Seeing the statue of Kobo Daishi from the base of the statue wasn't very interesting but the view from top of hill above Ishite-ji Temple facing Kobo Daishi Statue had a wide panoramic view of the city and the mountains.
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| Kobo Daishi Statue, Matsuyama, Japan |
Dogo Onsen is a hot spring bath house (one of the oldest and largest in Japan) famous for being inspiration for Miyazaki's popular animated film "Spirited Away".
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| Dogo Onsen, Matsuyama, Japan |
The wooded bathhouse is multiple stories tall and with access limited to stories based on how much you pay. We got the second cheapest price allowing us to have tea and a cookie in
a large open room on the second floor. The tea and the cookie are not
worth the extra price. The tea is just macha from a machine and the
cookie is nice but sort of bland. What is worth the extra is that you
can relax and socialize in the onsen without having to leave directly
after your bath. Amenities (soap, shampoo, towel, etc) are not free so bring your own if you would like to save a few yen.
There are two men's baths and one female bath. All are very very full. There is no view from the bathhouse other than high ceilings and tiled walls. Despite the lack of scenery the bath house is very lovely and relaxing. A great place to socialize with friends and experience part of Japanese culture. The water is very hot and I definitely alternate with a cool rinse every so often to keep from overheating.
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| Dogo Onsen, Matsuyama, Japan |
At night the onsens lights are lit up and there is a covered area where you can shop or find a restaurant. There is a brewery nearby as well and they actually have a pretyt wide variety of local beers.
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| Dogo Onsen at Night, Matsuyama, Japan |
Izakayas so far all have a pretty similar layout including booths with sliding screen doors to give you privacy. It feels more squishy but you do get some illusion of privacy even if you are not spared the noises of the bar. I much prefer being seated at the actual bar where you can socialize but when you come in as a group they will never sit you at the bar sadly. Makes sense because it often has very few seats.
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| Getting cozy in an izakaya in Matsuyama |
Our hotel (Mainstays) was located right across from the canal making it a very enjoyable walk back from the izakaya.
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| Canal in Matsuyama at Night |
Matsuyama Castle was a quick walk along the canal and through a big open park. The canal had a variety of birds including Cormorants, Swans, Ducks and Egrets. Turtles were plentiful on the spaced out wooden platforms.
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| Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) |
A children's festival was going on so we got to listen to some music,
enjoy some festival food and yeah also played some games with he kids.
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| Childrens Festival in Matsuyama |
The castle sits atop a large hill that is wooded but not with very old trees. Historically the trees were cut so that the castle would have a view of potential attackers. It is a VERY well defended castle with numerous towers, walls, archer slits, rock drops and fortified gates to squish the enemy into tight spaces.
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| Matsuyama Castle Map |
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| Matsuyama Castle, Japan |
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| Matsuyama Castle, Japan |
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| Matsuyama Castle, Japan |
Signs are always in both English and Japanese. The signs present in the castle talk about how it has been destroyed multiple times including once being hit by lightening and once by an arsonist. Inside the castle signs discuss many of the artifacts that they have on display including swords, armor and scrolls.
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| Matsuyama Castle, Japan |
Other than the displays the castle is very empty (and cold!) with no furniture or indication of how people lived. None of the signs actually discuss any battles held at the castle or the way that the people lived in the castle back then. It is hard to imagine these things with the castle so empty. A small section within the first set of walls likely held a garden for food that is now converted into a area with sakura trees. There was a well at the castle so its pretty obvious how they got water.
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| Matsuyama Castle, Japan |
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| Matsuyama Castle, Japan |
But there was no sign of a kitchen, food storage, bunks for guards and not even one fireplace to keep anyone warm! The castle was very nice to visit and was definitely the most impressive castle I have seen so far in Japan but I would have liked to get more of these little details. Maybe they don't put it on signs because Japanese are taught it in history class so it is just very basic knowledge to them.
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