From Matsuyama Airport to Kirosan Observation Park on Oshima, Leaving at Oshima-minami IC and Driving Up to the Summit

The destination is a summit on Oshima that looks down on the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge

Kirosan Observation Park is an observation park 307.8 m above sea level at the southern tip of Oshima in Imabari. Imabari City’s tourism information introduces it like this.

標高307.8mの亀老山展望公園は、大島の南端に位置し、瀬戸内海国立公園に指定されています。隈研吾氏による設計として知られるパノラマ展望台ブリッジからは、世界初三連吊橋「来島海峡大橋」と日本三大急潮のひとつ「来島海峡」の潮流、晴れた日には西日本最高峰「石鎚山」を眺める事ができます。

Translation: “Kirosan Observation Park, 307.8 m above sea level, is at the southern end of Oshima and is designated as part of the Setonaikai National Park. From the Panorama Observation Bridge, known as a design by Kengo Kuma, you can see the world’s first triple suspension bridge, the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge, and the tidal currents of the Kurushima Strait, one of Japan’s three great fast tidal currents. On a clear day, you can see Mt. Ishizuchi, the highest peak in western Japan.”

Source: 亀老山展望公園 | 観光スポット | 観光情報 | 今治市

This article describes the way for a person who rents a car at Matsuyama Airport, enters the Shimanami Kaido at Imabari IC, crosses the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge, leaves at Oshima-minami IC, and drives up to the summit. The other articles cover the following.

• The road from the airport to Imabari overlaps with the Itoyama Park article. This article only lists the points and leaves the details to that one.
• The tolls and restrictions for entering at Imabari-kita IC, and for crossing 3 bridges to Omishima IC, are in the Oyamazumi Shrine article.
• The direction limits at each IC are collected in the IC direction article.

There are five guides with different starting points. Adding them up gives about 1 hour 35 minutes (calculated)

We could not find an official travel time that covers the whole way from Matsuyama Airport to the observation park. There are five guides with different starting points.

The official Ehime tourism site, Iyokan Net (いよ観ネット), gives the following for the way from Matsuyama Airport to Imabari IC.

松山空港 県道22号線・183号線、国道196号線約1時間15分 今治IC

Translation: “Matsuyama Airport. Prefectural Roads 22 and 183, National Route 196, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Imabari IC.”

Source: 松山空港からしまなみ海道へ｜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】

Imabari City’s tourism information writes the way to the observation park from Imabari IC by car like this.

今治IC → 約10分 → 大島南IC → 約10分 → 目的地

Translation: “Imabari IC -> about 10 minutes -> Oshima-minami IC -> about 10 minutes -> destination”

Source: 亀老山展望公園 | 観光スポット | 観光情報 | 今治市

The other 3 start from the entrance to the observation park, a station, or a roadside station.

• The Imabari Tanbo (今治探訪) page of the Imabari Area Tourism Association says it takes about 10 minutes by car to the summit from the road that starts near Oshima-minami Interchange.
• The model course of Iyokan Net says it takes about 1 hour 25 minutes by car from JR Matsuyama Station to Kirosan Observation Park. The starting point is a station, so it cannot be compared with the time from the airport.
• The operating company of Michi-no-Eki Yoshiumi Ikiikikan says it is about 5 minutes by car from Oshima-minami IC for people coming from the Ehime side.

If you add the airport to Imabari IC (about 1 hour 15 minutes), Imabari IC to Oshima-minami IC (about 10 minutes), and Oshima-minami IC to the observation park (about 10 minutes), you get about 1 hour 35 minutes. This is a calculation that adds guides with different starting points. It is not an official travel time. The about 1 hour 15 minutes from the airport to Imabari IC is the time for the route on Prefectural Roads 22 and 183 and National Route 196. It is not the time for the expressway route listed in the points of this article (Yogominami IC to Imabari Yunoura IC).

From the airport to Imabari, two official guides

The Ehime guide has two roads from the airport to Imabari. One is the form above, about 1 hour 15 minutes to Imabari IC via “Prefectural Roads 22 and 183, National Route 196.” The other is the guide to Imabari Station, which enters the expressway at Yogominami IC.

