Kon’nichiwa!
You can have a quick and fun very-Japanese experience at an ashiyu if you will be at Odawara Station!
Ashiyu = onsen for your feet!
Within minutes of walking from Odawara Station, there is a building called Minaka Odawara (ミナカ小田原). At the top of this building on the 14th floor is an ashiyu called the observatory footbath garden (展望足湯庭園) where you can soak your feet in onsen mineral water! From this observation area, you can also get a view of Odawara Castle.
This rooftop ashiyu garden is free to use, and you will want to bring a small towel to wipe your feet if you want to keep it a completely free experience. Otherwise, you can rent a small towel once you get there. There’s a self-service towel rental station near the ashiyu.
I’ll show you below how to get to the rooftop footbath terrace from Odawara Station (it can be a little confusing), as well as some pictures!
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PLAN YOUR TIME IN ODAWARA > Odawara Station map | Tokyo to Kyoto shinkansen stops | Hakone Loop map
Hotels near Odawara Station: Tenseien Annex | Toyoko Inn
Onsen hotels in Hakone: Hakone Yutowa in Gora | Hakone Kowakien Ten-yu | Lakefront Hakone Hotel
Odawara Station can be a transit point if you’re going from Tokyo to Hakone!
I used the Owakudani pass to see the Hakone volcano valley from Odawara! You can also stop by a free ashiyu in Hakone on your way to Owakudani!
As Odawara is on the shinkansen line, you can even stop here on your way to Kyoto or Osaka!
The #1 reason you must do the rooftop ashiyu in Odawara is because soaking your feet in onsen water as you gaze out at Odawara Castle will make you feel like a samurai warlord from the Sengoku period!
…Or so that is what the Tenseien annex hotel says will happen if you do the rooftop ashiyu! 😆 You can also explore samurai history in Odawara.
Now, I’m not sure if you will actually feel like that 😆 but I think you get the point that it can be a nice rest stop while rejuvenating your feet with amazing views!
Where to stay near Odawara Station
Tenseien Odawara Station Annex Hotel is in the same building as the ashiyu, which means it’s also minutes from Odawara Station. And a stay there comes with free actual onsen bath. You can add on a breakfast buffet.
Read the reviews on expedia and booking.com.
Now, the Minaka Odawara building where the rooftop ashiyu is located is directly connected to Odawara Station. If you happen to see signs for it, then you can just follow them and you don’t even need to step outside the train station, if you want to go straight there after getting off the train.
Minaka Odawara is located at the same exit that you will get you in the direction of Odawara Castle. So when arriving to Odawara Station by train, you are looking for signs for Odawara Castle and the east exit.
This also makes it convenient to go to after you finish up your walk from Odawara Station to Odawara Castle. You can soak your feet in minerals!
Basically, to go to the ashiyu garden, you are looking for Minaka Odawara, and then you’re heading up to the 14th floor. If you are in the correct elevator, then inside the elevator will have a location guide that says the 14th floor is the rooftop ashiyu, in English.
Once you get to the 14th floor, you will head out of the sliding doors to go outside to soak your feet in the ashiyu!
👆 You’ll go up the escalator or the stairs to get to the Minaka Odawara building and rooftop ashiyu. You’ll come to this by taking the east exit of Odawara Station, and start by following signs to the castle.
👆 Upon reaching the east exit of Odawara Station, there was also a sign in English pointing to the Tenseien Odawara Station annex hotel.
👆 At the top of the escalator, there will be an elevator in front of you. This is NOT the elevator to the 14th floor… which will be quickly obvious when you see it doesn’t go to the 14th floor. If you are staying at the Tenseien annex hotel, this is also NOT the elevator for checking in. Instead, keep walking in the only direction you can… to the right.
👆 Once you get off the escalator, you will pretty much immediately see the food court! Keep walking past the food court to go inside the Minaka Odawara building and look for the elevator! Look at the Minaka Odawara floor guide for a quick glance at some of your food options. (Scroll down and there are pictures.)
👆 The elevator tells you that the “rooftop ashiyu” (in English) is on the 14th floor. It also tells you that the “front desk” for the Tensien annex hotel is on the 4th floor.
👆 Once you’re on the 14th floor, you’ll immediately see the automatic sliding doors that lead to the outside.
👆 Rooftop footbath entrance! Normal hours are from 10am to 8pm.
👆 You will also find the towel rental station (“towel vending machine”) through the first sliding doors, and right before you go outside. You’ll need a 100 yen coin. It was 100 yen to rent a towel when I went in August 2025.
👆 Once you’re outside, the ashiyu footbath is right there!
👆 There’s a rack for you to store your shoes and backpack.
👆 Spot the castle! So it’s not exactly like you are looking directly at the best view of Odawara Castle, but you will get views!
👆 You can walk the terrace for a better look at the castle. For the best look, walk to Odawara Castle!
👆 That’s the sheltered ashiyu footbath area.
👆 The onsen water you are soaking your feet in comes from the Hakone-Yumoto onsen hot spring that naturally has minerals in it!
👆 There’s a temperature gauge for the water in celsius. 40C is around 104F.
👆 General guidelines for the Minaka Odawara ashiyu footbath terrace.
👆 Enjoy soaking your feet in minerals from Hakone-Yumoto Onsen mineral water for 10-15 minutes!
Your must-watch show on Netflix!
By going up to do the ashiyu, you’ll be able to see Odawara Castle, which is as seen on TV! The castle makes many appearances in the Netflix show called House of Ninjas, so watching this will make seeing the castle more fun!
Watching it before you go will also make experiences like the ninja training in Odawara that much more fun too!
JAPAN TRAVEL > ODAWARA TRAVEL TIPS | HAKONE TRAVEL TIPS