Shirasagido
Matsuyama’s most iconic culinary item is the humble botchan dango – named after the hero of Natsume Soseki’s 1906 novel Botchan. These dumplings are coloured with green tea, egg yolk and red adzuki, before being arranged traffic-light-style on a stick. The best in Matsuyama are commonly thought to be those made at Shirasagido, a long-established confectionery in the Dogo Onsen arcade. You can opt to eat it on the spot (100 yen (£0.75) each), with which you also get a cup of tea – the perfect accompaniment to the delicate flavour of the dumpling.