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: “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 points in this article follow the second route, by expressway (Yogominami IC, Matsuyama IC, Iyo-Komatsu JCT, Imabari Yunoura IC). For the way from Imabari Yunoura IC to Imabari IC, we found an official guide only as far as National Route 196. The position of the entrance to Imabari IC should be checked on the guide signs on site.

The Imabari-Komatsu Expressway is not yet connected on the Imabari side of Imabari Yunoura IC. As of October 13, 2026, the page of the Matsuyama River and National Highway Office of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism 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). The opening schedule is written for the Imabari Asakura IC to Imabari Yunoura IC section. The opening time from Imabari Asakura IC to Imabari IC does not appear in the heading of this page.

Entering at Imabari IC or at Imabari-kita IC

As written in the Itoyama Park article, Imabari City asks people going to Itoyama not to use Imabari IC or Imabari-kita IC.

今治IC・今治北ICをご利用されると、大島南ICまで行ってしまいます。十分ご注意ください。

Translation: “If you use Imabari IC or Imabari-kita IC, you will end up going as far as Oshima-minami IC. Please be very careful.”

Source: 今治糸山レンタサイクル | 観光スポット | 観光情報 | 今治市

The destination of this article is Oshima, so you do the opposite and enter from one of these two ICs. The IC pages of Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company write the direction of the entrance in the same way for both. The Imabari IC page has the following two lines.

（今治ICから入られるお客様へ） 本四道路をご利用される場合、本州方面にしか行けません。ご注意下さい。

Translation: “(To customers entering from Imabari IC) If you use the Honshu-Shikoku road, you can only go toward Honshu. Please be careful.”

Source: E76 西瀬戸自動車道（瀬戸内しまなみ海道） 今治IC | 料金・道路案内 | JB本四高速

The Imabari-kita IC page has the following 3 lines.

今治北ICから今治IC、来島海峡SA及び松山道（松山・高松方面）へは行けません。 （今治北ICから入られるお客様へ） 本四道路をご利用される場合、本州方面にしか行けません。ご注意下さい。

Translation: “From Imabari-kita IC, you cannot go to Imabari IC, Kurushima Kaikyo SA, or the Matsuyama Expressway (toward Matsuyama and Takamatsu). (To customers entering from Imabari-kita IC) If you use the Honshu-Shikoku road, you can only go toward Honshu. Please be careful.”

Source: E76 西瀬戸自動車道（瀬戸内しまなみ海道） 今治北IC | 料金・道路案内 | JB本四高速

Oshima-minami IC is on the way toward Honshu, so entering at either one does not change the route. The differences are the toll and whether you can stop at Kurushima Kaikyo Service Area. The Imabari-kita IC page says the following.

四国側から来島海峡SAへ行かれる場合は、今治ICから流入し、来島海峡SAへお越し下さい。来島海峡SAは上下一体型のサービスエリアです。 一般道路から今治北ICをご利用いただく場合、来島海峡SAには立ち寄れませんのでご注意下さい。

Translation: “If you go to Kurushima Kaikyo SA from the Shikoku side, please enter from Imabari IC and come to Kurushima Kaikyo SA. Kurushima Kaikyo SA is a service area that combines the inbound and outbound sides. If you use Imabari-kita IC from a local road, you cannot stop at Kurushima Kaikyo SA, so please be careful.”

Source: E76 西瀬戸自動車道（瀬戸内しまなみ海道） 今治北IC | 料金・道路案内 | JB本四高速

The page of Imabari City for the observation park uses Imabari IC as the starting point for travel time. We could not find an official page that gives the time from Imabari-kita IC. This article is written with Imabari IC as the main entrance, and for Imabari-kita IC it only lists the toll.

Imabari IC to Oshima-minami IC is 12.5 km. A standard car pays 1,940 yen (cash) or 890 to 1,050 yen (ETC)

The toll table of Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company divides the standard car tolls into three tables: cash cars (non-ETC cars), ETC cars (weekdays), and ETC cars (holidays). The section distance is in a separate table. The numbers where the rows for Imabari IC and Imabari-kita IC meet the column for Oshima-minami IC are as follows.

