Japan Guide
Shikoku
Dōgo onsen
It may no longer be so cheap, nor do the attendants scrub your back, but a bath at the grand Dōgo Onsen Honkan is still a treat. This is the oldest hot springs in Japan, mentioned in the 1300-year-old history book Nihon-shoki. According to legend, a white heron dipped its injured leg into the hot water gushing out of the rocks and found that it had healing properties. By the sixth century the onsen's fame reached the ears of Prince Shōtoku, and his royal patronage cemented its reputation, creating the first tourist town in Japan.
The present architectural extravaganza was built in 1894 and the heron, which has become the symbol of the baths, is commemorated in a statue astride the three-storey building's ornate roof. Inside there are two types of bath, plus the Yushinden, a special bath built in 1899 for the imperial family, but now drained of water. At the entrance you'll be confronted by a slightly bewildering range of prices – an English leaflet provides a basic explanation of what's on offer. The cheapest deal is to use the rather raucous Kami-no-yu (daily 6am–10.30pm; ¥400), a section with two identical baths, on each side of the changing rooms. For ¥800 you still bathe in the Kami-no-yu, but get to relax afterwards in the second-floor public room, where you'll be served green tea and rice crackers, and you also get a towel and a cotton yukata robe. The first-class experience entitles you to a private room (daily 6am–8.40pm; ¥1500) on the third floor, where you'll be offered green tea and three-coloured dango (sweet rice-dough balls on a stick) after your dip.
Even if you opt for the no-frills bath, the staff will allow you to explore the rest of the building. On the second floor, look out for a display of tea-ceremony items and old calligraphy scrolls to the side of the large tatami resting-room with carved wooden verandahs. You'll need to return to the second floor to gain entrance to the Yushinden (daily 6am–9pm; ¥250).