Imabari Onsen

Imabari Onsen is located in Imabari, a city on the northern coast of Ehime Prefecture that claims the title of Japan's towel production capital — Imabari's textile industry, which began manufacturing cotton towels in the Meiji era and has since developed the 'Imabari Towel' (Iyo Imabari Towel) brand into one of Japan's most recognized quality certifications for cotton terry cloth, produces millions of towels annually in the city's weaving mills and has made Imabari synonymous with Japanese standards of cotton textile excellence that are exported worldwide. Imabari is also the Ehime terminus of the spectacular Shimanami Kaido — the scenic island-hopping cycling and road bridge route crossing the Seto Inland Sea to Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture via six islands, considered one of the world's premier cycling routes and one of Japan's most beautiful long-distance outdoor experiences. The onsen here provide silica-rich mineral bathing in a city where towel production heritage and the Shimanami Kaido's cycling culture create a distinctive combination of artisanal industry and outdoor adventure unique to the Seto Inland Sea coast.