Entrance IC -> Oshima-minami IC	Section distance	Cash car (non-ETC car)	ETC car (weekdays)	ETC car (holidays)
Imabari IC	12.5km	1,940 yen	1,050 yen	890 yen
Imabari-kita IC	7.3km	1,780 yen	900 yen	840 yen

The same numbers are in the tolls article. In the row for Oshima-minami IC, every column is “-”. This matches how the IC page is written: from Oshima-minami IC you can only go toward Shikoku.

There is a condition for the holiday toll. The ETC car toll page has the following note.

※2026年度のゴールデンウイーク、お盆、シルバーウィーク、年末年始、3連休は、普通車・軽自動車等の休日割引が適用されません。 普通車・軽自動車等でETC走行された場合はETC車料金(平日)となります。

Translation: “* In fiscal year 2026, the holiday discount for standard cars, kei cars, and similar vehicles does not apply during Golden Week, Obon, Silver Week, the New Year holidays, and three-day weekends. If a standard car, kei car, or similar vehicle uses ETC, the ETC car toll (weekdays) applies.”

Source: E76 西瀬戸自動車道(瀬戸内しまなみ海道)(ETC車料金) | 料金・道路案内 | JB本四高速

The list of applicable days is in a notice of Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company, but it is an image, so we have not read it. Even if your departure day is a weekend or a public holiday, the weekday toll applies if it falls on a three-day weekend or similar. This article does not give the tolls of the Matsuyama Outer Ring Road and the Matsuyama Expressway.

Cross the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge and leave at Oshima-minami IC

Between Imabari IC and Oshima-minami IC, you cross the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge. Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company writes the following.

来島海峡大橋は、大島と今治の間約4kmの来島海峡に架かる総延長4.1kmの3つの吊橋の総称です。

Translation: “The Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge is the collective name of three suspension bridges, with a total length of 4.1 km, that span the Kurushima Strait of about 4 km between Oshima and Imabari.”

Source: 来島海峡大橋｜しまなみ海道

There are two ICs where you can leave on Oshima. A car coming from the Imabari side leaves at Oshima-minami IC. The text of the IC page is as follows.

今治（四国）方面から、大島へご用の方はここでお降り下さい。 大島から四国方面へ行かれる方は、このICから入ってください。 本州方面へは行けません。

Translation: “People coming from the Imabari (Shikoku) side who have business on Oshima, please leave here. People going from Oshima toward Shikoku, please enter from this IC. You cannot go toward Honshu.”

Source: E76 西瀬戸自動車道（瀬戸内しまなみ海道） 大島南IC | 料金・道路案内 | JB本四高速

If you enter at Oshima-minami IC on the way back, it is the entrance that goes toward Shikoku. The Oshima-minami IC page does not say at which IC you can leave on the way back.

From Oshima-minami IC to the summit, a mountain road of about 10 minutes

The Imabari Tanbo (今治探訪) page of the Imabari Area Tourism Association writes the way from Oshima-minami IC to the observation park.

亀老山へは、大島の吉海町の大島南インターの近くから入る道があり、そこから車で約10分ほどで頂上へ行くことができます。くねくねと山道を走っているといきなり眺望が開け、カーブを曲がると来島海峡大橋が一望できます。

Translation: “To Kirosan, there is a road that starts near Oshima-minami Interchange in Yoshiumi-cho on Oshima, and from there you can reach the summit in about 10 minutes by car. As you drive along the winding mountain road, the view suddenly opens, and when you go around a curve, you can see the whole Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge.”

A photo caption has the following sentence as well.

大島南インターからすぐに亀老山展望台という案内がある。

Translation: “Right after Oshima-minami Interchange, there is a sign for the Kirosan Observation Deck.”

Source: 大島 亀老山：絶景ポイント：しまなみ海道「今治」探訪

This page does not give an update date. The positions of the guide signs should be checked on site.

