From Uwajima, you could simply follow the coast all the way up to Matsuyama where the route ends. However, that would miss at least two major attractions, so on this trip I headed inland, first east and then a steep uphill along a mountain river to Nametoko, a pretty mountain area where the fast-flowing stream and rocks are reminiscent of a tiny Oirase (described in the Tohoku route). The fishing is reportedly great, and there's a rather bare-bones youth hostel here as well. Going further in this direction will take you to the Shimanto-gawa, at one time the purest river in Japan (but maybe not anymore), which will be the subject of more detailed coverage in this route soon.

From Nametoko, I went due north through the mountains, looking for the prettiest roads I could find. Elevations were relatively low (only around 500m) and along the way there were plenty of memorable places: pristine lakes like this, and one fairly long old tunnel at the 500m pass with no lights of any kind - a bit spooky.