Saintpia Awara: Day-Use Hot Spring Baths & Prices

Saintpia Awara, a public day-trip facility standing at the center of the hot spring town, is popular with those who want to enjoy Awara Onsen easily without staying overnight. It is a public bathhouse set up by Awara City, offering two bathing halls of differing character, so you can enjoy a genuine hot spring whether stopping mid-journey or on the way home from work.

Highlights

The elegant Japanese-style Ten no Yu and the spacious Chi no Yu switch between men and women each week, and both feature open-air baths and saunas. Because the halls switch by the day, part of the appeal is that each visit offers a different atmosphere. Inside there is also a lounge where you can rest after bathing.

Enjoying the Seasons

In summer, savor a cold local specialty after your bath, and in winter the open-air bath is exceptional while gazing at snowy scenery. Since the whole Awara hot spring town changes its expression with each season, there is pleasure in visiting through the year combined with a stroll.

Access and Basic Information

It is within walking distance of Awara Yunomachi Station on the Echizen Railway, and the Ashiyu footbath in front of the station is also right nearby. The bathing fee is a reasonable few hundred yen, making it perfect for those who want to experience Awara water without staying overnight. Since opening hours and the daily mens and womens allocation can change, checking official information before your visit is reassuring.

Practical Travel Notes

Access by the Echizen Railway is good, making it easy to visit even without a car. Because the two halls switch daily, if you are aiming for a particular hall, checking in advance is recommended. To avoid crowds, weekdays or just after opening are more relaxed. Combined with the nearby Ashiyu footbath and a stroll through the town, you can enjoy the atmosphere of Awara Onsen in about half a day. After bathing, stopping by the towns cafes and souvenir shops is another pleasure.

A Quick Tip

Since the two halls switch by the day, if you want to experience both, visiting on separate days or checking that days allocation before your visit will put you at ease. With reasonable fees and genuine Awara water, this is an ideal single bath for a stop along your travels.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Spring quality: Calcium, sodium and chloride spring (weakly alkaline, hypotonic, high-temperature spring)
• Source temperature and pH: 43.6 degrees C / pH 7.8
• Reputed benefits: Cuts, burns, chronic skin conditions, arteriosclerosis, neuralgia, muscle pain, joint pain and frozen shoulder
• Opening hours: 10:00-23:00 (last admission 22:30). This is a day-use-only facility and does not offer accommodation
• Closed: The 3rd Tuesday of each month (the following weekday when that falls on a public holiday)
• Bathing fee: 600 yen for high school students and above, 360 yen for elementary and junior high school students, and 240 yen for young children aged 3 and over
• Multi-ticket books and passes: Books of 10 tickets cost 4,200 yen / 2,520 yen / 1,680 yen (valid until the end of the month one year after the date of issue), and passes valid for 30 days cost 6,000 yen / 3,600 yen / 2,400 yen
• Payment: Cash only. Cashless payment is not accepted
• Tattoos: Visitors with tattoos are not admitted
• Provided amenities: Rinse-in shampoo and body soap in the bathing area, and free hair dryers in the changing room (bringing your own hair dryer or hair iron is not permitted). Single-use shampoo, conditioner and cleanser are sold at the front desk
• Towels: Bath towels are available for rental and face towels are sold
• Open-air bath: Found in the Ten no Yu (a low-temperature bath). The Chi no Yu has an outdoor cooling-down space
• With small children: Baby bath chairs are available (intended for children from around 3 months to 2 years old; numbers are limited). Children 120 cm tall or over, or aged 7 and over, must use the gender-separated bathing areas
• Food and drink on site: Bringing your own food and drink is not permitted (in line with public health guidance). There is a drinking water corner on the 2nd floor. Awara Chaya Furari serves meals 11:00-14:00 (last order 13:30) and cafe items 11:00-15:00 (last order 14:30), and can be used for a meal alone without bathing
• Hands-on experience: Making onsen eggs (takes about 45 minutes; Fukuji-dori chicken eggs 130 yen each, white eggs 80 yen each, tax included)
• Smoking: Smoking is prohibited throughout the building and on the grounds
• Note: Losing the key to a shoe locker or changing-room locker incurs a replacement charge of 5,000 yen
• Access: From JR Awara-Onsen Station, take Keifuku Bus route 96 (Tojinbo Line) and get off at Saintpia Awara. From JR Fukui Station, take the Echizen Railway Mikuni Awara Line to Awara-Yunomachi Station, then walk 5 minutes. The same bus route continues on toward Tojinbo
• Address: 4-305 Onsen, Awara City, Fukui Prefecture 910-4104 (0776-78-4126)

Information Sources

The opening hours, closing days, bathing fees, prices of multi-ticket books and passes, payment methods, policy on tattoos, amenities, baby bath chairs, rules on bringing in items and on smoking, and the charge for a lost key were checked on the User Guide page of the official website of Saintpia Awara. The spring quality, source temperature, pH and reputed benefits, the make-up of the baths in the Ten no Yu and Chi no Yu, the addition of a high-temperature sauna and cold-water bath in December of the 3rd year of Reiwa, the weekly rotation between men's and women's baths and the origin of the name Ten-en Chi-ho come from the Natural Hot Spring page of the same site. The address, telephone number, bus route and bus stop names come from the Access page of the same site; the opening hours of Awara Chaya Furari and the information on the rental space from their respective pages; and the fact that the Awara hot spring first gushed forth in the 16th year of the Meiji era is based on Awara City's guide to tourist facilities. Details are subject to change, so please check the official information before you set out.