When we tried the OpenStreetMap road data from near the exit of Oshima-minami IC to near the observation park, the route went about 0.4 km east on National Route 317, then entered an unnamed road and climbed the mountain. The whole route was about 3.9 km. This is a result tried in the map data, not an official route. The road near the summit has no name or width recorded in the map data.

We could not find an official guide on the road width, how easy it is to pass oncoming vehicles, the passage of large vehicles and buses, or driving at night. None of the observation park page of Imabari City, the parking lot notice, or the lighting notice writes about them. As a contact, the page of Imabari City lists the Imabari City Hall Yoshiumi Branch Office, Resident Services Section (0897-84－2111 (main number)).

The parking lots are under construction. Parking Lot 1 cannot be used, and Parking Lot 2 is for cars

The Maintenance Division of Imabari City has issued a notice about the parking lots of the observation park.

令和8年9月24日から令和9年1月10日（予定）まで亀老山展望公園の駐車場が、工事のため一部利用できなくなります。

Translation: “From September 24, Reiwa 8 to January 10, Reiwa 9 (planned), part of the parking lots of Kirosan Observation Park cannot be used because of construction.”

The text of the notice also says how each parking lot is used.

第１駐車場：工事のため利用不可。 第２駐車場：自動車利用可。 第３駐車場：自転車利用可。 ※トイレが使用できないため、第３駐車場には仮設トイレを設置しています。

Translation: “Parking Lot 1: cannot be used because of construction. Parking Lot 2: available for cars. Parking Lot 3: available for bicycles. * Because the toilets cannot be used, temporary toilets have been set up at Parking Lot 3.”

Source: 亀老山展望公園の駐車場利用について | 維持管理課 | 今治市

The period is planned to last until January 10, 2027. The notice does not give the number of spaces or the positions of Parking Lots 1 to 3.

The number of spaces in normal times also differs by source.

Source	Standard cars	Large vehicles
Tourism information of Imabari City	32 (including 2 for wheelchair users)	6
Iyokan Net	18	6
Shimanami Japan	18	6
Imabari Tanbo (今治探訪) of the Imabari Area Tourism Association	18	6
Spot page of the Imabari Area Tourism Association	18	18

Imabari City, Iyokan Net, Shimanami Japan, and Imabari Tanbo all write that it is free. We could not confirm from the official pages which number is the current one. No page gives the number of spaces that can be used during construction.

Open to enter 24 hours, lit from sunset to 22:00

Imabari City’s tourism information writes the opening hours as “open to enter at any hour, 24 hours a day,” the holidays as “open all year,” the fee as “free to enter,” and the sightseeing time as “40 minutes.”

About the night lighting, the Maintenance Division of Imabari City writes “lit every day from Wednesday, March 25, Reiwa 8,” and the lighting hours as “from sunset to 22:00 (planned for 23:00 in summer).” It also writes “The lighting hours may change.”

Source: 『夜の空中散歩』～KIROSAN NIGHT SKY WALK～ | 維持管理課 | 今治市

A stop before the mountain: Michi-no-Eki Yoshiumi Ikiikikan

The roadside station closest to Oshima-minami IC is Yoshiumi Ikiikikan (よしうみいきいき館). The roadside station information of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism introduces it like this.

「道の駅」よしうみいきいき館は、しまなみ海道の愛媛県側から最初に渡る大島の南端で、世界初三連吊り橋「来島海峡大橋」のたもとに位置しています。

Translation: “The Michi-no-Eki Yoshiumi Ikiikikan is at the southern end of Oshima, the first island you cross from the Ehime side of the Shimanami Kaido, at the foot of the Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge, the world’s first triple suspension bridge.”

Source: 道の駅情報｜よしうみいきいき館

The page of the operating company says it is about 5 minutes by car from Oshima-minami IC for people coming from the Ehime side. In the map data, the roadside station building is on the west side as seen from the exit of Oshima-minami IC, and the road to the observation park is on the east side. We could not find an official guide that says which way to turn at the exit.

The number of spaces differs by source.

