A Winter in Shikoku

Happy New Year Folks!  Tardy, I know.  At any rate a few clips from our corner of Japan:

Yesterday, we woke to snow and misty mountains.

We just celebrated setsubun (I use the term 'celebrated' very loosely) a tradition that marks the change of season and involves throwing beans like these:

Poppas of households everywhere don scary oni masks—representative of bad luck and nasties—as his beloved pups throw beans at him, vanquishing evil.  Afterward everyone snacks on the remaining beans eating their age in number plus one, ringing-in all kinds of good luck for the coming year.

Tromping through a bamboo grove behind our place.

Around Christmas we holidayed in Matsuyama, a relatively short train ride west of Niihama to soak in the fabled hot waters of Dogo onsen, lore surrounds the waters and it's said to be the oldest hot spring in the country. 

Pleasantly poached after our soak we snacked on senbei crackers and green tea. Unfortunately no pictures of the guts of Dogo but I actually found the outside more impressive.  The interior, in an apparent effort to thwart would be assassins is surprisingly cramped and mazy.

In a plaza near the shopping area is a spot where you can pull off your shoes and soak your feet.

We also visited Okudogo another onsen just outside of the city limits which was an entirely different experience and in my opinion—just marvelous.  I met Godzilla afterall. 

The bathing pools are housed a huge airplane hanger-sized biosphere flooded with natural light, plants, and pools of sulfurous water.  With its concrete rocks and uplit pools the onsen is unapologetically fake.  I felt like a Flintstone.  I suppose my nudity along with those around me only added to the comic bizzaro, but initial awkwardness eased into normalcy as I discreetly watched women tending to their ablutions scrubbing with salt and massaging muscles.
A few other shots of Matsuyama:

Do you thing he does this all day? everyday?

 I could do this everyday.