Dogo Onsen – Japan’s Oldest Hot Spring

Posted on May 11, 2007 by Jamie

Bathing in a Japanese hot spring (onsenA hot spring, often used for bathing. Bathing facilities are often, but not always, communal. May be outdoor or indoor. ) is a truly amazing experience. Of course, one must first get passed the whole ‘public nudity’ thing. Most onsens have a machine that issues you an admission ticket for the selected service. Dogo Onsen has 4 levels of service and an extra option for a tour of the Imperial family’s private bath (built in 1899 when the royal family visited). You place your shoes in a small locker and then give the ticket to a lady at the front. While there are some onsens that provide towels and bathing supplies, generally people bring their own. In most cases, you can buy a small towel and some soap for a reasonable fee. Once you enter the correct change room :) you will be confronted with an image of many individual in various degrees of undress! I have been asked by other foreigner “do other Japanese men stare at you?” However, this is not the case – everyone is discrete. It is remarkable at how normal and natural one feels by your second visit. You can easily find hot spring etiquette guides on the internet, however, it is important to note, especially for foreigners, to wash yourself completely before entering the bath. Try not to let your small towel touch the water (however, I have often seen other Japanese men put their towel in the water). Dogo Onsen is a very traditional onsen with only natural spring water with ‘mysterious’ healing properties. Other onsens offer a variety of baths including water kept at specific temperatures (between very cold and very hot), salt water, mineral water, jet baths, walking baths (with little stones to massage your feet), foot baths, outdoor baths, as well as saunas, mist saunas, salt saunas, and even tea! These services are more common at “super sentos” – giant public bath houses, often not a natural hot spring.

Dogo Onsen is known throughout Japan as the oldest hot spring. Some say it is over 3000 years old (the hot spring, not the building!) There is at least 1500 years of recorded history. It was mentioned in Manyoshu (the oldest existing collection of Japanese poetry) written in 759. Legend has it that a white heron placed its injured leg into the hot water gushing out from a rock. It was miraculously cured and the heron flew away. The people who witnessed this event began to use the hot spring. The white hereon is one of the symbols of Dogo. The three-story bathhouse, which stands today, was built in 1894.

Natsume Soseki, a famous Japanese novelist, wrote a story called “Botchan” (available in English from most bookstores throughout Japan). Botchan, a young man from Tokyo, moves to Matsuyama to teach math in the early 20th century. Botchan would often take a bath after work at Dogo Onsen. Due to the popularity of this novel and the fame it brought Matsuyama, the characters of Botchan can be found throughout Dogo. You can have your picture taken with Botchan and Madonna actors, or you can find one of those goofy head cut-outs and be Botchan himself standing in front of Dogo Onsen.

** Matsuyama is the capital of Ehime prefecture, situated on Shikoku Island. I believe Shikoku, in general, doesn’t receive its fair share of tourists, due in part to the lack of rapid rail transportation (no Shinkansen!). However, Matsuyama is renowned for its breathtaking castle, its literature legacy, and hot springs. Oh ya, and oranges! In fact, Dogo Onsen is visited by more than a million patrons each year.**