Source	Standard cars	Large vehicles	For people with disabilities
Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism	106	4	2
Operating company (Shimanami Co., Ltd.)	100	10	2
National Michi-no-Eki Liaison Council	100	10	2

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism writes that the parking lot is “available 24 hours a day.” The shop is open from 9:00 to 17:00, and from 10:00 to 16:00 in winter. The page of the operating company gives winter as Tuesday, January 12 to Sunday, March 14, 2027. For closed days, the Ministry writes “New Year’s Day (open every day during Golden Week and Obon).” The page of the operating company gives every Wednesday as the regular closed day from Tuesday, January 12 to Sunday, March 14, 2027.

What to check before you leave

• On Sunday, October 25, the section that includes Oshima-minami IC is closed: The official site of the international cycling event “Cycling Shimanami 2026” writes the following.

■今治IC⇔因島北IC　上下線　6:00～12:40（6時間40分）　通行止

Translation: “■ Imabari IC <-> Innoshima-kita IC, both directions, 6:00 to 12:40 (6 hours 40 minutes), closed”

Source: 交通規制情報 | サイクリングしまなみ2026　瀬戸内しまなみ海道・国際サイクリング大会

The same page says the entrances of each IC from Imabari IC to the Onomichi Ohashi entrance and exit will be blocked from 6:00, and that from 12:40 the whole section can be used as usual. For people who come by car, it points to detours or to temporary and regular ferries. For restrictions on local roads, it shows maps of 11 places. According to the explanation of the map image, the one related to Oshima is the closure around Oshima BS from 10:30 to 12:00. There is no map that shows the road to the observation park, so we could not confirm how this closure relates to the road up the mountain.

• One-way alternating traffic from October 19: For bridge repair work, this restriction is carried out on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between Omishima IC and Hakatajima IC (a notice of Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company). It is in the section beyond Oshima-minami IC, and the road of this article does not enter it. Details are in the Oyamazumi Shrine article.
• Expressway closures: As of 5:25 on October 13, 2026, the closure information of Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Expressway Company showed “通行止めはありません。” (There are no closures.) for four-wheeled vehicles on the Nishiseto Expressway. Check again on the day you leave.
• Strong wind: The same page says “本四高速道路は、風速によって、四輪車が通行止めにならなくても、二輪車は通行止めになることがあります。” (Depending on the wind speed, the Honshu-Shikoku Expressway may close to two-wheeled vehicles even when it is not closed to four-wheeled vehicles.)
• Bicycles: Where bicycles ride on the Shimanami Kaido, and the rules for passing bicycles by car, are collected in another article.
• Construction and restrictions on local roads: National, prefectural, and city roads publish information differently depending on who manages them. Where to check is collected in this article.

What we could not confirm

• An official page with the car travel time for the whole way from Matsuyama Airport to the observation park
• The travel time from Imabari-kita IC (Imabari City writes it from Imabari IC)
• The route from Imabari Yunoura IC to Imabari IC, and the position of the entrance to Imabari IC
• The route from the exit of Oshima-minami IC to the entrance to the observation park (the official guides only go as far as “a road that starts near Oshima-minami Interchange” and “there is a sign”)
• Official guides on the road width to the summit, passing oncoming vehicles, the passage of large vehicles and buses, and driving at night
• The number of parking spaces (32 by Imabari City and 18 by the others), the number of spaces that can be used during construction, and the positions of Parking Lots 1 to 3
• When the toilets of the observation park can be used again (Imabari City only goes as far as the temporary toilets at Parking Lot 3)
• The restrictions on local roads on Oshima on October 25 (around Oshima BS) and how they relate to the road to the observation park
• At which IC you can leave after entering at Oshima-minami IC on the way back
• The tolls of the Matsuyama Outer Ring Road and the Matsuyama Expressway

What comes next for this article

The latitude and longitude of the points, and the positions of the bridges and ICs, were checked with OpenStreetMap map data. The point numbers will be the same as the chapter numbers of the driving video. This article was not made from a drive by the operator. It is put together from checking official pages. After we drive the route, we will add how the guide signs appear, the position of the entrance to the mountain, the width of the mountain road, and the parking lot entrance.