A Dip at Dogo Onsen

Matsuyama City in Ehime Prefecture is Shikoku's largest city.  It is home to a renowned castle (Matsuyama-jo), a renowned temple (Ishite-ji, temple 51 of the 88 Temple Pilgrimage) and one of
the oldest and  most renowned hot springs in Japan -- Dogo Onsen.  

The city has an excellent tram station that will get you from JR Matsuyama Station to Dogo 

Onsen's period piece looking terminal.  

The first thing I saw when I got off the tram was a shotengai, a covered shopping arcade.   

This is Dogo Haikara-dori, a short 400 meter stretch of shops, cafes and restaurants that

leads to the Honkan, the centuries old bath house of Dogo Onsen. 

I started  hyperventilating -- a shotengai is my favourite kind of place to (window) shop in
Japan.   The stores are mostly local, filled with goods that are made in the area and sold by the 

artisans themselves.  A shotengai is full of those  irresistible souvenirs that will make people ask "Where did you get this?"

Beside the entrance to the Haikara-dori is the Botchan Karakuri Clock.  

When the clock strikes  the  hour,  miniature figures from the Japanese classic novel "Botchan" emerge and enact scenes from  the novel.  The couple and photographers in the foreground are

not part of the scene but are taking wedding photos, timing the shots with the start of the show.

Check out my gleeful grin as I am about to hit the shops!

Jay did not want to have anything to do with my nefarious schemes so he quickly walked on ahead. 

One of the shops I really liked and where I had to literally put my hands in my pockets so I 

wouldn't buy anything was the Imabari Towel store.  Imabari City in Ehime prefecture is well 

known for the towels that they produce.  

Fluffy, absorbent and with beautiful contemporary  Japanese designs and colour combinations,  Imabari City has over a century of experience in towel manufacturing.  Their gorgeous products are sold in high end department stores in Japan and even abroad. 

This shop had signs that said no picture taking but I stayed well outside the door and could not resist taking a photo of the gorgeous indigo and white Tobe pottery, made here in Ehime prefecture. 

Shikoku is known for udon noodles so it was no surprise to see an udon shop in the arcade.  

 

This is  Dogo Onsen Honkan, it probably rivals Matsuyama Castle as the most recognised building in Matsuyama City.  The Honkan, built in the 1890s stands over what is said to be a 3,000 year old hot spring that has been visited even by the Japanese royal family.

The facade of the wooden Honkan may be familiar to fans of Miyazaki san who modelled the building in his movie "Spirited Away" after this structure. 

Can you see the white crane on the top left side of the photo?  The legend of these age old waters is
that a wounded crane dipped his injured leg in the hot springs and it was promptly cured.  From then on, people have come from all over Japan to enjoy its restorative, mineral rich waters.

Inside the Honkan are two baths --  the Kami-no-yu which is bigger and can accommodate 

more people and the other is the Tama-no-yu,  smaller and a bit more exclusive. 

For the price of 410 yen, you can get into the Kami-no-yu and enjoy the bath for as long as you like (or for as long as you can stand the hot water).   

Mid priced tickets of 840 yen allow  access to Kami-no-yu  and a public lounge where you can relax after the bath.   The most expensive package is 1,550 yen and gives you access to both baths plus a private room of your own. 

Silly me -- I thought that we could just walk up to the ticket booth to buy the high end tickets
but I was told that there was a long line and we would have to wait to get in.  

However, the ticket seller did tell me that there was no queue for the 410 yen ticket and we could go
right in and enjoy the bath. 

And so of course we did.

Photos are strictly prohibited inside the Honkan.  This beautiful photo is from Dogo Onsen's website

https://dogo.jp/en/honkan.php.  Some renovations have been made, the ticket booth is no longer at the side but stands in the middle of the room.  Before you give your ticket, place your shoes inside any of the available lockers and then proceed inside.   

Old photos line the walls and with the rich hues and patina of old, lovingly cared for wood,  you truly feel as if you have been "spirited away" to another time.  

