07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Mainichi
Japan's Dogo Onsen hot spring bathhouse adorned with star festival ornaments, wind chimes
MATSUYAMA -- The courtyard of Dogo Onsen Annex Asuka-no-Yu hot spring bathhouse in this west Japan city is adorned with decorations for the July 7 Tanabata star festival, exuding an illusionary atmosphere with illuminations at night.
The installation, titled "Dogo Tanabata Story 2025," features wooden lanterns and Tanabata ornaments, and is lit up every evening between 7 and 11 p.m. until Aug. 7.
In the corridor in front of the annex building, 288 wind chimes are hanging, ringing cool sounds as "tanzaku" slips of paper rustle in the wind. On the paper are quoted traditional Japanese "waka" poetry related to Tanabata from the 7-8th century "Manyoshu" anthology.
A woman in her 20s visiting the annex with her two daughters, aged 4 and 2, wrote her wishes for her family's health on one of the paper slips. Her children also penned their respective wishes, including one for a toy, before attaching them to bamboo grass bearing Tanabata ornaments, with smiles on their faces.
A representative at the Dogo Onsen Office commented, "We hope many people will enjoy strolling the town in Dogo in the evening."
For inquiries, call the Dogo Onsen Consortium at 089-932-1126.
