Dogo Onsen

Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama is Japan's oldest continuously operating hot spring resort, with records of its use stretching back over 3,000 years and references appearing in some of Japan's earliest literary texts. The main bathhouse, Dogo Onsen Honkan, is a graceful three-story wooden building constructed in 1894 that served as an inspiration for Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Spirited Away, and is recognized as an Important Cultural Property of Japan. The sulfurous thermal waters are traditionally associated with relaxation and well-being, and the communal bathing tradition here exemplifies the finest values of Japanese onsen culture. A visit to Dogo, with its historic streetcar connection and surrounding castle town of Matsuyama, is an unmissable cultural and thermal experience.