Illustration of Beppu at dusk: columns of white steam rising from the roofs of the hot spring district, the bay and the hills beyond

Oita · 2 hours from Hakata · Onsen town

Tattoo friendly onsen in Beppu

Beppu City runs twelve of the bathhouses in this town and publishes, for each one, whether tattoos are allowed. Where the answer is yes, and it usually is, entry costs between 100 and 700 yen and there is nothing to cover and nobody to ask. The hotels are a separate question, and so are the places the city calls friendly while saying nothing themselves. This page takes them one at a time.

19 properties

No restrictions

Tattoos are welcome in every bath. Nothing to cover, nothing to book. What this means

Motomachi, ten minutes on foot from Beppu Station Day-use public bathhouse, city-run, with a sand bath Confirmed

Takegawara Onsen

竹瓦温泉

Nothing to cover, in either bath. Beppu City owns and runs Takegawara, and the city’s own onsen site prints the rule in the facility line at the foot of its page. The city’s tourism listing carries the same tattoo mark, current to 30 June 2026. It covers the 300-yen communal bath and the 1,500-yen sand bath alike.

TATTOO: Allowed

Best for: A sand bath in a 1938 wooden hall, buried by an attendant with a wooden hoe

Communal bath 06:30–22:30, 300 yen; sand bath 08:00–22:30, last reception 21:30, 1,500 yen, eight people at a time, no reservations of any kind. Both closed the third Wednesday. Men’s and women’s sides draw different springs, chloride on one side and bicarbonate on the other. No car park. Bath-wear (nyuyokugi) is lent free if you ask in advance.

Takegawara Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Kitahama, five minutes on foot from Beppu Station Day-use public bathhouse, city-run Confirmed

Kaimon-ji Onsen

海門寺温泉

A municipal bath where the question is settled by the operator, because the operator is the city. Beppu City’s onsen site answers it in the facility line for this bath, and the city’s tourism entry repeats the mark. Bathe as you are; there is no seal and no back room.

TATTOO：ALLOWED

Best for: A first bath off the train, with a hot tub and a cooler one to choose between

06:30–22:30, closed 14:00–15:00 for cleaning, 250 yen, closed the second Monday. Rebuilt in 2010 with two tubs, atsu-yu and nuru-yu, level floors and a bathing wheelchair. Three parking spaces; the Tsurumi Car Park gives bathers an hour free.

Kaimon-ji Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Chuo-machi, five minutes on foot from Beppu Station Day-use public bathhouse, city-run Confirmed

Furosen

不老泉

Beppu City runs it, and the city’s own page for the bath ends with a one-line tattoo verdict in the plain. Its tourism listing for Furosen carries the same tattoo mark. Nobody will ask you to cover anything.

TATTOO：ALLOWED

Best for: Early morning, when the water is at its freshest and the room is full of regulars

06:30–22:30, closed 14:00–15:00 for cleaning, 250 yen, closed the first Monday. Rebuilt in 2014 with the widest tub of any municipal bath, split into hot and cool halves, plus an elevator built for visually impaired visitors and a bathing wheelchair. Nine parking spaces.

Furosen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Tanoyu-machi, west of Beppu Station Day-use public bathhouse, city-run Confirmed

Tano-yu Onsen

田の湯温泉

The city lists this one as a bath where tattoos are fine, on the tourism site it publishes itself, with the entry dated to June 2026. Beppu City is also the operator here, so that listing is the operator speaking. The city’s 2026 tattoo map puts Tano-yu among the baths open to tattooed bathers in the shared tub.

タトゥー可

Best for: A 200-yen soak in a neighborhood bath that tourists rarely find

06:30–22:30, closed 14:00–15:00 for cleaning, 200 yen, closed the first Tuesday. Ramp at the entrance, no steps, grab rails in the tub, no car park. A ten-ticket book costs 1,800 yen and works at four other municipal baths.

Tano-yu Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Minami-machi, between Beppu Station and Hamawaki Day-use public bathhouse, city-run Confirmed

Nagaishi Onsen

永石温泉

Another of the twelve baths Beppu City owns, and the city marks it tattoo-friendly on its own tourism pages. The mark sits in the facility attributes beside the towel and soap prices, which is how the city keeps it current. Expect a small, sunken tub and no questions.

タトゥー可

Best for: The sunken tub you step down into, three minutes off the main street

06:30–22:30, closed 14:00–15:00 for cleaning, 200 yen, closed the second Tuesday. Source water, no recirculation. No parking. There is a small stone pocket park beside the building, built with stone from Yantai in China.

Nagaishi Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Hamawaki, one of the eight original hot spring districts Day-use public bathhouse, city-run Confirmed

Hamawaki Onsen

浜脇温泉

Hamawaki is city property and the city marks it tattoo-friendly in its own facility data. That mark and the city’s 2026 tattoo map are the whole of the rule; there is no seal system and no separate hour. The same building holds Yuto Pia Hamawaki upstairs, which the city marks the same way.

