In hot water

O.K we are here on the island Shikoko after a 3 hour ferry from Hiroshima port. Sadly we only have 1 night here so will have to do a whistle stop tour of the surrounding area. Main reason to come here is Dogo Onsen hot baths, reported to be one of the finest in Japan. It was too busy for the posh bath and tour so we had to slum it with the peasants downstairs which was fine by me. Basic bathing method is to clean yourself before you get in and then just enjoy the hot water, I had heard that it would be painfully hot but it was just right. The main bath house was elaborately decorated on the walls and ceiling, the bath itself was smaller than I expected and had a large round stone tub pumping out geothermally heated water. So you relax in there, then take another shower repeat etc... Not really the thing to do before a days sightseeing...

Dogo Onsen

Anyway our relaxed bones made our way to the next Matsuyama hill and castle, we made our way on one of the trams that ply their trade in the area. We had 2 choices, walk or take the open air stair lift.... hard decision... 2 minutes later we were at the top. Sadly the castle was closed for repair, yes this one had burnt down a number of times before surprise surprise..but the views were spectacular.

View from Matsuyama Hill