Matsuyama, Japan Nov.2-3, 2024
Dogo Onsen Bathhouse, Urban Legend, Taimeshi & Nabeyaki Udon
I went to Matsuyama, a castle down and the seat of Ehime prefecture in Shikoku, one of the four main land in the midst of torrential rain by extra-tropical storm with a hope it is getting better, which was proved right later. I woke up by 3 o’clock in the morning and left home in a light rain. The rain got heavier around 11 o’clock by the time when I was waiting in a line before a restaurant near Dogo Onsen. Water was being flooded on the road in the torrential rain. Many shops and restaurants near the bathhouse closed. But I was lucky that the restaurant opened at 11 o’clock. The restaurant serves Tai-meshi, sea bream sashimi over rice, one of Ehime’s local delicacies. You eat Sashimi of Sea bream on the rice with a beaten egg and soy based sauce. I liked the texture and the taste of the firm flesh in beaten yolk and the sauce. We avoided rain while eating at the restaurant. While rain got weak, we stood in the line to get a numbered ticket at the ticket booth. They gave one to me asking my phone number to return. They called me after some thirty minutes. We bought tickets of JPY2,000 at the ticket booth, put our shoes in the shoe rack at the doorway. It looks really like an ordinary public bathhouse in your neighbor. Yes, it is a public bathhouse, but a national important property. You can take bath at two different bathes and relax at the tatami-mat room with a cup of tea and a sweet cracker by that ticket. I bathed in the one on the first floor and the second on the second floor. The temperature of the water was good for me. The bath rooms were not crowded. I returned to the tatami room and relaxed ourselves with tea after I spent about half an hour in the bath. We left the bathhouse around 2 o’clock. We found the tram service had been suspended at the tram station. We decided to take a taxi to go to “Saka No Ueno Kumo” Museum or Museum of “Clouds over the hill”, archive of historical novel writn by Ryotaro Shiba (1923- 1996 ). The museum displays a lot of pictures from Meiji period and materials about the Russo – Japanese war during 1904 and 1905. He focused on the lives of the Akiyama brothers, military officers and Masaoka Shiki, a famous Haiku poet and depicted Japan through their live. They are all natives of this town. I read it in my late 20′ and remember I was impressed with the story very much. ”Saka No Ueno Kumo”, “Clouds over the hill” evokes me mood of the era people climbed toward the top of the hill passionately.
After the museum, we walked to Matsuyama Castle. We found the ropeway had been suspended after the torrential rain. We decided to return the way where we came towards Daidogai streets and stopped by a souvenir shop. People of Ehime love oranges very much. There is an urban legend People of Ehime love oranges so much that orange juice is supplied through waterworks at schools. This is of course not true but you can find a lot of shops we can try orange juice from the faucet.
Matsuyama has a lot of delicacies like Taimeshi, Jyako ten, Nabeyaki, to name a few. You can eat Nabeyaki, Noodle in clay pod, anywhere in the country. But Nabeyaki serviced here is a different from other Nabeyaki you can eat anywhere else. It is served in an aluminum pot. Beef meat is cooked by sweet sauce like Sukiyaki. Matsuyama’s Abura-age, fried bean curds, are crispy and soaked in the flavor well. I’ve become a fan of this dish. Food I tried during this trip were overall good. I had another Taimeshi, mixed rice at breakfast in the hotel. I want to come back and try other foods I did not have and visit Sakanoueno Kumo Museum again.
We will go to Mitsukoshi department store and buy some for our dinner. Tomorrow we will be going to Ozu town and return to Yokohama.