A Rainy Day in Imabari: Indoor Onsen, the Castle, and a Book Cafe That Lets You Read for Free (2026)
2026/08/05
You came to Imabari to ride the Shimanami Kaido, and it is raining.
Or the restaurant you had bookmarked turns out to be closed that day.
Travel dates get fixed months in advance, but weather and closing days do not negotiate.
This page lists the places in Imabari that work indoors when the weather turns, as of August 2026.
The short answer: onsen for the rain, then pick somewhere that is open
When it rains in Imabari, the most reliable answer is a hot spring.
There are three in and around the city that open early and close late, and one of them is a one to two minute walk from JR Imabari Station.
As for closing days, the city does not shut down all at once.
They are spread across different days of the week, so it pays to check before you set out.
Three hot springs that hold up in bad weather
| Facility | Hours | Adult admission | Closed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shimanami Onsen Kisuke no Yu | 10:00–24:00 (last entry 23:15); morning bath 6:00–10:00 | 850 yen weekdays / 900 yen weekends and holidays | No closing day listed |
| Kamitoku no Yu | 6:00–24:00 (reception until 23:00) | 700 yen | Open year round |
| Nibukawa Seseragi Koryukan | 10:30–21:00 (reception closes 20:30) | 420 yen | 2nd and 4th Monday of each month |
If you do not want to leave the station area, go to Kisuke no Yu.
It is right beside JR Imabari Station and runs from 6:00 in the morning to midnight.
On a day the rain has emptied your plans, that is a lot of hours you can simply hand over to a bath.
If you are an early riser, Kamitoku no Yu opens at 6:00 and never closes for the year.
It is about 8 minutes by car from JR Imabari Station, or a 10-minute walk from JR Iyo-Tomita Station.
A “come empty-handed” set including towels costs 1,100 yen, which matters when you are travelling light.
If you want somewhere quiet to spend the whole day, take the bus up to Nibukawa Seseragi Koryukan.
It is roughly 38 minutes from the bus terminal in front of Imabari Station on the Setouchi Bus bound for Nibukawa Onsen.
One warning: it closes on the 2nd and 4th Monday of every month, moving to the next weekday when that falls on a public holiday.
Sightseeing with a roof: the castle and the horse museum
Imabari Castle is open 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30), and admission is 520 yen for adults.
It only closes from December 29 to 31, which means it is open on almost every day of the year.
Each floor of the keep is an exhibition space, and the top floor looks out over the city and the sea.
It is one of the few Japanese castles with seawater in its moat, and the whole visit can be done under cover.
From the station it is about a 21-minute walk, or 9 minutes on the Setouchi Bus bound for Imabari Eigyosho (get off at “Imabari-jo mae”).
At Noma Uma Highland, the indoor option is the exhibition hall called Makiba-kan.
Both the park and the exhibition hall are free, and the hours are 10:00–17:00.
It closes every Tuesday (the following day when that is a public holiday), so that is the one day to avoid.
The paddocks and the playground are outdoors, so in the rain treat this as a visit to the exhibits rather than to the horses.
Access is about 11 minutes on the Setouchi Bus Kikuma line from the station, getting off at Enki, then a 10-minute walk.
The Nihon Shokken KO Palace Factory often comes up as a rainy-day idea, but the free part is the garden, which is outdoors.
The indoor factory tour costs 1,000 yen and is reservation-only, with phone bookings opening two months before the month you want to visit.
It is not somewhere you can duck into on the day, so do not count it as shelter.
Somewhere to spend a long wet afternoon
Cafes do real work on a rainy day, and Imabari has a good one for it.
Mori, in Komeya-cho, is a bookshop and a coffee shop in the same old wooden house.
The books on the shelves can be read without buying them, so you can settle onto the tatami with a coffee and stay a while.
One thing to know: its opening days change from month to month.
Check the official site or social media for the current month before you walk over.
It is within walking distance of JR Imabari Station, or a few minutes by bicycle.
If you would rather have something sweet, Tamaya Cafe is about a 13-minute walk from the station.
