Dogo Onsen

Dogo Onsen Review

Mention Matsuyama to anyone and Dogo Onsen will be the first place they recommend. It has been the city's number one attraction since time began for this nation. Dogo is the oldest hot spring in Japan, with a history stretching back almost 3,000 years. Japan's first written text mentions it as a favorite of gods, emperors, and peasants alike, and it's still in daily use by locals and tourists. The main wooden building at present-day Dogo dates from 1894 and looks like a fairy-tale castle; the only thing that's changed significantly is the view.

You want the ¥800 course for a bath with some frills. Head upstairs and you'll get a basket with towels and a lightweight yukata robe. Staff will point you to the Kami-no-Yu, or the Water of the Gods. The gods apparently liked it simple; the great granite tub is plainer than the modern multibath complexes, but the water feels terrific. Come wash away your cares and concerns.

Remember your onsen procedure: go into the bathroom with your teeny prop towel, and wash and rinse yourself (and rinse your towel!) before getting into the bath. Don't worry much about bathing faux pas like dropping your towel in the water. On laid-back Shikoku, and especially at Dogo, no one is too fussy. Even tattoos are usually no problem.

After you bathe, don the soft yukata and relax upstairs. Your ticket includes green tea and sembei crackers, served in a serene public tatami room. Relaxing in this second-story terrace is one of the great joys of coming to Dogo. Stay as long as you like, sipping free tea refills, or explore the upstairs quarters where writer Soseki Natsume stayed and worked during his time in Matsuyama. (Dogo was about the only thing he liked about the city, although Matsuyama inexplicably claims him as a favorite son.) The baths are open 6:30 am to 11 pm.