First Flight Between Twin Airports Named "Songshan" – Headed to the Setting of *Spirited Away*

▲ Water salute ceremony for the inaugural flight.

Reported by You Tzu-ju / Taipei

Songshan to Songshan! A Taiwanese airline operated its inaugural charter flight today (11th) between Taipei Songshan — Matsuyama Songshan in Ehime Prefecture, Japan, using a Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Both Taiwan and Japan celebrated this global first of scheduled flights between airports sharing the same name, while passengers on the debut flight were thrilled to hold their one-of-a-kind boarding passes that read “From Songshan to Songshan.”


▲ Boarding pass for the Songshan-to-Songshan flight.


▲ Scheduled flights between airports with the same name.

China Airlines operated two round-trip charter flights between Songshan and Songshan on October 11 and October 14. The inaugural flight, CI7676, departed from Taipei Songshan Airport at 08:15 AM on the 11th and landed at Matsuyama Airport in Ehime Prefecture at 11:35 AM, marking a historic moment as the first direct scheduled service between two airports with the same name. The return flight, CI7677, took off at 12:45 PM and landed at 2:30 PM. Both airports held celebratory water cannon salutes and ceremonies to joyfully welcome the inaugural flights, which carried 158 passengers each.

Matsuyama City in Ehime Prefecture is the largest city in Japan’s Shikoku region. Its famous Dogo Onsen boasts a history of over a thousand years, making it one of Japan’s three ancient hot springs. It also served as the setting for a novel by famed Japanese author Natsume Sōseki and was the hot spring location featured in *Spirited Away*. The Matsuyama Castle, situated atop a hill in the city center, has been converted into a historical park and is renowned for its stunning cherry blossom displays. Visitors can take a ropeway up to the castle’s main keep, the tenshu, for panoramic views of the city. Travelers can depart from Taipei Songshan Airport and arrive in Matsuyama, Japan, in just 2 hours and 20 minutes to enjoy a leisurely and elegant historical journey.


▲ *Spirited Away* filming location: Dogo Onsen in Japan. (Photo / agefotostock / Oriental IC)

★ Statement: Images provided exclusively to this website by Oriental IC. No partial or full reproduction is permitted by any website, newspaper, or TV station without permission from Oriental IC.