The main shop, Tamaya Saint-Honore, has irregular closing days, but it stays open every day in July and August.
Before you set out: closing days
| Shop or site | Closed |
|---|---|
| Shigematsu Hanten (yakibuta tamago meshi) | Monday |
| Tousendo (shaved ice, wagashi) | Monday (Tuesday if Monday is a holiday) |
| Nibukawa Seseragi Koryukan | 2nd and 4th Monday |
| Hakurakuten (yakibuta tamago meshi) | Tuesday |
| Daikokuya Hanten (yakibuta tamago meshi) | Wednesday (open 11:00–14:00 only) |
| Setouchi Ryori Suehiro | Thursday (open when it is a holiday) |
| Ryugu (Imabari Kokusai Hotel) | None |
| Imabari Castle | December 29–31 only |
| Noma Uma Highland | Tuesday |
The most useful line in that table is this one: you can eat yakibuta tamago meshi on any day of the week.
Imabari’s signature dish is served by three long-established shops, and their closing days happen to fall on three different weekdays.
Shigematsu Hanten closes on Monday, Hakurakuten on Tuesday, and Daikokuya Hanten on Wednesday.
Whichever day you arrive, at least two of the three are open.
How they differ, and how to choose between them, is covered in our comparison guide.
The places that need more care are the ones with irregular closing days.
Barrel Coffee sets its days off month by month, and Ondata Coffee and Matsu Seimenjo are irregular too.
If one of those three is the reason you are going out, check their social media before you set off.
What about the bridges in the rain?
Six of the Shimanami Kaido bridges have a cycling and pedestrian path.
They are the Innoshima, Ikuchi, Tatara, Omishima, Hakata-Oshima and Kurushima Kaikyo bridges, while the Shin-Onomichi Bridge has none.
Rain alone does not normally close the path, but in severe weather the cycling and pedestrian paths can be closed.
The operator’s own guidance warns that winds over the straits can be strong.
If you are unsure, check the closure information published by JB Honshi Expressway on the day.
The tolls themselves are not a reason to hurry, because bicycles cross free until the end of March 2028.
Since the bikes are rentals, the cheapest move is simply to hire one on the day the weather looks right.
When that day comes, getting from the station out to the bridge is covered here.
A rainy half-day from Imabari Station
Start with the morning bath at Kisuke no Yu, between 6:00 and 10:00, one or two minutes on foot from the station.
Go out for yakibuta tamago meshi at lunch.
If Shigematsu Hanten is shut that day, go to Hakurakuten or Daikokuya, and note that Daikokuya stops at 14:00.
Spend the afternoon at Imabari Castle, where last entry is 16:30.
In the late afternoon, take coffee and a book at Mori, or shaved ice at Tamaya Cafe.
Then go back to Kisuke no Yu in the evening, since it stays open until midnight.
That is a full wet day accounted for, without once getting properly soaked.
FAQ
Can I still cross the bridges in the rain? Usually yes, but the paths can close in severe weather.
Check the JB Honshi Expressway closure page on the day.
The yakibuta tamago meshi shop I wanted is closed. Is there another? Yes.
The three shops close on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, so at least two of them are open on any given day.
Where can I leave my luggage? There are coin lockers at the rental cycle terminal in front of JR Imabari Station.
I did not bring a towel. Kamitoku no Yu sells a set including towels for 1,100 yen.
Is there anywhere indoors for children? The Makiba-kan exhibition hall at Noma Uma Highland is indoors and free to enter.
It is closed on Tuesdays.
Is Imabari Castle worth it in the rain? Every floor of the keep is an exhibition, so the visit works entirely under cover.
You cannot choose the weather, but you can choose where to go
The Shimanami Kaido is usually described through its clear-sky views.
Imabari, though, has hot springs, a castle and a bookshop cafe, so a rained-out day does not have to be a lost one.
Closing days work the same way: counting what is open gets you to a decision faster than counting what is shut.
The bridges will still be free tomorrow.
Original article in Japanese: 今治で雨に降られた日の過ごし方
