Beniya
光風湯圃 べにや
Does Beniya allow tattoos? In a private bath
Beniya’s large bath is closed to anyone with a tattoo, so plan on the semi-open-air bath in your room. All 17 rooms have one, fed straight from the inn’s own wells.
The ban is in the inn’s house rules, and it covers body paint too.
The bath
Every room has its own semi-open-air bath, fully free-flowing, and you can use it whenever you like. The water comes from four wells in the inn’s garden at about 70°C (158°F). In the special room, the tub looks out over the garden; in the semi-special futon room, its floor and walls are Shakudani stone, a soft blue stone quarried in Fukui.
The large bath is open 3 p.m. to 10 a.m. It’s closed to tattooed guests and to children still in diapers, who are asked to use the room bath instead.
The hotel
Beniya opened in 1884. Fire destroyed the old building in 2018, and the inn reopened in 2021 in a new building by the architect Tetsuo Kobori. Each of the 17 rooms has a different layout and a small courtyard garden. The special room is an 86.2-square-meter suite in the sukiya style, a traditional design drawn from the teahouse. Every room is non-smoking, meals are served at a table, and Wi-Fi is free. Check-in and checkout happen in your room, and checkout is 11 a.m. The building is warmed by the hot spring, and guests walk it barefoot rather than in slippers.
Good to know
- Two guests minimum. The inn doesn’t take solo travelers or groups of 15 or more.
- One Michelin Key. The inn has been listed in the Michelin Guide three years running.
Getting there
Awara-Yunomachi STN · Keifuku bus or Echizen Railway
4 minutes on foot.
From Tokyo, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Awara-Onsen, about 2 hours 55 minutes. Some trains run straight through; if yours ends at Kanazawa, change there to the Tsurugi. From Awara-Onsen Station, the Keifuku bus reaches the onsen town in 15 minutes, or ride the private Echizen Railway to Awara-Yunomachi. The inn runs a free pickup from Awara-Onsen Station or Awara-Yunomachi between 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m.; book it by the day before. It drives guests back between 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Where it is
Awara-Yunomachi STN
- Hokuriku Shinkansen 2 hr 55 min from Tokyo
- Keifuku bus 15 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- Hokuriku Arch Pass ¥35,000 · 7 days Seven days between Tokyo, Kanazawa and Osaka, with reserved seats on the Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Awara-Onsen.
- Japan Rail Pass from ¥53,000 · 7, 14 or 21 days For a trip that takes in several regions by Shinkansen and JR lines.
What happens when you arrive
Use the bath in your room. The large bath is closed to guests with tattoos.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (the inn’s guide to use and accommodation terms page for the large-bath refusal; the hot spring and rooms pages for the in-room baths)
他のお客様の安全・快適性を守る観点で次の各号に該当する方の大浴場の利用をお断りいたします。一、入れ墨（刺青）、タトゥー、ボディペイント等を施された方
This is the rule for the shared baths. It doesn’t apply to the private baths.
Best for: couples who want a landmark inn, rebuilt after a fire, with free-flowing hot-spring water in every room
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