Kotohira Onsen Day Use: Yachiyo or Kotohira Kadan?

If you want to climb the stone approach to Konpira-san and finish with a hot spring, the practical choice is usually between Konpira Onsen Yumoto Yachiyo and Kotohira Kadan. Yachiyo is cheaper and sits in the approach-town area; its rooftop open-air bath and barrel sauna rotate between men and women by date. Kotohira Kadan costs more, runs day use for only two hours, and supplies bath and face towels. Check availability before building your day around either inn.

Yachiyo: lower cost, with a date-specific rooftop bath

Yachiyo’s day-use ticket covers its indoor public bath and rooftop open-air bath. Shampoo, conditioner and body wash are provided.

The rooftop area, including its two barrel saunas, is for women on even-numbered dates and men on odd-numbered dates. The indoor baths remain separated by gender. If the rooftop bath or sauna is the point of your visit, check the calendar day before going; a couple visiting together will not necessarily have access to the same rooftop facilities.

The inn lists its spring as a sodium-chloride cold mineral spring. Day bathing can be unavailable on the main building’s rest days or during water and boiler maintenance, so call if you have a train connection or shrine schedule you cannot move.

Kotohira Kadan: a short window, but towels are ready

Kotohira Kadan accepts day visitors at its public bath, Kissho-no-Yu, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is ¥1,500 for adults and ¥1,000 for children aged three through elementary school; children under three are free. Face towels and bath towels are set out at the bath entrance. The spring is listed as a simple weakly radioactive cold mineral spring from Chiko-in Onsen.

This is the tidier option if you want a more leisurely inn bath after lunch and do not mind the higher fee. Its day-use guests cannot book the private open-air baths; those are reserved for overnight guests. The inn also says it may turn away outside bathers on closure days or when the day’s lodging reservations affect availability. Confirm before travelling, especially if Kotohira Kadan is your only reason for coming to town.

Kotohira Kadan is about a 15-minute walk from JR Kotohira or Kotoden Kotohira stations and offers a complimentary station pickup. Contact the inn with your arrival station and time; during busy periods, traffic around the station can mean walking is requested instead.

Do not assume every ryokan sells a bath ticket

Older lists often name large hotels with impressive public baths. Their current policies differ:

• Kotohira Kanko Hotel Kotosankaku announced on April 30, 2026 that its baths are for overnight guests only and it does not operate day-use bathing.
• Kotohira Grand Hotel Sakuranosho says it does not accept visitors who want to use only the hot spring bath.
• Koubaitei’s FAQ says it does not operate day-use bathing; its public notice records that the service ended in 2018.

An inn may still offer a day-use meal, banquet or spa plan, but that is a different product from paying for a bath at the door. Check the current offer rather than relying on an old directory listing.

Fit the soak around the shrine

Konpira-san’s main shrine is reached by 785 steps from the first stone stairway; the inner shrine adds another climb. If you plan to visit the main shrine before bathing, leave room for the uphill walk, the return and lunch rather than treating the bath’s last-entry time as your shrine departure time. In summer, the shrine warns visitors to take precautions against heat illness; rain can also make the stone steps slippery.

Yachiyo gives you the longer and cheaper bathing window, so it is easier to pair with an unhurried lunch in the approach town. Kotohira Kadan is a better fit if you can reach its 1–3 p.m. slot and want towels supplied. If the timing is tight, do not count a confirmed bath until the inn has confirmed day-use access for your date.

For an overnight plan with more time for dinner, a second soak and the morning approach, see the Kotohira one-night itinerary.

Sources

Checked: September 27, 2026. - Yachiyo: [day-use admission, hours, rooftop gender rotation and closures](https://yachiyo.cc/facility), [spring details and towel charges](https://yachiyo.cc/hot_spring), and [access and station pickup](https://yachiyo.cc/). - Kotohira Kadan: [day-use rates, hours, towels and conditions](https://www.kotohira-kadan.jp/contact/), [spring details and private-bath restrictions](https://www.kotohira-kadan.jp/hotspring/), and [station access and pickup](https://www.kotohira-kadan.jp/access/). - Kotosankaku: [April 30, 2026 notice that day-use bathing is not offered](https://kotosankaku.jp/news/353/). - Sakuranosho: [FAQ on bath-only visits](https://www.sakuranosho.jp/faq/). - Koubaitei: [current FAQ](https://www.koubaitei.jp/faq/) and [notice that day-use bathing ended in 2018](https://www.koubaitei.jp/blog/detail.php?id=751). - Konpira Shrine: [approach to the main shrine and stone-step count](https://www.konpira.or.jp/articles/20200616_guide/article.htm) and [2026 heat-illness precautions](https://www.konpira.or.jp/articles_2026/20260530_prevent-heatstroke/article.html). - Images: Yachiyo official day-use page. - Overnight reference: [Booking.com](https://www.booking.com/hotel/jp/kotohira-kadan.html) and [Trip.com](https://www.trip.com/hotels/kotohira-hotel-detail-705560/kotohira-kadan/?Allianceid=7440483&SID=282939098&trip_sub3=D19712415).

Tags: Kotohira Onsen day use, Yachiyo, Kotohira Kadan, Konpira-san, Kagawa hot springs