Shodoshima Onsen Olive no Yu: Day-Use Hot Spring Prices

The hot spring at the Shodoshima Kokusai Hotel, "Olive no Yu," sits right beside Angel Road, the sand path that appears at low tide. However, it is available to overnight guests only and does not accept day-trip bathers. If the bath is your aim, you need to plan it together with a stay. With that established, let us look at how the water is used and how convenient the facility is.

Highlights

From the sea-facing open-air bath you can watch the calm waters of the Seto Inland Sea and the passing boats. The gentle alkaline water lets you relax at ease. At night you soak beneath the stars to the sound of the waves, and in the morning you take in the sea at dawn.

Enjoying the Seasons

Walk Angel Road when the tide is low, then head for the bath. Summer brings seaside play and winter offers clear-aired sunsets, each revealing a different face of the Seto Inland Sea.

An Honest Look at How the Water Is Used

Although it carries the name "onsen," the natural hot spring water is drawn only into the open-air bath; the indoor bath is heated water. The source temperature is a low 28.0 degrees, and by the time it is drawn into the tub it is 42.0 degrees. In other words, it is heated before use. The spring quality is an alkaline, hypotonic, low-temperature spring - mild and easy for children and older visitors to enter. The listed benefits include recovery from fatigue and stress, sensitivity to cold, neuralgia, muscle pain, arthritis, frozen shoulder, motor paralysis, chronic digestive illness and hemorrhoids. The source rises on the western side of the island as seen from the hotel, at Ajiro, Yakatazaki, Tonosho Town.

There are two bathing areas, "Olive no Yu" (83 square meters, 32 taps) and "Hamakaze no Yu" (60 square meters, 17 taps), which are swapped between men and women. One thing worth knowing here concerns the view from the open-air bath "Hamakaze no Yu." Because it sits right beside Angel Road, a screening enclosure has been put up so that it cannot be seen from outside, and the view is limited accordingly. The hotel itself states this clearly.

Access and Basic Information

It is about five minutes by car from Tonosho Port. Set right beside Angel Road, it makes a handy base for touring the western part of the island. Checking the tide times in advance is wise.

Practical Information

• Spring quality: Alkaline, hypotonic, low-temperature spring. Mild, and said to have an action that removes dead skin
• How the water is used: The hot spring is in the open-air bath only. The indoor bath is heated water. Against a source temperature of 28.0 degrees, the temperature at the point of use is 42.0 degrees, so it is heated before use
• Day-trip bathing: Not available. Only overnight guests may use the large baths
• Bathing hours: 15:00-24:00 and 5:00-9:00. Men's and women's baths are swapped (hours may differ by season)
• Bathing tax: Overnight guests aged 12 and over pay an additional 150 yen
• Tattoos: As a rule not permitted. Bathing is allowed only if they can be covered with two 8 cm x 10 cm cover stickers. Ask at the front desk for the stickers
• Provided items: Hairdryer, shampoo, body soap, comb, scales, electric fan. For women, virgin oil, shower cap and makeup remover; for men, razor, aftershave lotion, hair liquid and hair tonic
• Not allowed in: Smartphones and mobile phones may not be brought into the bathing area, and use while heavily intoxicated is not permitted
• Check-in and check-out: From 15:00 / until 10:00. Even on a room-only stay, since the large bath runs until 24:00, guests are asked to check in by 22:00 where possible
• Transfer from the port: A free microbus transfer runs from Tonosho Port. Reservation is required, but they can accommodate same-day requests
• Check-in on plans with meals: Since the dinner venue operates only until 21:00, guests are asked to check in by 18:00 where possible, and by 19:00 at the latest
• Rental cars: The hotel does not rent them out. There are several rental car companies near Tonosho Port, so you need to book one yourself
• Telephone reservation hours: 9:00-17:30. There is no answer between 21:00 and 8:00 the next morning
• Angel Road timing: The rough guide is two hours either side of low tide for crossing. You can look up the low-tide times on the top page of the hotel's official website
• Fee for small children: For ages 3 up to 6 and not yet in school, a facility use fee of 2,200 yen per person applies
• Lunch: The hotel's lunch service has ended, and there are no plans to resume it
• Bicycle parking: There is none. There is also no space to store bicycles inside the building, so take care if you are traveling by bicycle
• For a day-trip bath on Shodoshima: "Olive Onsen Manten no Yu," inside the Marunaka Shin-Tonosho store in Tonosho Town, is convenient. The spring quality is a calcium-sodium chloride strong salt spring, and it has an open-air bath overlooking the Seto Inland Sea, plus a sauna. It is open 11:00-20:30 (last admission 20:00) Monday to Thursday, Sunday and public holidays, and 11:00-21:00 (last admission 20:30) on Friday and Saturday, closed every Tuesday (open when Tuesday is a public holiday). Parking for 750 cars. Tattoos, including small ones, are not permitted on the premises, and elementary school children and younger may not use it unaccompanied. A revision of the bathing fee has been announced, so please check the official website for the current amount
• Address: 24-67 Ko, Tonosho Town, Shozu District, Kagawa Prefecture

Practical Travel Notes

This bath is for the hotel's overnight guests, and day-trip bathing alone is not accepted. If you wish to enjoy the water, planning around a stay is the sure approach. The spring is a low-tonicity, low-temperature alkaline water; the natural hot spring is used in the open-air bath, while the indoor bath is heated water. Conditions can change, so confirm in advance by the official site or phone to be sure.

A Quick Tip

Angel Road can only be crossed around low tide, so check the tide table and plan for the hours when it is passable. If bathing is your aim, arrange it together with an overnight reservation.

📚 Sources

The spring quality, source temperature, temperature at the point of use, location of the source, listed benefits, the fact that only the open-air bath uses the hot spring while the indoor bath is heated water, the size of the bathing areas and the bathing hours, the bathing tax, the handling of tattoos and the provided amenities all follow the "Onsen" page of the official Shodoshima Kokusai Hotel website. The fact that day-trip bathing is not accepted, check-in and check-out times, the free transfer from Tonosho Port, the facility use fee for small children, the end of lunch service, the absence of bicycle parking and rental cars, and the telephone reservation hours were confirmed in the FAQ on the same site. The spring quality, opening hours, closing days, parking and admission notes for Olive Onsen Manten no Yu follow that facility's official website. Fees and hours are subject to change, so please check official sources before setting out.