Dogo Onsen Honkan

Three-story wooden bathhouse built in 1894, one of Japan's oldest continually operating hot spring facilities and the first public bathhouse designated an Important Cultural Property. The labyrinthine interior, with its stairways and low-ceilinged rooms, is said to have inspired the bathhouse in Hayao Miyazaki's animated film Spirited Away. Bathing options range from the general Kami no Yu bath to the more private Tama no Yu with its own relaxation rooms. The Yushinden, a private bath reserved for the Imperial Family, can be toured separately. After bathing, visitors traditionally stroll through the adjacent shopping arcade wearing yukata, picking up local dango and mikan.