Toyo Onsen or Besshi Tenku no Yu? Choose by Your Ehime Itinerary

Toyo Onsen Iyashi Resort suits an early start, a highway stop or a family seeking a private bath on an eligible day. Besshi Onsen Tenku no Yu fits better after the Besshi Copper Mine and Minetopia Besshi; it is on the fourth floor of the main building and has a sauna, outdoor baths and optional ganbanyoku.

Toyo opens at 6 a.m., while Tenku no Yu opens at 10 a.m. That timing and whether the mine is already on your route matter more than the ¥100–¥150 adult-admission difference.

Toyo is an on-the-way bath; Besshi is part of a destination

Toyo Onsen is in Sufu, Saijo, about two minutes by car from the Toyo-Tanbara interchange. The location is useful on a drive across Shikoku: you can bathe before heading toward Ishizuchi, Niihama or Kagawa, or stop after a day on the road. The facility has several baths, a sauna, an outdoor area and a source-fed bath. Parking for about 90 cars is free.

Tenku no Yu is inside Minetopia Besshi, a former copper-mine complex and tourism site. If the day already includes the mine attractions, the children’s indoor play area or the mine railway, the bath is a natural way to finish without driving elsewhere. Minetopia’s family itinerary itself allocates roughly one to two hours for the onsen near the end of the day. Without that sightseeing plan, it is a mountain-side detour rather than a quick roadside soak.

Early bathing and family-bath rules favor Toyo—on the right day

Toyo’s 6 a.m. opening is useful after checkout or before a long drive. The current 2026 fee notice also changed the family-bath schedule.

The family room allows up to four adults. Hourly rentals and overnight stays are unavailable on weekdays. Children aged three and up pay ¥300 for the public bath; children under two enter free.

That makes the calendar part of the decision. A family arriving on a Tuesday should not assume a private bath is available simply because older pages list one. Confirm the day’s arrangement with the operator before building the trip around it.

Tenku no Yu is the easier choice when a shared public bath is fine and the family is already spending time at Minetopia. It has outdoor bathing, jet baths, sauna and cold bath; its source is classified as a sodium-calcium chloride-bicarbonate cold spring. There is no published general day-use family-bath product comparable to Toyo’s.

Both have a sauna; only one has a clear ganbanyoku add-on

Sauna alone will not settle the choice because both facilities have one. Tenku no Yu adds ganbanyoku and a rock-salt room for ¥500 on top of the bath ticket. It is a good fit if you have planned a longer stop after the mine and want more than one sauna round. Shampoo and body wash have not been provided as standard amenities since February 2024; they can be bought at reception for cash. Bring your own if you want to avoid another purchase.

Toyo lists rinse-in shampoo and body soap among its amenities, which makes it more convenient for a simple, unplanned bath. Its range includes a source-fed tub, walking bath, medicinal bath and outdoor bathing, but “source-fed” applies to the designated bath—not automatically to every pool.

Tenku no Yu’s spring is named Besshi Kosen No. 3 and is classified as a sodium-calcium chloride-bicarbonate cold spring. The operator describes the facilities but does not publish a complete treatment table for every tub. The same caution applies to precise source temperature, pH and yield: do not fill in figures for one facility using the other’s data.

Getting there without a car

Tenku no Yu has the clearer public-transport use case because JR Niihama Station connects by bus to Minetopia Besshi. Check the current bus timetable in both directions; missing the return can turn the bath into a long wait. The site itself is in the mountain area, and it is worth visiting without a car only if the mine complex is already part of the day.

Toyo’s obvious advantage is driving access, not rail access. If you are travelling without a car solely for a bath, neither option is as effortless as a facility beside a major station. Use the seven-bath guide to eastern Ehime to compare alternatives near Saijo and Imabari. The Yunotani Onsen vs Hondani Onsen comparison may be a better fit if your route is centered on Saijo.

A practical call

Pick Toyo if you need an early opening, are driving past the interchange, or can use the private family bath on the day you travel. Pick Tenku no Yu if the Besshi mine is already on the itinerary and ganbanyoku sounds worth the extra ¥500. If neither route fits, do not choose a bath on ticket price alone: the bus or driving detour costs more of the day than that admission difference.

Sources

Checked September 28, 2026. Admission, family-bath availability and facility closures may change; confirm them before travel. - Toyo Onsen: [June 1, 2026 fee and weekday family-bath change](https://ameblo.jp/touyoonsen/entry-12967352248.html), [current operator account](https://ameblo.jp/touyoonsen/), [Ehime official tourism listing](https://www.iyokannet.jp/spot/173) and [LINE service information](https://page.line.me/014wghyf). - Minetopia Besshi: [Tenku no Yu facility, spring and amenities](https://besshi.com/hadeba/onsen/), [current admission list](https://besshi.com/price/), [one-day itinerary](https://besshi.com/course/1day/) and [family itinerary](https://besshi.com/course/family/).

Checked: 2026-09-28