Dogo-onsen Hot Spring道後温泉

Original communal hot spring bathhouses exist amid Japan's 3,000-year-old hot springs that draw many tourists to this area.

Located in central Ehime and in the northeastern part of Matsuyama, the Dogo-onsen Hot Spring is Japan's oldest noted spa, and is said to have been opened about 3,000 years ago.

In the center of the hot-spring town where a number of inns and hotels are clustered is the main building of Dogo-onsen (Honkan), a communal bathhouse. The building was erected in 1894 and is a symbol of Dogo today. With a magnificent three-storied castle-styled wooden structure that has been designated as the first important cultural asset of public bathhouses in Japan, the bathhouse boasts a time-honored and dignified appearance amid modern hotels and shops. It has a watchtower called the Shinro-kaku on the roof, and the sound of the time-telling drum that beats three times a day, or morning, noon, and evening, reverberates all over the spa town. In the Dogo-onsen Honkan, you can make yourself comfortable in the grand hall or in a private room, even for just taking a bath.

In the neighborhood of the Dogo-onsen Honkan are historic temples such as Ishite-ji and Hogon-ji temples, cultural institutions, and spa streets lined with souvenir shops. If you take one of the rickshaws here, you can enjoy a joyful sightseeing tour, or snap some photos, while guided by a dashing young rickshaw man.