The Dogo area of Matsuyama is known for many things: its thermal spring with a 3,000-year history, famous glass, literary and art museums, Dogo Onsen Honkan, Yuzuki castle ruins (Dogo Park), along with its oh-so-expensive onsen hotels. What Dogo has not been famous for are its bars—until now. With the opening of Wani to Sai, Dogo can now correctly boast that it has one of the most interesting and unique bars in Matsuyama.
Located in the (now defunct) old red-light district of Dogo, at the base of the steep stone stairs leading to the important Isaniwa Shrine, Wani to Sai couldn’t have opened at a more opportune time. The area itself is dotted with crumbling, beautiful old wooden merchant buildings and brothels evoking a murky past, and massive stone torii gates demarcating the many shrines and temples in the area. This neighborhood oozes with history and a prospect for the future that is easily felt.
Opened by Takahiro-san in mid-2012, this self-styled “circus bar” is an intimate and warm dive bar that features interesting cocktails, European beer, high-end wine and low-end shochu—literally something for everyone. Wani to Sai also serves very good ramen and yaki-niku donburi. The night that my wife, some of our guests from Sen Guesthouse, and I went there, we had both dishes and they did not fail to deliver—everything was extremely good. Also, everyone who orders a drink is given a tsukidashi, a complimentary starter dish served at most izakaya, which was also excellent.
Takahiro-san has had a very interesting life, and it plainly shows in both his character and the decor/ambience of the bar. After graduating high school, he left for Italy to study visual arts. When he met a street performer from Colombia who specialized in marionettes—puppets controlled from above using strings—he decided that’s where his passion lay and quickly started learning how to make marionettes and how to bring them to life. He stayed in Europe for a total of eight years, in Italy and other counties, as a street marionette performer, before moving back to Japan a couple of years ago. He's fluent in both English and Italian, along with his native Japanese.
His interests and experiences clearly make themselves apparent in Wani to Sai. The walls are decorated with circus themed, low-brow, abstract art and various oddities that he’s collected from all over. He also has a couple of his marionettes on display and if the night is slow, and the music is right (which it always is) you just might be able to convince him to bring one of his friends to life. He often has live music and art events.
With the addition of Wani to Sai to Dogo’s (dare I say it) burgeoning art scene, both locals and tourists alike finally have an authentic place to hang their hats, have a proper drink and bit to eat, and, most importantly, meet some interesting folk (both foreign and Japanese alike).
Name in Japanese
ワニとサイ — Wani to Sai
