Dogo Onsen, located in Matsuyama, in the Ehime Prefecture has a long history and is one of the three oldest hot springs in Japan along with Arima Onsen in Hyogo Prefecture and Shirahama Onsen in Wakayama Prefecture.
Dogo Onsen has seen a number of imperial personages, aristocrats and cultured people including successive Emperors since ancient times. Especially since Dogo-Onsen-Honkan was built in 1894, it has become a more famous hot spring representative of the best in Japan.
Dogo Onsen was also depicted in the famous novel "Botchan" by Soseki Natsume (1867-1916) who was a great literary figure in that era. Thank you Minoru for the book, Botchan! I’ve got the English version, in case you readers are wondering. ^^
The wooden three-storied Dogo-Onsen-Honkan is designated a national important cultural property. A clock in Shinrokaku, which is a small tower on the roof, strikes three times a day in the morning, noon and evening respectively.
There is the "Kami-no-yu" bath on the first floor, and the "Tama-no-yu" bath and relaxation area for those who bathe in both baths are on the second floor. On the third floor, there are private rooms for users of "Tama-no-yu" bath and "Botchan-no-ma" which is a room associated with Soseki Natsume. Seeing the latter room is available on request.
Did we go in? No, we didn't. We are a penny-pinching family. We were just content looking at it from the outside. ^^
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