Dogo Shopping Street (Dogo Haikara Avenue)

Dogo Haikara Avenue is the covered shopping arcade leading from the streetcar stop to the entrance of Dogo Onsen Honkan, Matsuyama's iconic 130-year-old bathhouse. The 250-meter arcade is lined with souvenir shops, cafes, sweet potato treats, mikan citrus products, and Imabari towel boutiques selling the soft, absorbent towels that Ehime Prefecture is famous for. Local specialties to seek out include tart mikan juice, jakoten fish cakes, botchan dango (tri-colored dumplings named after the Natsume Soseki novel set in Matsuyama), and hand-crafted Tobe-yaki pottery. The street is liveliest in the early evening when bathers in ryokan-provided yukata and wooden geta sandals stroll the arcade between soaks, creating a quintessentially Japanese hot spring town atmosphere.