Hyogo · 2 hours from Osaka · Onsen town

Tattoo friendly onsen on Awaji Island

The island across the bay from Osaka and Kobe, an hour and a half from Sannomiya by bus over the Akashi bridge, with hot springs on the Sumoto coast and a pool complex by the bridge. Its big hotel baths refuse in writing — the group that owns the Sumoto coast says so in its FAQ, and the day spa at the bridge says so at the door. The answer here is the villa wing, where every room has a bath of its own, and it is listed with the group’s sentence beside it.

3 properties

Private baths only

Ink is fine in a private or in-room bath. Communal baths are restricted, or the policy is unconfirmed. What this means

Sumoto Onsen, on the Komoe coast Villa ryokan (Hotel New Awaji group) Confirmed

Yumesenkei Besso Amahara

夢泉景別荘天原

Every one of the eighteen rooms has an open-air hot spring bath of its own, and that is the bath to plan on. The group that owns the house refuses tattooed guests at its large baths in its FAQ, and the FAQ says nothing about the baths in the rooms — so book the room, and ask in writing if you want the room bath confirmed.

※泥酔状態・入れ墨のあるお客様のご入浴はお断りさせて頂いております。

Best for: Sumoto's water with nobody else in it, and the group's rule read first

The rooms page says 全室専有露天風呂付, eighteen rooms. The refusal sits in the Hotel New Awaji group FAQ under the heading for its large baths, which names Spa Terrace Suigetsu at New Awaji and Amamiya-no-shizuku at Yumesenkei next door, the baths Amahara guests are pointed at. The phone is the group's Navi-Dial, 9:00 to 18:00.

Contact

0570-079922

〒656-0023 兵庫県洲本市小路谷1052-2

Full policy and what to expect → Check availability

Sumoto Onsen, on the harbor Hotel (Hotel New Awaji group) Confirmed

Umi no Hotel Shimahana

海のホテル島花

Two ways round the group’s rule under one roof: the Residence Villa rooms have an open-air hot spring bath of their own, and the hotel rents a private spa, Toro-onsen, a half-open-air bath booked by the slot. The group refuses tattooed guests at its large baths and says nothing about either of these; ask when you book.

※泥酔状態・入れ墨のあるお客様のご入浴はお断りさせて頂いております。

Best for: A private bath you can book by the hour, at a hotel price

The facilities page lists 貸切温泉蕩温泉 as a semi-open-air rental bath and the レジデンスヴィラ rooms with 温泉露天風呂 of their own; fifty-three rooms in all. Bus from Umeda about two hours, from Sannomiya about ninety minutes, on the hotel's own access page.

Contact

0570-079922

〒656-0023 兵庫県洲本市小路谷1277-5

Full policy and what to expect → Check availability

Minami-Awaji, on the Keino-Matsubara beach Villa ryokan (Hotel New Awaji group) Confirmed

Awaji Hamarikyu Besso Takumi

あわじ浜離宮別荘鐸海

Seventeen rooms, every one with an open-air hot spring bath on its own terrace, and no shared bath in the building at all. Guests may also use the garden bath at the main Hamarikyu house next door, which belongs to a group that refuses tattooed guests at its large baths; there is no reason to go.

※泥酔状態・入れ墨のあるお客様のご入浴はお断りさせて頂いております。

Best for: The one house on the island where the question never comes up

The wording is 全室に温泉露天風呂とプライベートテラスを設えた, twelve room types. About ninety minutes from Osaka by car on the house's own page, five from Seidan-Mihara IC; by bus, Fukura via Sannomiya and a taxi.

Contact

0570-079922

〒656-0304 兵庫県南あわじ市松帆古津路970-6

Full policy and what to expect → Check availability

1 property

Swimwear areas

Tattoos accepted when covered by a rash guard, in swimsuit areas rather than traditional baths.

Awaji Yumebutai, at the northern end of the island Resort hotel — pool and bath complex, not a hot spring Confirmed

Grand Nikko Awaji

グランドニッコー淡路

Allowed if covered: the terms of use for the hotel’s spa, Ristoro, admit a tattooed guest when the tattoo is completely covered by a rash guard or a seal. It is a pool complex with a jet bath, a sauna and men’s and women’s bathrooms, on ordinary water, and it is for hotel guests and members only — 2,800 yen a day on top of the room, 8:00 to 21:30.

・タトゥー（入れ墨）をされたお客様につきましては、ラッシュガードの着用や専用シール等により完全にカバーできる場合に限りご入場を可能としております。

Best for: A written yes on an island of written noes, if you are staying anyway

Not an onsen: the hotel has no hot spring, and the listing is here because it is the only operator on the island whose rule lets a tattoo in. Visitors are turned away (ビジターの方はご利用いただけません). Indoor pool, jet bath, radiant sauna, a bath in each locker room; an outdoor pool in summer. Highway bus from Sannomiya about fifty minutes to Awaji Yumebutai-mae.

Contact

0799-74-1111

〒656-2306 兵庫県淡路市夢舞台2番地

Check availability

Traveler’s note The Hotel New Awaji group owns most of the houses on the Sumoto coast, and its FAQ, under the heading for its large baths, refuses tattooed guests alongside drunk ones. That sentence is quoted on the three villa listings below, whose rooms have hot spring baths of their own and whose group has not said whether the rule reaches them. The flagship hotel is not below. Matsuho no Sato, the day-use bath with the bridge in the window, refuses seals and all, and is not below either.

Common questions

Awaji questions

Is there anywhere on Awaji that says yes?

One, and it is not a hot spring. Grand Nikko Awaji’s pool-and-sauna complex, Ristoro, admits a tattoo under a rash guard or a seal in its own terms of use, for hotel guests only. Everything else that has written a rule has written a refusal.

Can I use the private baths at Hotel New Awaji?

The hotel rents seven cypress baths to its guests, fifty minutes for 3,000 yen, and its FAQ refuses tattooed guests at the large baths without saying whether the private ones are included. This site does not guess. Ask the hotel in writing before you book on that plan.

Which villa should I pick?

Takumi, at the southern end, has no shared bath in the building at all, so the question never comes up. Amahara, above Sumoto, has eighteen rooms each with an open-air bath. Shimahana, on the harbor, is the cheaper way in: villa rooms with a bath of their own and a rentable private bath for the other rooms.

How do I get there?

Highway bus. From Sannomiya to Sumoto about an hour and a half; from Osaka station a little over two hours on the Kakehashi bus, or a train to Sannomiya first. Grand Nikko is fifty minutes from Sannomiya at the Awaji Yumebutai-mae stop. No train crosses the bridge.

More places to bathe

Other guides

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Tokyo area69 places → Osaka area38 places → Kyoto area15 places → Hakone22 places → Kinosaki Onsen10 places → Kusatsu Onsen9 places → Nikko8 places → Atami7 places → Shirahama7 places → Arima Onsen8 places → Yumura Onsen3 places → Nachi-Katsuura2 places → Awaji IslandYou are here