Kotohira Onsen Kotohira Kadan

Kotohira Kadan is a long-established ryokan in Kotohira Town, Nakatado District, Kagawa Prefecture, standing at the foot of the wooded approach to Kotohira-gu Shrine, affectionately known as Konpira-san. Founded in 1627 (Kan'ei 4), the inn carries roughly 400 years of history; in 1905 (Meiji 38) its 16th proprietor, Genjiro Miyoshi, rebuilt it into a kaiseki ryokan with detached sukiya-style cottages. Guest registers over the generations list members of the imperial family and nobility as well as literary figures such as Mori Ogai and Akiko Yosano, and the inn has long been favored as a stopover for pilgrims visiting Kotohira-gu.

The property draws on its own source, Kotohira-cho Chikoin Onsen, classified as a simple weakly radioactive cold mineral spring (hypotonic, weakly alkaline, cold spring). Because the source temperature is a low 19.3 degrees Celsius, the water is heated before use in the baths. The spring is officially credited with benefits for neuralgia, muscle pain, joint pain, frozen shoulder, chronic digestive complaints, poor circulation, and fatigue recovery, among more than a dozen other indications. The official website does not specify whether the water is supplied flow-through or recirculated.

The main bath, Kissho no Yu, includes both an open-air bath and an indoor bath, and two private open-air baths, Nagomi no Yu and Mori no Yu, are also available (for an additional fee, reservation required). Day-trip bathing is offered from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at 1,500 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for children, though irregular closures make an advance phone call essential. The garden grounds hold three sukiya-style detached cottages, Sen-tei, Enjukaku, and Choseiden, offering guest rooms rich in history and design.