My Stay at Awara Grand Hotel – Featuring a Mixed-Gender Bath!
Trip Date: July 2021
During my trip to Hokuriku, I stayed at the Awara Grand Hotel.
I had never stayed in the Awara Onsen area before, so I browsed various options. The deciding factor? The hotel has a mixed-gender bath! That alone convinced me to book it (lol).
Located right next to the public bathhouse in Awara Onsen’s hot spring town, Awara Grand Hotel is an old-fashioned Japanese inn with a retro vibe.
To be honest, the hotel is… vintage (lol). But if you’re a hot spring lover like me, you’ll be happy here. There are multiple baths inside, making it a mini onsen-hopping paradise.
At the entrance, I saw the usual “Welcome Party” signboard you often see in ryokan… but this one felt a bit off. I wonder if the staff just got tired of writing it every day (lol).
The room was a traditional Japanese-style one. Western-facing windows meant intense sunlight in the afternoon—it was like getting hit with a spotlight when you opened the curtains!
The hotel has two different hot spring sources and seven types of baths, though not all are accessible due to gender separation, so you won’t actually get to try all seven.
【Mixed-Gender Outdoor Bath】
This bath is designed to resemble the rocky cliffs of Tojinbo, using massive stones to create a dramatic effect.
From the hallway leading to the bath, you can kind of peek into the area—so you’ll know if someone’s already there (don’t worry, it’s not fully visible).
I tried to enter the mixed bath right after check-in, but there was already a man inside… I wasn’t sure if wearing a towel was okay, so after three seconds of hesitation, I gave up.
I tried again around 5 a.m. the next morning, but again—someone was already there. Sigh...
So I gave up on the mixed bath and went to the adjacent women-only outdoor bath instead.
This one also uses locally sourced giant rocks and has natural hot spring water flowing freely. It’s a bit small, but the silky texture of the water and its slightly lukewarm temperature made for a perfect long soak.
The indoor bath was spacious, and I loved the view of the Japanese garden through the windows. The water here was on the hotter side.
There was a semi-private section at the corner of the bath, separated by glass. It could fit two people comfortably.
I gave it a try (lol). It felt like a mini steam sauna—the warm mist built up quickly, and it was incredibly relaxing. My skin loved it!
The ceiling was high, giving the indoor bath a nice, airy feel despite being indoors.
There was also a ganbanyoku (stone sauna) area, free to use at any time.
It wasn’t the super-sweaty type of sauna, just pleasantly warm—perfect for relaxing. Some guests were lying down reading newspapers or scrolling through their phones.
“Heian no Yu” was another bath, this one with gorgeous stained glass.
There was also a super-deep bath where you had to stand to soak—it’s said this distributes pressure evenly across your body and has health benefits.
“Shizuka no Yu” – another peaceful bath space.
The “Asakura Gate” entrance to the large communal bath area.
The open-air hinoki (cypress) bath with a view is gender-segregated and alternates use between men and women. At night it’s pitch dark and not much to see—but at sunrise, it’s absolutely breathtaking!