Dōgo Onsen Honkan, Ehime Prefecture, Japan
Photo: Japanexperterna.se via Flickr · CC BY-SA 2.0
愛媛SHIKOKU
SHIKOKU · 愛媛県 · Japan

Ehime

One of Japan's oldest hot springs and a hilltop castle at Matsuyama.

Ehime, on the northwest coast of Shikoku facing the Seto Inland Sea, is famed for Dogo Onsen, one of Japan's oldest hot springs with over 1,000 years of recorded history, and for the citrus-growing islands linked by the Shimanami Kaido cycling route. Its mild climate, feudal-era Matsuyama Castle, and mikan (mandarin orange) orchards make it a relaxed gateway to island-hopping.

Ehime's (愛媛) Dōgo Onsen (道後温泉) appears in Japan's oldest texts as a bathing place of legend, and its 1894 wooden bathhouse helped inspire the bathhouse in 'Spirited Away'. Matsuyama (松山) keeps a fine original castle.

matsuyama 松山imabari 今治oshima 大島
Where it isEhime, SHIKOKU
Dogo Onsen Honkan, Ehime Prefecture, Japan
Dogo Onsen Honkan

Photos: Dogo Onsen Honkan — Japanexperterna.se via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0

01

Getting there

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Matsuyama is reached by air from Tokyo/Osaka or by train/bus across Shikoku.

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02

What to see

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Dogo Onsen Honkan, Ehime Prefecture, JapanTop pick

Dogo Onsen Honkan

One of Japan's oldest hot springs (legend says 3,000 years). The landmark wooden bathhouse was the first public bathhouse designated a national Important…

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Matsuyama Castle, Ehime Prefecture, JapanTop pick

Matsuyama Castle

One of only twelve surviving original castle keeps built before the end of the Edo period, set on a hilltop with a ropeway/lift access and 21 Important…

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Top pick

Shimanami Kaido

A scenic 60+ km expressway-and-bridge route across the Seto Inland Sea islands, world-famous as a cycling course linking Ehime to Hiroshima with sweeping sea…

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03

What to eat

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Taimeshi, Ehime Prefecture, JapanMust-eat

Taimeshi (sea bream rice)

Ehime's signature dish. Two regional styles: Matsuyama-style whole grilled sea bream cooked with rice, and Uwajima-style raw sea bream sashimi over hot rice…

Jakoten, Ehime Prefecture, JapanMust-eat

Jakoten (fried fish cake)

A crispy deep-fried cake of ground small whole fish, a centuries-old Uwajima delicacy eaten as-is. Tradition traces it to fishcake craftsmen brought from…

Mikan, Ehime Prefecture, JapanMust-eat

Mikan and citrus

Ehime is Japan's leading citrus producer (mikan, iyokan, dekopon). Sold in countless forms from fresh fruit to orange-flavored beer, gelato and juice.

04

Ehime at a glance

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05

Say it in Ehime

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Ask a local
Kirei desu ne.
It's beautiful, isn't it?
Test yourself
Local word
Dōgo Onsen
one of Japan's oldest hot-spring bathhouses
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One more
Koko wa ii tokoro desu ne
This is a nice place, isn't it?
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Dogo Onsen Honkan, Ehime Prefecture, Japan

Sleep in Ehime

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07

Next door

KagawaJapan's smallest prefecture — udon noodles and art islands.KochiA clear river, a famous castle, and the spirit of reformer Sakamoto Ryōma.Play the 47-prefecture mapUnlock Ehime in the RPG-style explorer.

Links marked PR are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Photos: Dōgo Onsen Honkan — Japanexperterna.se via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dogo Onsen Honkan — Japanexperterna.se via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Dogo Onsen Honkan — wongwt via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Matsuyama Castle — Y_IKEDA via FIND/47, CC BY 4.0 · Taimeshi — GinkgoTelegraph via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Jakoten — Koppepan via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 · Mikan — 顔なし via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. Map: Geolonia (MIT).