Enjoying Hot Springs Differently in Different Areas! Matsuyama×Beppu Exploring Hot Springs on Foot

Leisurely Enjoyment of Dōgo Onsen

About Dōgo Onsen

Dōgo Onsen is considered the oldest hot spring in Japan with a history of around 3,000 years, including mentions in the ancient Nihon Shoki and Man’yōshū works. A site once visited by Prince Shōtoku, the famous hot spring is also known as the setting of the Legend of the Egret, describing a bird that heals its injured leg by soaking it in the waters, and the Legend of the Tama-no-Ishi Stone, involving deities Ōkuninushi no Mikoto and Sukunabikona no Mikoto.

The symbol of the hot spring, the Dōgo Onsen Honkan structure, was reconstructed in 1894. Designated an Important Cultural Property of Japan, it is also open to the public for enjoyment as a bathhouse in active use. In the Michelin Green Guide Japan, it has received the highest possible, coveted three-star rating. Conservation and repair work was undertaken in January 2019 to help preserve the historic Honkan for the future. Some bathing facilities remained in operation even during this time, and the facilities fully reopened on July 11, 2024.

The natural hot spring water of Dōgo Onsen flows freely from the source, giving it a soft, pleasing feel and cosmetically beneficial qualities. Its convenient location offers easy access, reachable from the Matsuyama city center in about 20 minutes by tram. Area streets brimming with charming elegance offer pleasant strolling opportunities, seemingly transporting visitors to another time. Factors like this have given the hot spring such popularity that it consistently receives top rankings in lists of favorite destinations for solo female travelers.

Dōgo Onsen Destination Details

Explore the Fully Reopened Dōgo Onsen Honkan!

On the first floor are found the Kami-no-Yu and Tama-no-Yu, each with men’s and women’s baths.

In the Kami-no-Yu, both men’s and women’s bathing spaces are built of stone and adorned with Tobe-yaki porcelain panel murals as backdrops to yugama fountainheads giving vivid senses of the hot spring water that gushes forth continuously through them.

In the Tama-no-Yu, the men’s bathing space is built with an opulent air featuring fine-quality stone materials from its original status as a bath reserved for the use of attendants of the Imperial household. The women’s bath is spacious, featuring statues of the deities Ōkuninushi no Mikoto and Sukunabikona no Mikoto atop the yugama fountainhead in the center of the space.

The Kami-no-Yu women’s bath is adorned with a Tobe-yaki porcelain panel mural depicting deities Ōkuninushi no Mikoto and Sukunabikona no Mikoto. Following the completion of conservation and repair work, a wooden plaque reading “Botchan oyogu bekarazu” (“No swimming in the hot spring, Botchan”) in conjunction with NATSUME Sōseki’s novel Botchan is also now displayed for female bathers as well.

Tama-no-Yu women’s bath, site of the Kami-no-Yu women’s bath prior to the conservation and repair work

The Honkan features a diverse range of resting spaces for post-bathing relaxation, with styles to suit the moods of visitors at the time. Each offers differing bath access and amenities, such as patterns on yukatas provided and types of confections offered.

One floor above the ground level are the Kami-no-Yu 2nd floor and Tama-no-Yu 2nd floor, and a further level above these, the Tama-no-Yu 3rd floor private rooms and suite reservations.
In conjunction with the recent reopening, two new rooms have debuted on the third floor: Shirasagi-no-Ma (capacity: 18 guests), about 19 tatami mats (31 square meters) in size, and Hishō-no-Ma (capacity: 10 guests), about 12 and a half tatami (21 square meters). The rooms are available for private reservation and offer views of the egret sculpture perched atop the Shinrokaku tower known for the Toki-daiko drum that announces the time at Dōgo Onsen. Guests can also enjoy new egret-themed “Dōgo Yuagari no Shirasagi” confections made with local Ehime citrus fruit. Both rooms offer reservations for up to five groups daily and include rental yukata, small rental towels, and rental bath towels, along with Kami-no-Yu and Tama-no-Yu bath access and Yūshinden viewing.

Shirasagi-no-Ma

Be sure to try a “Dōgo Yuagari no Shirasagi” confection

Check Out the Bathing Tickets, Too!

Bathing tickets have been given new designs, with the bathing ticket included with Tama-no-Yu 3rd floor suite reservations featuring illustrated portions that can be cut or torn off and set up to form a miniature diorama.

Supplemental Details

The Honkan is not the only destination at Dōgo Onsen. There are in fact three bathing facilities, including the Tsubaki-no-Yu and Dōgo Onsen Annex Asuka-no-Yu.

Tsubaki-no-Yu is said to be a popular place for locals to bathe as well. Constructed in 2017, inspired by the architectural style of the Asuka period, Asuka-no-Yu serves as an art museum integrating traditional Ehime Prefecture crafts with cutting-edge art. It also features a special bathing room recreating the Yūshinden in the Honkan.
For a limited time up until January 13, 2025 (Mon/holiday), special value tickets offering discounted bathing at all three facilities are available, offering bathers a 20% discount at just ¥1,400.
The Dōgo Shopping Arcade, also known as the Dōgo Haikara Street, packs together a variety of Ehime charms, from souvenirs and local specialties to cafés and eateries serving tai-meshi (rice with sea bream). Come stroll the streets of this special hot spring town while stopping in for soaks at a choice of bathing facilities.

