Fukui · Awara Onsen
Centpia Awara
セントピアあわら
A city-run day bath in front of Awara-Yunomachi Station, two stops from the Hokuriku shinkansen at Awaraonsen. 'Heaven' and 'Earth' bathrooms alternate weekly between men and women, each with rotenburo and sauna. Chloride water keeps you warm long after. ¥600 and open until 23:00 — a rare walk-in option in a town dominated by ryokan. Try the hot-spring eggs. No tattoos.
- Price (adult)
- ¥600
- Hours
- 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:30)
- Closed
- 3rd Tuesdays (next day if a holiday)
- Access
- 1 min walk from Awara-Yunomachi Station (Echizen Railway)
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Not allowed
- Admission
- High-school+ ¥600 / elementary & junior-high ¥360 / infants 3+ ¥240. 10-ticket book ¥4,200, 30-day pass ¥6,000. “26 Day” bath-and-meal set on the 26th of each month. Soap and shampoo provided; towels sold. Cash only. Tattoos prohibited
- Baths
- A city-run day spa in the centre of the Awara spa town (opened 1988, renovated 2019). Two themed bath halls — “Ten-no-yu” (sky and cosmos, domed skylight) and “Chi-no-yu” (earth and rock) — swap between men and women weekly. Each has indoor tub, rotenburo, sauna and cold plunge with lighting effects. Restaurant and rest rooms; the free “Ashiyu” footbath is 3 min away in the spa street
- Water
- Awara Onsen is famous for each inn having its own source. The water here is a sodium-calcium chloride type — clear, faintly salty, very warming. Recirculated and heated
- Parking
- Free parking. 5 min on foot from Awara-Yunomachi Station (Echizen Railway); ~15 min by bus or taxi from Awaraonsen Station (JR Hokuriku Shinkansen)
- Phone
- 0776-78-4126
- Official site
- awara-centpia.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- At the station, ¥600, until 23:00
- Two bathrooms swap weekly
- Rare public bath in a ryokan town
“Sky bath” and “Earth bath” — ¥600 in Fukui’s classic spa town
Centpia Awara is a city-run day spa in the heart of Awara Onsen in Fukui — a town of upscale ryokan known as “Kansai’s back parlour” ever since hot water welled up in a rice paddy in 1883 — opened in 1988 and renovated in 2019. Its signature is a pair of bath halls with completely different worlds: “Ten-no-yu” (Sky Bath), lit from a domed skylight, and “Chi-no-yu” (Earth Bath) themed on soil and rock, swapped between men and women weekly; each has an indoor tub, rotenburo, sauna and cold plunge with lighting effects — spaces that feel like installations for a mere ¥600. Awara is famous for every inn having its own source, and the water here is a sodium-calcium chloride type, clear, faintly salty and deeply warming. Since the Hokuriku Shinkansen reached Awaraonsen Station in 2024 the town is about three hours from Tokyo plus a 15-minute bus ride, and Awara-Yunomachi Station on the Echizen Railway is five minutes’ walk away, so this is the gateway for tasting Awara’s water without staying at a ryokan. The spa street has the free “Ashiyu” footbath (3 min away) and the Yukemuri Yokocho food-stall alley to carry you from bath to dinner, and it is a handy base for Fukui sightseeing with Tojinbo (20 min by car) and Eiheiji. Closed the 3rd Tuesday; tattoos prohibited.
Tips & cautions
- 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:30); closed 3rd Tuesday (next weekday if a holiday). Cash only.
- The two halls swap weekly — come back another week to see both.
- Tattoos prohibited (official) — check in advance whether cover stickers are accepted.
- The “26 Day” bath-and-meal set on the 26th is a bargain; over-65s get a Tuesday meal discount.
- Awaraonsen Shinkansen station is away from the spa town (15 min by bus) — Awara-Yunomachi on the Echizen Railway is within walking distance.
- Dine in the Yukemuri Yokocho stall alley; try the free Ashiyu footbath before or after.
- Recommended as a two-day trip with Tojinbo, Eiheiji and the Katsuyama dinosaur museum.
- Compared with day bathing at Awara’s ryokan (¥1,000–1,500), the value is unbeatable.
Getting there
5 min on foot from Awara-Yunomachi Station (Echizen Railway Mikuni-Awara line), Onsen 4-305, Awara, Fukui. From Awaraonsen Station (JR Hokuriku Shinkansen), Keifuku bus ~15 min to “Awara-Yunomachi” or taxi ~15 min. By car ~15 min from Kanazu IC (Hokuriku Expressway); free parking. Tel. 0776-78-4126.
Before you go
- Tattoos are explicitly not allowed, even if covered.
- Payment is usually by ticket machine in cash — bring coins.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Sauna & wellness
Price
Who with
Amenities
✔ Verified operating: 2026-09 Operating status and rates cross-checked against the official site and onsen guides (full source notes in Japanese on the JA page)
Prices and hours change. Check official sources before visiting.
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