Niihama: Industrial Heritage Exploration at Mainte Besshi and the Science Museum

An industrial heritage exploration course centered indoors in Niihama, the town of Besshi Copper Mine that supported Japan's modernization. In the morning, experience great excitement at the Ehime Prefectural General Science Museum, one of the largest in western Japan, with its enormous planetarium dome 30 meters in diameter and life-sized moving dinosaurs. At midday, take a trolley train mining railroad at Mainte Besshi to explore the tourist tunnel, and try your hand at indoor gold panning. In the afternoon, trace the history of the copper mine at the free-admission Besshi Copper Mine Memorial Hall and the former Hirose Residence, an Important Cultural Property designated by the nation, then finish at Akagane Museum in front of Niihama Station, where you can enjoy authentic taiko drum floats gleaming with gold-thread embroidery and art. Since most of the tour is indoors, this is a go-to destination when you're unsure where to venture on a rainy day—a full day that will stimulate your intellectual curiosity.