The Honkan by day
Morning in Dogo, and the Honkan in daylight. It’s Japan’s oldest bathhouse, built in 1894 and still in use, and the first public bathhouse to be named an Important Cultural Property. It had only just come out of five years of restoration work a few months before we came, so we got to see it with no scaffolding at all. At night it’s all lanterns and glow; by day you can actually see the layers of roofs and the little white tower on top.
The Botchan clock
A few minutes’ walk away is Dogo Onsen Station, the end of the old tram line from central Matsuyama, in a retro Western-style building. Out front there’s the Botchan karakuri clock, built for the Honkan’s 100th birthday. Matsuyama is where Natsume Soseki set his novel Botchan, and the whole town leans into it hard.
We didn’t come for the show. We were sitting nearby eating sandwiches for breakfast in the cold when the hour came round, and the whole clock tower rose up out of its base, the panels swung open, and the characters from the book came out and moved to music. It takes a while to get going, and by the time it did, a small crowd of phones had gathered in front of it. Not bad for a breakfast spot.
After breakfast, our travelling Rilakkuma came out for photos, ready for his home turf. The old Botchan steam train sits by the station too.
Dogo Park
Right behind the station is Dogo Park, on the hill where Yuzuki Castle used to stand, back when the Kono clan ruled this area, long before Matsuyama Castle was built. There’s nothing left of the castle now except the shape of the land, some stone and a lot of steps. In spring it’s a cherry blossom spot; in November it was just us, the pines and the stairs.
The view over Matsuyama from the top: meh. Honestly, I’m not sure why we climbed all the way up here. I made a pregnant woman hike up a hill for this. Minmin has been very gracious about it.
Back down the steps, we stumbled on the part Minmin liked best: Rilakkuma, and the inside of the Honkan.
Postcard from Hojoen, in front of Dogo Onsen Station, Matsuyama
A clock tower modelled on the Honkan's roof turret, built in 1994 for the bathhouse's 100th birthday. On the hour it rises up and opens to show characters from Soseki's Botchan; there's a free foot bath next to it.