The red noren over the doorway signifies that this is the entrance to the women's side of Kami-no-Yu.

This is the women's changing room, I had to take it on the sly since photos are strictly prohibited.

There was no one else in the room at the time so I did not really feel like a voyeur invading any 

one's privacy.  There are wall to wall lockers where you can put your clothes and bag.  Take the key with you  when you enter the bath.

The inside of Kami-No-Yu is definitely off limits for any photo taking.  I would  have been kicked out by all the women bathers if I had even dared to try. 
This photo of the bath itself is from the Dogo Onsen website https://dogo.jp/en/honkan.php. 
The hot spring water  flows freely from a spout in the large pillar at one end of the bath.    

The Tobe indigo and white ceramic tiles show the two cranes which are part of the origin story of Dogo Onsen.   The perspective of the photo makes the bath look much smaller than it is,
in truth it is the size of  a small swimming pool. 

The temperature is very hot -- about 42C.  I got in and out of the bath several times, to take a cold shower in between each soak. 
However, the heat is also tempered by how mild and soft the water felt on the skin.  The waters of
the onsen come from many different underground springs and the water quality is excellent. 

Here is Jay looking refreshed after his bath.  There is no season for onsen.  If you think that taking 

a hot soak in warm weather is crazy, the Japanese will assure you that it is very appropriate.  

The heat opens your pores, makes you sweat and releases toxins.  You feel light and refreshed afterwards. 

Tea is usually served after the bath but in my case, nothing would beat an ice cold mug of 

nama beer. We enjoyed a mid afternoon late lunch in one of the small cafes lining Haikara-dori.  

The curry omurice was gigantic but there's something about a good hot soak that makes you 

really hungry. 

I wanted one last dip at the free foot onsen right beside the Karikuri clock but there were too many people.  The water in this foot onsen comes from the same springs that feed the bath at the Honkan.

On our way back to Matsuyama Station, we decided to take the city's unique form of transport  known as the Botchan Train.  This is a replica of the old steam locomotives that ran in the city in
the 19th century.  Named after the novel written by famous author Soseki Natsume, it travels 
around the city and stops at key areas, including  Matsuyama Station.

The train conductor, dressed in a uniform that would not have looked out of place when the original steam locomotives were still running,  called out the stops as his predecessors probably did,  many many years ago.

The train is faithfully reproduced from the exterior to the wooden interiors which have been 

cleverly "distressed"  to recreate the feeling of an antique locomotive.

  

After chugging through the streets of Matsuyama, we found ourselves back at the station, ready to board a train back to Takamatsu.  The biggest city in Shikoku somewhat incongruously has a modest and quite old-fashioned looking station.  It definitely has a vintage vibe.

Even the benches in the waiting area by the tracks are made of wood and are a throwback to 

another age.

The Limited Express Ishizuchi however definitely belongs to Japan's ultra modern train system.  

It is not a bullet train but it is the fastest way to get from Matsuyama to Takamatsu, making just a

few stops along the way.

Time for an eki-snack!  This is oyaki, which I bought at Ishite-ji, temple 51.   There are quite a 

number of old time stores selling this delicacy around the temple.  You can see the drawing of a

henro (Emon Saburo I presume) on the paper wrapper of the oyaki.   

Oyaki is a glutinous rice dumpling, filled with a mildly sweet bean paste, flattened and then fried.

It's chewy, soft and delicious.  They have been making these sweets for generations.  

Rice farmers  would offer it at the temple, in thanksgiving for a good harvest.

 As the train sped towards Takamatsu,  the sunset over the Inland Sea was a gentle, picturesque 

good-bye gift from Matsuyama.  Domo arigato gozaimashita, we had a memorable visit.

P.S

The Honkan will close for renovation and repair in January 2019 for a period of two to three years.

I am so happy we were able to visit when we did.  However, there are two more modern baths 

behind the Honkan, the Asuka-no-Yu and the Tsubaki-no-Yu.  You can continue to enjoy the waters of Dogo Onsen even after the temporary closure of the Honkan,