Ozu Garyu Sanso Ehime

Ozu Garyu Sanso is a traditional villa resort in the castle town of Ozu in Ehime Prefecture on Shikoku, a city often called 'Little Kyoto' for its exceptional concentration of preserved Edo-era merchant architecture, its reconstructed hilltop castle, and its position above the scenic Hiji River gorge where cormorant fishing by torchlight has been practiced for 400 years. The chloride-rich thermal waters of this onsen carry sodium-mineral properties valued in Japanese bathing tradition for warming the body, conditioning the skin, and supporting the recovery of body and spirit after exploring Ozu's remarkably intact historical townscape of samurai-era architecture. The Garyu Sanso villa—a Meiji-era retreat built in the spirit of Chinese literati culture with views over the Hiji River—frames this onsen experience within one of Shikoku's most atmospherically preserved historical environments, where architectural heritage and geothermal mineral warmth are offered together in a setting of exceptional cultural refinement.