Kagawa is not a prefecture that advertises itself primarily as an onsen destination — it lacks the volcanic geology of Oita or the mountain-spring concentration of Nagano. But it has several genuinely excellent bathing options scattered across the prefecture, and the best of them are well-suited to the travel patterns of visitors who come for Konpira-san, Naoshima, and Sanuki udon. The Kotohira inn baths, the sea-view outdoor baths on Shodoshima Island, and the rooftop onsen hotels of Takamatsu are all capable of providing a memorable end to a cultural day in Shikoku.
Kotohira Onsen
The town of Kotohira sits at the base of the long stone staircase leading to the famous Kotohiragu Shrine, and several of its traditional inns offer high-quality onsen in the sodium bicarbonate spring type — warm, slightly silky water that leaves skin smooth. The inn baths here are genuinely traditional in character: wooden interiors, small private bathing chambers in some properties alongside communal baths, and the quiet of a small temple town rather than a resort.
Sakura no Shookan is the most atmospherically refined property in town — a mid-scale ryokan with wooden bath chambers designed around a cherry blossom aesthetic, seasonal kaiseki cuisine, and outdoor bathing in a garden setting. Rates start from approximately ¥15,000 per person with dinner and breakfast, which represents good value relative to similar-quality ryokan in more famous onsen regions. Day bathing is not always available; confirm by telephone when planning.
Kotohira Grand Hotel is the largest facility in the town and offers day bathing from ¥1,000, making it accessible for visitors on the shrine climb who want a post-hike soak without booking a room. The baths are more resort-style than those at smaller inns but the water quality is comparable, and the facilities include large communal indoor and outdoor baths.
The single strongest argument for treating Kotohira as an overnight stay rather than a day trip is the shrine itself: the stone steps and courtyards at dawn, before the day visitors arrive, have an atmosphere entirely different from the midday crowds. An early morning ascent before breakfast, followed by a relaxed inn breakfast and a soak, makes the shrine visit substantially more satisfying.
Access: Kotoden Kotohira Line from Kawaramachi (Takamatsu) to Kotohira Station, approximately 60 minutes, ¥620. Most inns offer pick-up from the station on request.
Shodoshima Hot Springs
Shodoshima, the olive-producing island a short ferry ride from Takamatsu, has a small onsen resort concentrated in the coastal area near Tonosho town on the island’s western shore. The spring type is sodium chloride — the same gentle mineral water common to the Seto Inland Sea coastal region — and several facilities have outdoor baths with views directly across the inland sea toward the Okayama and Hiroshima coastlines.
Olive Onsen, the most well-known facility on the island, is a public-accessible bathhouse near the port charging ¥700 for day bathing. The facility is clean, straightforward, and practical for visitors making a day trip from Takamatsu who want to extend their island time with a bath before the return ferry. The outdoor bath has a partial sea view, though the setting is modest compared to the cliff-side baths of the Iya Valley or the mountain onsen of other Shikoku prefectures.
Several onsen-equipped guesthouses and small ryokan operate near the Tonosho ferry terminal, offering overnight stays that include access to the thermal facilities. For visitors spending a full day on Shodoshima exploring the olive groves, the Angel Road sandbar (which appears at low tide connecting several small islands), and the Kanka-kei Gorge ropeway, an overnight stay eliminates the rush to catch the last ferry back to Takamatsu.
Access: Regular ferry from Takamatsu Port to Tonosho on Shodoshima, 65 minutes, ¥720. High-speed ferry also available, 35 minutes, ¥1,480.
Marugame and Kan’on-ji Area Onsen
Western Kagawa, accessible along the JR Yosan Line from Takamatsu, has a scattering of public onsen facilities and roadside hot spring establishments serving local residents. These are not destination onsen in the way that Kotohira or Shodoshima can be, but they are genuinely inexpensive and offer a window into everyday Japanese bathing culture that resort facilities do not.
Yunohama Onsen in Kan’on-ji is the best-known example in the western part of the prefecture: a public bathhouse-style facility (sento format rather than ryokan) with modest admission from ¥400, frequented almost entirely by local residents. The water is a simple mineral spring, the interiors are functional rather than decorative, and the experience is less curated than anything targeting tourist visitors. For travellers who find the theatrical presentation of upmarket ryokan onsen somewhat removed from ordinary Japanese life, facilities like Yunohama offer a more unmediated alternative.
Marugame city itself has several business hotel facilities with small onsen baths, convenient for visitors combining a morning visit to Marugame Castle with an afternoon at a bath. These are practical rather than exceptional.
Access: JR Yosan Line from Takamatsu to Kan’on-ji Station, approximately 45 minutes, ¥820. Yunohama Onsen is accessible by local bus or taxi from the station.
Takamatsu City Onsen Hotels
For visitors whose Kagawa itinerary is based in Takamatsu City and focused on day trips to Naoshima, Ritsurin Garden, and Konpira-san, several city-centre hotels offer genuine onsen facilities on their upper floors — a practical combination of central location and restorative bathing without the need to travel to a dedicated onsen resort.
Dormy Inn Takamatsu stands out in this category. Part of a business hotel chain that has made natural onsen a consistent feature of its properties, the Takamatsu branch offers a rooftop onsen bath with unobstructed views across the city toward the Seto Inland Sea. The water is piped to the rooftop from a natural spring, the facilities include both indoor and outdoor sections, and day-use bathing is available from ¥1,000. After a full day of Naoshima art-viewing and ferry crossings, the rooftop soak with the inland sea visible in the distance closes the day particularly well.
Other Takamatsu city hotels with genuine onsen (rather than heated tap water in hotel bathrooms) include the ANA Crowne Plaza Takamatsu and several of the smaller boutique hotels near Ritsurin Garden. When booking, look for properties that specifically state “natural onsen” (tennen onsen) rather than “spa” or “bath,” as the latter terms do not guarantee mineral water.
A Note on Kagawa’s Onsen Character
Kagawa’s onsen culture is characterised by accessibility and understatement rather than spectacle. The prefecture lacks the dramatic volcanic-spring settings of Beppu or Kirishima, but what it offers is well-integrated into its other travel attractions: traditional inn baths in Kotohira combine naturally with the shrine pilgrimage; island sea-view baths on Shodoshima pair with olive country exploration; rooftop city baths in Takamatsu round out days spent on art islands and in classical gardens.
For overseas visitors allocating three or four days in Kagawa, the most satisfying onsen approach is to treat bathing as punctuation rather than destination — the Kotohira inn for an overnight pilgrimage stay, the Dormy Inn rooftop for the Naoshima recovery evening, and Olive Onsen on Shodoshima if the island day runs long enough to warrant it. This keeps onsen in its proper role in Japanese travel: the daily restoration that makes the next day’s activity feel possible.
Standard Bathing Etiquette
Kagawa’s onsen follow the same protocols as the rest of Japan: wash thoroughly at the shower stations before entering any communal bath; no swimwear in traditional onsen (separate gender bathing is standard at most facilities); tie up long hair; keep towels outside the water. Tattoos are still prohibited at many onsen facilities in Kagawa, including some of the larger Kotohira inns — if this is relevant, confirm the policy when booking. Smaller family-run facilities and some newer properties have more relaxed policies.