Dōgo Park

Yesterday evening was the first time since I've been in Matsuyama that the weather was clear and I had no evening appointments.  I decided to seize the opportunity to jog (or "go for a run", as they say nowadays).  On my second full day in Matsuyama I'd walked down to the first green spot I saw on my city map, Ishitekawa Park, which runs alongside the Ishitekawa, the biggest river in the area.  (There's a photo of the park in this earlier post.)  It actually seemed like it would be a nice spot to run, but it is too far from my guesthouse, and the route to it runs through major commercial streets, so it couldn't serve as a practical place to run.

So instead I headed east, down a small alley running alongside a little stream, toward the other green spot on my map: Dōgo Park (道後公園).  Dōgo is a district that is famous for its hot springs, which are said to be the oldest in Japan.

When I got to the park, I was amazed at its beauty.  It seemed to be the site of a former compound built around the hot springs, now converted to a public space.  The park was centered on one of the typical hills in the area, rising steeply from a small circular base.  The outer edge of the park was flat.

The first thing I was was this lovely waterway full of lotus plants.

After running along it for a while, I headed in to the center of the park, up a series of steep narrow switchbacks that led to the summit.

About halfway up was flat clearing, a good place to run flat for a short while and recover my breath.  This stele was standing proudly there:

It seems to commemorate the fact that the emperor's son spent the night there once.  Could be wrong about that.

I continued to the peak of the hill, where I found a metal viewing platform about 20 feet high, tall enough to afford a spectacular few over the treetops.  The sun was beginning to set, but I could still see clearly in all directions.  There was the university, and downtown Matsuyama, and the hills behind my guesthouse.  In the other direction, to the east, the flat plain of Matsuyama gave way to a jagged spray of green mountains.

Dusk was coming on fast now.  I took a 360-degree panoramic photo, first with high exposure so that you can see the buildings:

Then again with a lower exposure, to capture the sunset.

I jogged back down a steep path on the other side of the hill, which took me down through this torii gate:

This little corner of the park is a Shinto worshipping area.  Among other things, the sign on the right seems to explain which spirits can be communed with here.

I continued jogging around the edge of the park, past a children's playground, and came to this large grassy area.  A few people were out walking their dogs.  In the gloaming, little Japanese lamps set low to the ground inside square bamboo cages started glowing softly.

Just off to the left, but not visible in this picture, are houses that were labeled "former samurai residences".

I had now made a full circuit of the park.  Even though it was getting quite dark, and I was a bit concerned about jogging home without light, I spent about 10 minutes playing with my camera's timer to see if I could get a decent picture of myself in the beautiful surroundings.

Then I took one last photograph before reluctantly heading out of the park.

It's hard to tell from the pictures how serene and pretty this park is.  I'm eager to go back and spend more time exploring it.

I took a slightly different route home, and found myself at the Dōgo tram station, which must be at least half a century old from the looks of it.  Parked behind it was this cute old train that used to run on the tracks.

I encountered one other jogger on my way home, a young woman, which made me feel a bit less self-conscious.

By the way, there are no obese Japanese people, or at least none here in Matsuyama.  There aren't even any fat people.  I have seen two or three people you might generously describe as chubby, but that's as far as it goes.