Ryokan in Dogo Onsen
道後温泉One of Japan's oldest hot springs, on the north-eastern edge of Matsuyama on Shikoku, around the Dogo Onsen Honkan, a wooden public bathhouse built in 1894 that Natsume Soseki praised in Botchan. Matsuyama is about 6.5 hours from Tokyo by rail or 90 minutes by air; the airport bus reaches Dogo in 35 minutes.
Dogo Onsen through the year
Spring春
March to May
The Dogo Onsen Festival fills the streets with lanterns and parades for three days in March; in Matsuyama the cherry trees first bloom around 24 March.
Summer夏
June to August
Through much of August the Dogo Onsen Summer Festival fills the streets around the bathhouse and the Haikara-dori arcade with events.
Autumn秋
September to November
During the Matsuyama Autumn Festival, 5 to 7 October, eight portable shrines clash in front of Dogo Onsen Station at dawn on the last day.
Winter冬
December to February
In February about half a million people visit Iyozuhiko Shrine, 'Tsubaki-san', in Matsuyama for its three-day Tsubaki Matsuri, held on the 7th to 9th of the lunar new year.
The ryokan
Listed stays
22 approved listings · 22 total in Dogo Onsen
Photo credits
wongwt, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; lienyuan lee, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons; Maarten Heerlien from Voorschoten, The Netherlands, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons