Matsuyama (Matsuyama City, Ehime Pref.)

With three millennia of history, Dogo Onsen is known as Japan's oldest onsen facility. The Honkan bathhouse, the centerpiece of Dogo Onsen, consists of a wooden three-story structure built in 1894 and was the model on which the bathhouse featured in Miyazaki's animated film Spirited Away was based.

Completed in 1628, Matsuyama Castle was built by Kato Yoshiaki over the course of twenty-five years and can be counted as one of Japan's most famous mountain castles. Standing on top of Katsuyama Hill in the center of the city of Matsuyama, the castle is beloved by local residents.

Kato Yoshiaki:

A high-ranking samurai warrior who lived approximately 400 years ago

Delightful small-scale steam trains that operated on the streets of Matsuyama a century ago have been restored. Visitors can climb aboard and travel between downtown Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen at a speed of ten kilometers per hour.