Dōgo Onsen Dōgo Onsen Dōgo Onsen is one of the oldest onsen hot springs in Japan, with a history stretching back over 1000 years. The springs are mentioned in the Man'yōshū (written c. 759) and, according to legend, Prince Shōtoku (574–622) used to partake of the waters. Dōgo Onsen was the favorite retreat of writer Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916) when he was working near Matsuyama as a teacher in what was at the time rural Shikoku. In Soseki's loosely autobiographical novel "Botchan", the eponymous main character is a frequent visitor to the springs, the only place he likes in the area. Dogo Onsen
Yunogo Onsen Yunogo Onsen Yunogo Onsen is known as “Sagi no-yu,” or hot water of the heron (sagi is the Japanese word for egret or heron) because 1,200 years ago a Buddhist high priest named En-nin-houshi discovered an injured heron bathing its wounded leg in the waters of a hot spring in Yunogo. This is how the special healing powers of these waters were discovered, and they now have evolved into a spot where people come to relax and enjoy the waters. There is a statue of En-nin with a heron outside of the “Yunogo Sagi Onsen-kan,” the public bathhouse created in