Things to Do at Odawara Station: Minaka Odawara's Edo Town, Local Food & Free Onsen Footbath

Highlights of Minaka Odawara, a One-Minute Walk from Odawara Station

Step out of the East Exit of Odawara Station and you are right there. Side by side, you will find a recreated Edo-period post town in wood and a high-rise tower crowned with a natural hot spring foot bath garden. Together, they form the complex known as Minaka Odawara.

A souvenir floor lined with specialties of Odawara and Hakone, long-established restaurants serving local ingredients, a food court packed with seafood from Sagami Bay, and a foot bath garden 50 meters above the ground that pairs panoramic views with a real onsen. Everything you might want to do in Odawara is bundled into this complex, just a one-minute walk from the station.

This article introduces the four main spots inside Minaka Odawara and the highlights of each.

Minaka Odawara

Minaka Odawara is a multi-purpose commercial complex in Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture. It consists of a wooden building called Odawara Shin-Jokamachi, designed in the style of an Edo-period post town, and a 14-story Tower Building with a natural hot spring foot bath garden on its top floor. With shops, restaurants, an onsen, and panoramic views all gathered in one place, it has become a popular sightseeing spot that covers the main attractions of an Odawara visit.

What does “Minaka” mean?

The name Minaka comes from an old Japanese word meaning “the very middle” or “the center.” In the Manyoshu, Japan’s oldest collection of poetry compiled in the 8th century, the word was used to describe Mount Fuji, the sacred peak rising at the heart of the land.

The name was chosen by public vote among local residents, with the wish that the complex would become a true center of Odawara—a place where people and goods come together.

Two Buildings on the North–South Axis, Linked by a Central Plaza

Minaka Odawara is made up of three areas: two buildings standing at the north and south ends of the site, and an outdoor plaza in the middle. To the south stands Odawara Shin-Jokamachi, the wooden building styled after an Edo-period post town. To the north rises the 14-story glass-clad Tower Building. Between them, the third-floor outdoor plaza called Kinjiro Square acts as a hub that ties the two buildings together.

The Tower Building hosts more than just visitor floors. The hotel Tenseien Odawara Station Annex (10F–13F), the Odawara Station East Exit Library (6F), several clinics (7F–8F), and a nursery and convention hall (4F) are also housed here, making it a hub that supports both tourism and daily life for local residents.

Souvenirs, Meals, and Snacks All in One Place: Odawara Shin-Jokamachi

The wooden building on the south side of Minaka Odawara, called Odawara Shin-Jokamachi, is a four-story area where the famous foods and crafts of Odawara and Hakone come together.

The first floor is the shopping floor. Kamaboko (Japanese fish cakes), dried fish, local fish, wagashi (Japanese sweets), Western-style sweets, and yosegi-zaiku (wood mosaic) from Hakone are arranged by category, so souvenir shopping can be completed on this floor alone.

The second floor is for long-established restaurants. Eel, horse mackerel dishes, shellfish broth, tonkatsu, and Odawara oden are among the local specialties served at lunch and dinner.

The third floor is a relaxing café floor. Matcha, coffee, and bread are joined by takeaway snacks and Japanese sweets.

Kinjiro Square: An Outdoor Resting Plaza Linking the Wooden Building and the Tower

Kinjiro Square, located in the middle of the third floor, is a free resting space open to anyone. Accessible from both Odawara Shin-Jokamachi and the Tower Building, it sits at the very heart of the complex and physically connects the two.

You can bring food bought inside the complex, and pets are also welcome.

The square takes its name from the Ninomiya Kinjiro Couple Statue that stands here. Ninomiya Kinjiro (also known as Ninomiya Sontoku, 1787–1856) was a Japanese agricultural reformer and philosopher. Born in Kayama Village in the Odawara domain (now Kayama, Odawara City), he is said to have rebuilt the finances of around 600 struggling villages during his lifetime and remains a beloved historical figure tied to Odawara. The statue is one of the photo spots inside Minaka Odawara.

