We stayed the night in Matsuyama at the Dogo Funaya onsen. We booked a Japanese style room, but opted out of the dinner since it was unlikely the children would handle a traditional teishoku course. We were given a thorough tour and explanation of the room, then we dropped our bags and went to explore the area.
The main point of interest nearby in the evening was the local shopping arcade. My goal was to try the specialty mikan cheesecake...but the store was closed on Tuesdays. With tremendous sorrow, a heavy heart, and an empty belly, we carried on.
The other other main point of interest in the area is Dogo Onsen. It is an old, traditional bath house that apparently served as the inspiration for the interior in Spirited Away.
We grabbed some dinner in the area, then settled into our rooms. My main objective was to check out the hot springs in the hotel. The granite room was open to men in the evening, so I visited there. Rowan joined me, and we luxuriated in several of the baths together for about an hour. We tried the tepid pool first, then the warm indoor pool, followed by two outdoor pools. Thoroughly luxuriated, we returned to our rooms to sleep. The next morning the baths opened up at 5 am, so I headed down to check out the Hinoki bath. Similar layout of baths, but the hinoki room also included a sauna. Of the two, I definitely enjoyed the granite room best.
The stay included breakfast, and it was fancy! But sadly I didn't grab any photos! Rowan declared that onsen ryokan were the best, and we should stay at one every night.
After breakfast we visited a couple of the local shrines and got a photo of Dogo onsen in the daylight.
Originally we were going to visit Hiroshima directly, but I read conflicting information as to whether we could simply walk onto the ferry or not. Deciding on simplicity, we returned to Osaka via the way we came, never having once tasted a delicious mikan no-bake cream cheese cake.
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