official guide that says which roads to turn onto from here to Imabari Castle. In the map data, Prefectural Road 38 (Imabari-Namikata Port Line) runs southwest of the castle, and “National Route 196” is written as a former name. Check with the guide signs on site.

The only official number for local roads is the “about 1 hour 30 minutes” on the Matsuyama Airport page (the starting point is near Imabari City Hall). It does not say which roads the local roads are.

About how crowded National Route 196 is in Imabari, a material of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has the following sentence.

・ 今治道路沿線の国道196号等では、交通の集中により慢性的な渋滞が発生しています。

Translation: “- On National Route 196 and other roads along the Imabari Road, chronic congestion occurs because of the concentration of traffic.”

Source: 国道１９６号今治道路【期待される整備効果】（松山河川国道事務所、PDF）

This material also has a graph of travel speed near the Katayama intersection on National Route 196, but the data used are from Heisei 22 (2010) and Heisei 27 (2015). It is not a material that shows how crowded it is now. Imabari City also lists “traffic congestion on the present national route (196) will be eased” as an effect of building the Imabari-Komatsu Expressway.

From Imabari Yunoura IC to Imabari Castle

After you leave at Imabari Yunoura IC, the roads connect in the following order in the map data. We could not find an official guide text, so this is as far as we confirmed it in the map data.

Order	Road	Where it goes
1	National Route 196	Leave Imabari Yunoura IC and go to the Nagasawa intersection
2	Prefectural Road 38 (Imabari-Namikata Port Line)	Northwest from the Nagasawa intersection. Passes the Toryu intersection
3	Minamihori-dori	Turn east from Prefectural Road 38
4	Sangyo-doro	A road running north to south on the east side of the castle. Parking Lot 1 is along this road

On Imabari City’s guide map, Parking Lot 1 is drawn along Sangyo-doro on the east side of the castle, south of the Kurogane Gate. We could not read the position and direction of the entrance from the map.

We could not confirm whether Minamihori-dori is the same road as City Road Imabari Station-Tenposan Line, which Imabari City calls the “limited lane.”

Michi-no-Eki Imabari Yunoura Onsen is very close to Imabari Yunoura IC. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism writes “1 minute by car from Imabari Yunoura IC.” The same page also writes 20 minutes by car from Imabari Station.

Imabari Castle’s parking is Parking Lot 1 with 66 spaces

The “Visitor information” of Imabari City writes the parking as follows.

一般車両駐車場 （第1駐車場）　 66台　 24時間利用可 普通自動車、小型自動車、軽自動車 1台1時間ごとに100円 ※駐車場の精算機では1万円札、5千円札、2千円札は使用できません。

Translation: “General vehicle parking lot (Parking Lot 1). 66 spaces. Can be used 24 hours a day. Standard cars, small cars, kei cars. 100 yen per car per hour. * The payment machine at the parking lot cannot use 10,000 yen, 5,000 yen, or 2,000 yen bills.”

Source: 今治城 | ご利用案内 | 今治市 文化振興課

The official Ehime tourism site also writes “Parking Lot 1 (66 spaces) 100 yen per hour (standard cars and kei cars),” so the number of spaces and the fee are the same.

On the southeast side of the moat, there is a parking lane that is free under conditions.

市道今治駅天保山線のお堀南東側の路側帯（お堀側のみ・下図斜線部分）は、土曜・日曜・休日の午前9時から午後6時の間に限り、特定中型以外の中型・普通車を無料で駐車することができます。標識に従って駐車してください。交差点付近は駐車できません。

Translation: “The roadside strip on the southeast side of the moat on City Road Imabari Station-Tenposan Line (moat side only, the hatched part in the figure below) can be used to park medium-sized cars other than specified medium-sized cars, and standard cars, free of charge, only between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Please park following the signs. You cannot park near intersections.”

Source: 今治城 | ご利用案内 | 今治市 文化振興課

Parking lot	Number of spaces	Fee	Hours it can be used
Parking Lot 1 (general vehicles)	66	100 yen per car per hour	24 hours
Limited lane on the southeast moat side	Not written	Free	9:00-18:00 on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays
Parking Lot 2 (for buses only)	4	520 yen for up to 2 hours	8:45-17:15, reservation in advance

Parking Lot 2 is for tour buses and similar vehicles. Rental passenger cars use Parking Lot 1 or the limited lane. The motorcycle and bicycle parking area is open 24 hours a day and free for motorcycles and bicycles.