Tsubaki-no-Yu Destination Details

Asuka-no-Yu Destination Details

Enjoying the Multiple Hot Springs of Beppu Onsen

About Beppu Onsen

The city of Beppu in Ōita Prefecture features some of the largest numbers of source springs and quantity of hot spring water that gushes forth in all of Japan. Here, visitors will enjoy striking scenery with steam rising from the springs. The famous hot spring site has a very lengthy history as well, mentioned in the Iyo-no-Kuni Fudoki, a topographical and cultural record of Iyo Province compiled at the dawn of the 8th century.

Beppu is home to a series of eight distinct hot spring zones known as the Beppu Hattō, presenting an expansive “onsen world” with a nostalgic air where visitors can enjoy touring around to different hot springs all within the city limits.

The Meaning of Hattō

Literally “Eight Hot Springs,” Hattō refers to a series of hot springs zones in the city: Beppu Onsen, an area located relatively near Beppu Station and Beppu-minato Port; Kamekawa Onsen, famed for its natural sand baths; Kannawa Onsen, offering famous Jigoku Meguri tours of “hellish” hot springs landscapes; Kankaiji Onsen, presenting spectacular views from an elevation of 150 m; Horita Onsen, which once flourished as a transportation hub offering access to Yufuin and other destinations; Shibaseki Onsen, known as a hot spring with “wound-healing” qualities; Myōban Onsen, with a history as the primary site of alum (myōban) production in Japan; and Hamawaki Onsen, referred to as the birthplace from which all Beppu hot springs started. Each offers its own special characteristics, such as the qualities of the hot spring water. Choose the area that suits your own preferences best! Whichever you visit, be sure to immerse yourself in the abundantly flowing hot spring water for deeply soothing enjoyment.

Enjoy Visiting Multiple Hot Springs

Beppu Onsen is home to approximately 10% of all the hot spring sources in all of Japan. And, after all, the best way to enjoy hot springs is certainly by taking soaks in them yourself.
Beppu has been home to a culture of therapeutic hot spring bathing since ancient times and is popular for its townscape offering nostalgic, “retro” scenery with steam rising from the hot springs. We took a tour of bathing facilities offering day use in the Kannawa Onsen area, which has long been known for its Jigoku Meguri tours of “hellish” hot springs landscapes.

Hyōtan Onsen

Featuring carefully selected 100% natural hot spring water that flows directly from the source, Hyōtan Onsen employs a special Yumetake apparatus designed to cool the relatively hot water. Said to have originally taken its name from the original bath constructed of stone in the shape of a gourd (hyōtan) located in the hot spring’s large public bath, the facilities offer visitors 19 types of bathing to choose from, including Taki-Yu (or Utase-Yu) “waterfall” baths with streams of water that stream onto bathers’ backs, steam baths employing natural hot spring steam, sand baths using sand from the sea beaches of Beppu, family baths, and open-air rotenburo baths. If you get hungry, a selection of local delicacies are offered at the Jigoku Steam Kitchen, where guests can enjoy jigoku-mushi dishes cooked with natural steam from the hot springs. (Available for dining only as well)

Oniishi-no-Yu

Oniishi-no-Yu is a bathing facility situated right next to the Oniishi Bōzu Jigoku (“Hell of the Monk’s Head”) hot spring. Characterized by water with qualities that give it a soft feel on the skin, the wooden structure contains a stone tile-floored large public bath, family baths, and open-air rotenburo baths. The 2nd-floor rotenburo offers views of forest scenery, and in the winter, pomelos — a Beppu specialty known locally as zabon — are floated in the water, offering bathers the enjoyment of their pleasing citrus fragrance. (Offered seasonally)

Kannawa Steam Bath

The Kannawa Steam Bath hot spring was established by monk Ippen Shōnin in the 13th century during the Kamakura Period. Guests can lie stretched out wearing a yukata in a stone-walled sauna-like room with aromatic, herbal sekishō (Japanese sweet flag) spread out covering the floor, filling the room and enveloping them with their captivating fragrance, warmed by the steam. Therapeutic effects are said to include alleviating sensitivity to cold and beautifying the complexion. The experience will be particularly appealing to female bathers, providing a soothing, therapeutic bath that might be expected to have detoxifying benefits as well. After enjoying a steam bath, be sure to relax in the bathhouse as well. Steam baths for the feet are also highly recommended to soothe feet after walking around to various hot springs in the area.

 

Have You Heard About the Matsuyama×Beppu Stamp Rally?

This feature has outlined some of the charms of Dōgo Onsen and Beppu Onsen. Hot spring enthusiasts will be excited to know there is currently a stamp rally being conducted, inviting participants to collect stamps at hot springs they visit in both cities.

For a limited time up until November 30, 2025 (Sun), Dōgo Onsen has joined forces with the Beppu Hattō hot springs as part of their Historical Onsendō promotion offering stamps to be collected at participating hot springs. Original stamps have been unveiled for all three of Dōgo’s bathing facilities: the Dōgo Onsen Honkan, Dōgo Onsen Annex Asuka-no-Yu, and Tsubaki-no-Yu. Participants who collect the prescribed stamps will receive special Shodan (First Senior Rank) certification.

Participants fully completing the stamp rally will be presented a certificate of completion, a Shodan rank towel, and a special Onsendō×Dōgo Onsen “Spaport” cover. (Certification fee: ¥1,300)