The Best of Dōgo Onsen: Poets, Prostitutes, and Priests

(6 reviews)

Matsuyama audio tour: The Best of Dōgo Onsen: Poets, Prostitutes, and Priests

This is a 2mi walking tour

It takes an average of 120 mins to complete.

Matsuyama

Japan

$7.99

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About the Tour

Before Dōgo Onsen was swallowed up by Matsuyama city, it was the oldest spa town in Japan with a history going back over a thousand years. It’s been visited by many celebrated people who come to bathe in its healing waters and leave their mark on the area. On this walking tour, I’ll show you some of Dōgo’s main sights and point out the details that most visitors miss.

We’ll meet Masaoka Shiki, Japan’s greatest modern haiku poet, who also introduced baseball to the country. We’ll also learn why Botchan, a character in a Natsume Sōseki novel, seems to pop up everywhere. We’ll visit the birthplace of Ippen, the dancing priest, and we’ll cast a glance at the prostitutes who set up shop here.

At a trot, you can finish this tour in an hour or so. But if you stop by the baths, museums and shops along the way, pause to take some photos, or adjourn to try some sake in the brewery, you could easily spend all day discovering everything that Dōgo has to offer.

Tour Producer

Rod Walters

1 tour

I've lived in Japan for over 35 years, working as a teacher, translator, and tour operator. Through my work, I've learned much about Japan, its people, and its culture. As a long-term resident fluent in Japanese, people take me into their confidence and show me interesting things. They take me into the hills to see hidden Christian statues and offer me their hornets-in-shōchū beverage to try (it’s perfectly vile, but bee larvae over rice is nice). At small rural festivals, I drink with the locals and hear how events that happened five hundred years ago still resonate today.

I live on Japan’s smallest main island, Shikoku where I founded Shikoku Tours which I ran for over ten years. Today I operate Japan Adventurer, a company offering distinctive, adventurous tours all over Japan. Our tours invite you to discover aspects of Japan you didn’t know exist. I hope you enjoy my take on the Japan that I present through these VoiceMap tours.

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Preview Location

Location 18

Dōgo Onsen Honkan side

OK, you should now be standing in front of the original three-storey building. It’s topped with a small tower, the Shinrokaku, featuring bright red glass, and a drum to mark the hours of 6 am, noon, and 6 pm.

Originally, the Honkan had three entrances, one for samurai and ... Read More

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How VoiceMap Works

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The VoiceMap app uses GPS to play audio automatically, at the right time and place, so you can focus on your surroundings, not the screen.

Follow a route with turn-by-turn-directions

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a fixed starting point. That lets us give turn-by-turn directions and use context to tell a better story.

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Major Landmarks

Dogo Onsen Main Building
Dōgo Onsen Annex Asuka-no-Yu
Minakuchi Sake Brewery Co.
Enmanji
Isaniwa Shrine
Hogonzi
Dogo Park

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Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
6-８ Dōgoyunomachi, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-0842, Japan
Total distance

3km
Final location
6-10 Dōgoyunomachi, Matsuyama, Ehime 790-0842, Japan
Distance back to start location

39.68m

Directions to Starting Point

Start at the Dōgo Tourist Information Centre just inside the shopping arcade facing Dōgo Onsen Station.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

If you want to bathe in the onsen, you can stop at Dōgo Onsen Honkan, Asuka no Yu Onsen, or Tsubaki no Yu. The tour also visits Minakuchi Sake Brewery.

Best time of day

Any time from 9 am to 5 pm is good.

Precautions

If you're doing this tour when it's warm, be sure to drink plenty of water. Heat stroke is a real risk in Japan.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”