Visiting hours and fees

On the “Visitor information” page of Imabari City, the opening hours and admission fees are as follows.

午前9時～午後5時（入館は午後4時30分まで） ※史跡公園（吹揚公園）には、24時間・年中無休・無料で入園できます。

Translation: “9:00 to 17:00 (last entry 16:30). * The historic park (Fukiage Park) can be entered free of charge, 24 hours a day, all year.”

Source: 今治城 | ご利用案内 | 今治市 文化振興課

Category	Individual	Group (20 people or more)
Adult	520 yen	420 yen
Student	260 yen	210 yen
Senior (65 and over)	420 yen	(Not written)
High school students and younger, or under 18	Free

The fee is a common fee for the main keep, the Okane Turret, the Yamasato Turret, and the Kurogane Gate and Armory Turret. The only closed days are December 29 to 31, and there are no regular closed days. It is written that it is also closed when needed for operation, such as when changing exhibits.

The Imabari Area Tourism Association describes the top floor of the main keep as a “360-degree panoramic observation deck.” The night lighting is from 30 minutes after sunset to 22:00.

From September 19 to November 29, 2026, a special exhibition, “Todo Takatora and Takayoshi: Bonds with Toyotomi Hidenaga and the Traces Left in Imabari” (「藤堂高虎と高吉 ―豊臣秀長との絆と今治に刻んだ足跡―」), is held at the Yamasato Turret. It is open every day during the period, and a common admission ticket is needed to enter.

To enter the main keep, the turrets, and the Kurogane Gate, you need to climb stairs, and they are not barrier-free. For toilets, the public toilets in the parking lot and in Ninomaru Park are barrier-free, and the toilets in the main keep are not.

Places to stop nearby

• Fukiage Park: The historic park of the castle, which can be entered free of charge, 24 hours a day, all year (Imabari City).
• Imabari Port: Imabari City writes about 10 minutes on foot from Imabari Castle.
• Michi-no-Eki Imabari Yunoura Onsen: The parking lot can be used 24 hours a day. The information and rest corner and the local products corner are open from 9:00 to 18:00 (from 8:30 to 18:30 in July and August), all year (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism). For the number of standard car spaces in the parking lot, the Ministry writes 32 and Imabari City writes 33.
• Imabari Towel Main Store and Imabari Towel LAB (Texport Imabari) (今治タオル 本店・今治タオルLAB（テクスポート今治）): 5-14-3 Tomon-cho, Imabari, Ehime. Open from 9:00 to 18:00 (from 9:30 for the Imabari Towel Main Store). The parking lot is free, with about 30 standard cars (Iyokan Net). By the position in the map data, it is about 0.9 km east of Imabari Castle.

What to check before you leave

• Construction beyond Imabari Yunoura IC: The Imabari Road page of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism shows “道路沿いで工事を行っています。注意して通行してください。” (Construction is being done along the road. Please drive with care.)
• Opening of the Imabari Asakura IC to Imabari Yunoura IC section: It is “令和８年度 開通予定” (scheduled to open in fiscal year Reiwa 8). Check the exit after it opens on the Ministry’s page.
• Expressway tolls: You can look them up on the NEXCO West Japan toll search by entering your vehicle type and the date and time.
• One-way streets, construction, and closures around Imabari Castle: We did not find any guide on the Imabari Castle page of Imabari City.
• December 29 to 31: Imabari Castle is closed.
• In front of the airport terminal: Matsuyama Airport says “松山空港旅客ターミナル周辺の道路は、一部の降車レーンを除き駐停車禁止となっています。” (Stopping and parking are prohibited on the roads around the Matsuyama Airport passenger terminal, except in some drop-off lanes.)

Source: 国道196号 今治道路 | 松山河川国道事務所、車・バイク｜交通アクセス｜松山空港

What comes next for this article

The latitude and longitude of the points, and the names of roads and junctions, are checked with OpenStreetMap information. The point numbers will be the same as the chapter numbers of the driving video. When the video is ready, you will be able to jump to each scene from the point headings. After we drive the route, we will add the time it takes on National Route 196 and the position of the entrance to Parking Lot 1.