Dogo Onsen Trip

A week after I returned from the US (a week in which I did NOTHING but rest!), we took a weekend trip to Dogo Onsen at Matsuyama City on Shikoku Island with Ingrid and Jim. Shikoku is referred to as the Blue Island, but we did not find out why. It is a large island directly southeast of Iwakuni, across the Seto Inland Sea. (Iwakuni is near the south-west end of Honshu Island, the same island where Tokyo is located further north and east of us.) You can drive to Shikoku by going east (past Hiroshima) and crossing several long bridges which takes about 6 hours, or take the speedboat from Iwakuni and arrive in 1.5 hours, which is what we opted to do.

Japan Map – If you click on the picture and make it larger, you can see Iwakuni (red dot) is located just to the left (west) of Hiroshima. Arrow back (left) to return to the pictures – don’t click the X or it will close the program. 

Shikoku Island Map – The red line shows the speedboat path from Iwakuni Port to Matsuyama City across the Sea. 

Iwakuni City sightseeing map at the Iwakuni Port (wish I could get this map in English!) At the top between the two rivers is an airplane which represents the Air Base, where we live. Near the bottom is the green mountain where the Iwakuni Castle and tram are, and from there on the first “C” curve of the river is the famous Kintai Bridge. At the very bottom, you can see the Shinkansen (bullet train) line. 

Iwakuni Port building, facing the Sea. 

The speedboat to Shikoku Island. 

Stan and Margie -- excited travelers. 

View of the MC Air Station (our home) from the speedboat. The weather was very cold, but the seas were calm. 

Jim looks out the window of the speedboat. It’s very nice & warm inside, like the train. 

Another boat in the mist. 

There are many islands out in the Inland Sea. 

Jim, Ingrid & Stan at the Matsuyama Port. 

Our boat arriving at Shikoku Island.

Ingrid in front of the Matsuyama port, while Stan heads up the ramp. It was very cold. Our trip included a taxi to pick us up at the port for the 15 minute ride to our hotel in the Dogo area. 

Stan and Jim in front of our hotel. It was very nice with a beautiful onsen inside. Our trip also included dinner and breakfast buffets, which were absolutely delicious and included everything you could imagine, beautifully displayed and deliciously prepared. We dropped our bags at the hotel and started our sightseeing. 

Matsuyama is a city of hot springs. This one is outside of our hotel. You can sit down, take off your shoes and soak your feet. 

Beautiful ceramic tile map of the city. 

A sign we can read! 

The famous Dogo Onsen (“Do” is pronounced the same as “go” – Japanese “o” is always pronounced the same way.) 

A crane atop the Dogo Onsen roof. 

These birds are just decorative. 

Matsuyama is also famous for beautiful camellias which were in full bloom in spite of the cold weather. 

These women are enjoying tea while warming their feet in hot spring water. 

Oranges floating in the water. 

This lovely young woman dressed in traditional kimono gave us a tour of another hotel. There are many beautiful hotels in the Dogo Onsen area. 

Margie and Stan entering the covered shopping area. It’s cold enough to wear my winter coat today!