The Ishite River is one of the main rivers that runs through Matsuyama. It runs from the mountains to the east of Matsuyama, passing close to the famous Dogo Onsen hot springs. Upriver from Dogo Onsen is an area called Okudogo, which means “deep Dogo”, suggesting the hinterland and source of the famous hot spring.
Okudogo is home to the Jungle Onsen, a kind of giant greenhouse filled with tropical plants and various kinds of spring-fed baths. It’s part of the Okudogo Hotel complex, which sits in the deep valley formed by the Ishite River. The Okudogo Hotel isn’t thriving. It’s an ugly concrete building and the Jungle Onsen is something of an eyesore too. It’s a shed of rusty metal girders clad in dirty plastic corrugate. The onsen is popular with local middle aged people, children and Korean visitors who until recently were bused in directly from the airport.
The pleasantly spacious lobby of the baths smells strongly of shampoo. From there you descend a flight of steps with prominent signs that warn people with tattoos that they aren’t welcome. Entrance is 550 yen for adults and 250 yen for children. The changing rooms are clean and spacious, with big windows looking onto the greenhouse below. As you enter the baths proper, there’s a sign that says “attention be slippery”—apparently the minerals in the water make every surface slick and skiddy. As a consequence, a lot of rather nasty plastic matting has been laid over the tiled floor to stop you from breaking your neck.
The baths themselves are quite nice. There are a variety of baths that hold one or two people, with water at various temperatures. The lukewarm bath felt very agreeable in the muggy rainy season when I last went. In the winter, the whole place is freezing cold inside, so it’s a matter of making haste between the hotter types of bath. All the baths have an aroma of sulfur which is pleasant if you like that (I do), although you have to put your nose close to the water to detect it. The water itself is slightly slippery. One of the baths has vivid blue water, which purports to contain scented herbs, and another is washing-liquid green, which is said to be the essence of a medicinal herb. There’s a small rotenburo bath outside which overlooks the Ishite River. After the hot-house plant environment of the ‘jungle’, it’s nice to see some natural nature. The spacious sauna is also popular.
To my way of thinking, the Jungle Onsen is tasteless and gimmicky. Nevertheless, it is entertaining in its way, and it does have its devotees. Children certainly find it exciting. If you happen to be in Okudogo and you want a more conventional bath, there’s a big marble tub upstairs with a glorious view of the plastic roof of the Jungle Onsen.
