Mid - Late
Mar
Photo: Rod Walters

Dogo Onsen Festival

The Annual Dogo Onsen Matsuri in Matsuyama, Ehime

Bronwyn O'Neill   - 2 min read
Venue : Dogo Onsen Honkan When : Mid - Late Mar 2025

Notice

Renovation works are being carried out until July 11, 2024. During the first phase, two baths on the first floor remain open to the public while the floors above will close. Parts of the building will be covered with scaffolding during the renovation, though it is also the intention to maintain visible parts of the exterior to minimize the impact on tourists. The main building will be closed for 23 days from June 18 to July 10, 2024 in preparation for its&nbsp;full reopening on July 11, 2024.&nbsp;Dogo Onsen Annex Asuka-no-yu Izumi and Dogo Onsen Tsubaki-no-yu will still be open during the temporary closure of the main building.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.city.matsuyama.ehime.jp/shisei/kakukaichiran/sangyoukeizaibu/top.html">Read More</a>

Latest on Dogo Onsen Honkan

Every March, Dogo Onsen is dressed up in lanterns and red pinstripes to celebrate its cultural history and provide a platform for the local community to get together. The Dogo Onsen Festival is held for three days from 19 March, in the vicinity of Dogo Onsen Honkan and Dogo Station. Activities include parades in historical costumes, geisha games, and omikoshi portable shrines carried by the women of Dogo. There’s also a market for local produce on the middle day.

The onsen itself is saturated in folklore and has ties to Studio Ghibli, novelist Natsumi Soseki, and the Japanese Imperial Family. It's a lovely building and interesting in its own right.

What makes the March festivities distinctive is that many of the key players are women, including a female mikoshi procession – a refreshing change from the boozy machoism of Dogo’s autumn festival. Both festivals take place in front of Dogo station and through the Dogo shopping arcade. The autumn festival in September definitely has higher attendance, as hundreds of people swarm to get a glimpse of the battling mikoshi shrines.

The Dogo Onsen festival is quieter and sweeter, owing largely to the participation of local elementary school children. The main attraction is the dancing. The dancers wear yukata emblazoned with the Dogo Onsen insignia and incorporate the waving of their ceremonial towels in their parade through the arcade. This small procession happens every evening from March 19th –23rd. Mochi throwing happens at two-hourly intervals on the main weekend. There is also music and a modest selection of hot food stalls to enjoy alongside the usual (high-quality) fare of the shopping arcade.

More info

Find out more about Dogo Onsen Honkan.

Bronwyn O'Neill

Bronwyn O'Neill @bronwyn.oneill

Based in Matsuyama, Ehime. Life here in the biggest city on Shikoku combines all of the warmth of a more rural region with the conveniences of a metropolitan environment. For a taste of what the region has to offer, check out Awagami paper making and the annual Tsubaki Matsuri. My areas of int...