A Three-Storey Inn by a Mountain Stream
The Oyabu Onsen Main Building (小藪温泉本館) is a three-storey timber hot-spring inn of 1913 in Hijikawacho Uwagawa, Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture, and was registered as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property (structure) on September 26, 2000 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
The Agency records a three-storey timber building with a tiled roof and a building area of 181 square metres; registration number 38-0009.
Three Storeys with Bracketed Eaves
The main building of Oyabu Onsen faces the Oyabu River, a tributary of the upper Hiji River that flows into the Iyo Sea, at a hot-spring inn founded in 1876 (Agency for Cultural Affairs). It is three full storeys of timber under a hip-and-gable pantiled roof, with bracketed eaves on every floor.
The ground floor holds the dining room, with three guest rooms on the second floor and six on the third (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Tall and Japanese in style throughout, it has become a symbol of the spa.
Why It Was Registered
The Agency registered it for its contribution to the historic landscape.
What to Look For
Look for the tall three-storey front with bracketed eaves on every floor (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Visiting
The owner is not listed in the Agency record. No official information on the inn's operation was found.
Q&A
- When was it built?
- In 1913 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
- When was the inn founded?
- In 1876.
- How are the rooms arranged?
- Dining room below, three rooms on the second floor and six on the third.
- What marks its exterior?
- Bracketed eaves on every floor of a tall timber front.
- When was the Oyabu Onsen Main Building registered?
- On September 26, 2000 (Agency for Cultural Affairs).
Basic Information
| Name | Oyabu Onsen Main Building (小藪温泉本館) |
|---|---|
| Location | Hijikawacho Uwagawa, Ozu City, Ehime Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered Tangible Cultural Property (Structure) |
| Year Designated | Registered 2000/09/26 (Heisei 12) |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Three-storey timber, tiled roof, 181 m² |
| Owner | Not listed in the Agency database |
| Public Access | No official information on access |
References
- Oyabu Onsen Main Building (Database of National Cultural Properties, Agency for Cultural Affairs)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/heritage/detail/101/00001760
Last verified: 2026.10.24