Tosaryu Onsen Sanyoso

Below temple 36 of the pilgrimage, a bath over Usa Bay — open for a 5:30 a.m. soak

Tosaryu Onsen Sanyoso is a hot-spring inn on a headland in Usa, Tosa city, Kochi, near the Usa Bridge that leads to Shoryuji, temple 36 of the Shikoku 88-temple pilgrimage. It was the first natural hot spring to rise in Tosa city, a sodium chloride spring — clear, faintly salty, warming and long-lasting. From the gender-separated main baths and the rotenburo open to Usa Bay (one, alternating between men and women) you see the calm bay, fishing boats and the hills of the Yokonami Peninsula. Its distinctive feature is the schedule: a morning bath from 5:30 to 9:00 and evening hours from 14:00 to 21:00, open every day — convenient for pilgrims setting out at dawn and for travellers before or after the whale-watching boats from Usa port (April–October). At ¥750 on weekdays and ¥850 at weekends it is cheap, and there is a free footbath at the entrance. The inn’s restaurant is known for sugata-zushi, a Tosa speciality of a whole mackerel made into sushi, and sardine dumpling hotpot, and a meal-plus-bath set discount lets you combine lunch with a soak. Public transport is limited to an infrequent 30-minute Tosa city bus from JR Takaoka or Ino Station, so a rental car — 30 minutes from central Kochi, 50 from Ryoma Airport — is realistic. Besides Shoryuji, the Yokonami Skyline drive, the “Niyodo Blue” upper Niyodo River and Usa’s beaches are nearby, making it a good waypoint on a western Kochi trip. There is no sauna and the facilities are simple, but the charm is the atmosphere of a “living onsen” used morning and evening by pilgrims and locals rather than tourists.

Tips & cautions

- Morning 5:30–9:00 (last entry 8:00), afternoon 14:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00). Closed for cleaning 9:00–14:00. Open daily, but groups may restrict access.

- +¥100 at weekends and holidays. Bring a towel (sold too).

- One rotenburo alternates between men and women — ask at reception which side has it.

- Chloride water keeps you warm if you don’t rinse.

- Tattoos: pilgrims’ inn with no confirmed policy — ask.

- The meal-plus-bath set is good value; check restaurant hours (11:00–15:00, 17:00–19:30).

- Buses are infrequent — a rental car is recommended (30 min from Kochi IC).

- Combine with whale-watching boats (Usa port, Apr–Oct, reservation) and Shoryuji (170 stone steps).

Getting there

~30 min by Tosa city bus toward Usa from JR Takaoka or Ino Station (Dosan Line) to the “Ryu” stop, right there (Usa-cho Ryu 504-1, Tosa, Kochi). ~40 min by car from Kochi Station, ~30 min from Kochi IC or Tosa IC on the Kochi Expressway, ~50 min from Kochi Ryoma Airport; free parking. Tel. 088-856-0001.