Kinjiro Square is also linked to Odawara Station through the station building Lusca Odawara, making it the shortest covered route between the station and Minaka Odawara.

Casual Lunches and Drinks at Seisho Food Stadium

On the third floor of the Tower Building, Seisho Food Stadium is a food court bringing together local Odawara specialties and popular restaurants. The lineup spans seafood rice bowls, ramen, soba, mazesoba, champon, Western-style food, yakiniku, and oysters.

Tucked at the back with its own entrance, Odawara Chochin Yokocho is a counter-style space where you can enjoy sake and fresh oysters during the day or evening.

It is a popular area that works for lunch, dinner, or just a quick bite.

Another Spot on the Same Floor: Conveyor-Belt Sushi by Skilled Chefs

The third floor of the Tower Building is also home to Kaiten Sushi Hojo, a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant operating as an independent shop separate from Seisho Food Stadium.

The core of its supply is local fish from Sagami Bay landed every morning at Odawara Fishing Port. Combined with seasonal fish from across Japan, experienced chefs prepare each piece by hand. Signature menu items include Honjitsu no Jizakana Sangan (Today’s Three Local Fish), a daily selection of three pieces of local fish, and Hojo Gokan (Hojo’s Five Pieces), a plate of five carefully chosen pieces.

The restaurant is open from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm (Last Order 8:30 pm) every day of the year.

Free Onsen Foot Bath with a Sweeping View: Tenbo Ashiyu Teien

On the 14th and top floor of the Tower Building, Tenbo Ashiyu Teien lets you soak your feet in a natural hot spring foot bath fed with water from Hakone-Yumoto, completely free of charge.

Spread out right in front of the foot bath is a wide panorama taking in Odawara Castle, Sagami Bay, and the Manazuru Peninsula. On clear days you can even see Izu Oshima, and at night the surface of the water glows blue under the lights, creating a dreamlike scene above the city lights below.

The garden has a roof, so it is open even on rainy days. Towels are sold from a vending machine at the entrance for ¥100, so you can stop by empty-handed.

A One-Minute Walk from Odawara Station East Exit, with Shinkansen and Limited Express Service

Minaka Odawara is right outside the ticket gate of the East Exit of Odawara Station. With a covered walkway from the station, you can reach the complex without an umbrella even on rainy days.

Odawara Station is a major terminal in western Kanagawa, served by five lines: the JR Tokaido Shinkansen, JR Tokaido Line, Odakyu Line, Hakone Tozan Railway, and Izuhakone Railway Daiyuzan Line. From Tokyo Station it is about 33 minutes by JR Tokaido Shinkansen (Hikari or Kodama), and from Shinjuku Station about 70 minutes by Odakyu Romancecar.

If you arrive by car, the Minaka Odawara Parking is available on B1F of the Tower Building. It is open 24 hours with 64 spaces, including 2 spots for electric vehicles and 2 accessible spaces. Parking discounts are offered based on your total amount spent on dining and shopping inside the complex.

Edo Streetscape, Seafood, and Onsen All Just One Minute from the Station

The Edo-period post town of Odawara-juku, which once welcomed travelers along the Tokaido road, gave way to railway development in the Meiji era and to large-scale redevelopment around the station in the Heisei era. Today, in the Reiwa era, that role of welcoming travelers has returned in the form of Minaka Odawara.

People shopping for souvenirs, people savoring Odawara’s cuisine, people relaxing in the onsen foot bath—

Just as Odawara-juku once stood at the center of travel along the Tokaido, today every kind of visitor crosses paths here, in keeping with the meaning of the name Minaka, “the center.” The form has changed, but the spirit of welcoming travelers continues.

A town of hospitality with roots in an old post town. Make your way to its modern center, Minaka Odawara, on your next visit to Odawara.

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