タトゥー可

Best for: A bath at one in the morning, which almost nowhere else in Beppu offers

06:30–25:00 (that is, to 01:00), closed 14:00–15:00 for cleaning, 200 yen, closed the third Monday. Two tubs, hot and warm, added in a 2018 rebuild. Fourteen shared parking spaces with the community center and the Hamawaki Mall shops.

Hamawaki Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Hamawaki, above the Hamawaki communal bath Day-use municipal bathing and exercise center Confirmed

Yuto Pia Hamawaki

湯都ピア浜脇

The city built this place and still runs it, and its own tourism data marks it as a bath tattooed visitors may use. Beppu’s 2026 tattoo map lists it in the same group, under public baths rather than private ones. Bathing here is done nude in the bathing zone, so nothing is hidden and nothing needs to be.

タトゥー可

Best for: A long session working through pour baths, bubble baths and a walking pool

10:00–22:00, last entry 21:00, 700 yen, closed Tuesdays. Modeled on a European kurhaus: kaburi-yu, bubble bath, full-immersion and reclining baths, jet baths, utaseyu, a walking pool and tatami rest rooms, with a training room for 310 yen. Soap, shampoo and dryers free. Bathers park three hours free in the basement.

Yuto Pia Hamawaki tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Horita, on the road up toward Yufuin Day-use public bathhouse, city-run, with an open-air bath Confirmed

Horita Onsen

堀田温泉

Horita is the municipal bath for its district, and the city marks it tattoo-friendly in the facility data it maintains itself. The 2026 map the city publishes for tattooed visitors lists it among the shared baths, not the private ones. That applies to the indoor tub and the garden bath outside.

タトゥー可

Best for: An open-air tub among planted rock and trees for 300 yen

06:30–22:30, closed 14:00–15:00 for cleaning, 300 yen, closed the first Wednesday. Indoor bath and a rock-set open-air bath, a rest room, an ostomate-accessible toilet and a bathing wheelchair. About thirty parking spaces. Bus 36 from Beppu Station west exit stops outside, 13 minutes.

Horita Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Kannawa, in the middle of the steam district Day-use municipal steam bath Confirmed

Kannawa Mushi-yu

鉄輪むし湯

You lie in a stone room in a yukata, so a tattoo is barely the point, but the city answers the question anyway. Beppu City operates the mushi-yu and states the rule on its own onsen site, and the city’s 2026 tattoo guide names this bath in the text as one that welcomes tattooed visitors. The rinsing bath beside the steam room is shared and nude, and the same answer covers it.

TATTOO：Allowed

Best for: Eight minutes flat on a floor of medicinal sekisho under a low stone roof

06:30–20:00, last reception 19:30, closed the fourth Thursday. 700 yen plus 220 yen to rent the yukata; a T-shirt and shorts of your own are accepted. Four people per side at a time, so there can be a wait. The free foot-steam outside needs no ticket. Founded in 1276 by the monk Ippen, whose wooden figure sits by the counter. Through 30 September 2026 the city posts shorter hours, 07:30 to 19:30 with last reception at 19:00; the usual 06:30 to 20:00 resumes after that.

Kannawa Mushi-yu tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Kannawa, beside the steam vents on Ida lane Free communal bath, city-run Confirmed

Netsu-no-yu

熱の湯

Free to enter and, by the city’s own account, open to tattooed bathers. Beppu City runs the building and prints the answer in the facility line on its onsen site; the city’s 2026 map lists Netsu-no-yu among the shared baths. There is no counter to negotiate with, only a changing room and a tub.

TATTOOS: Allowed

Best for: A free bath in the middle of Kannawa, used by people who live on the lane

06:30–21:00, free, closed one day at the end of the year for cleaning. Nothing is provided beyond a basin; bring soap and a towel. The old drinking spring and the washing place still stand on either side of the 1977 building. Paid parking for twelve cars in front.

Netsu-no-yu tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Kannawa, a minute uphill from the mushi-yu District-run communal bath in a city-owned building Confirmed

Shibu-no-yu

渋の湯

The building belongs to Beppu City and the Kannawa district runs it, and both of the city’s channels say tattoos are fine here: the facility page on its onsen site and the タトゥー可 mark in its tourism data. Payment is the oddity, not the tattoo. You put a hundred-yen coin in the locker, and that stands as your entry fee.

TATTOO：Allowed

Best for: Source water cooled without a drop of added water, for the price of a locker

06:30–21:00, last entry 20:30, 100 yen through the coin locker, which counts as admission. No parking. The 85°C source is cooled to about 60°C by a small bamboo cooling rack of the kind Hyotan Onsen developed, so no water is added. Look for the sun and moon stones on the back wall.

Shibu-no-yu tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Shibaseki, up the valley past the Blood Pond Hell Day-use public bathhouse, city-run, with open-air and steam baths Confirmed

Shibaseki Onsen

柴石温泉

The city runs Shibaseki and says plainly on its own site that tattoos are allowed, and its 2026 tattoo guide names the bath in the running text. Nothing here is restricted to a private room: the indoor tubs, the open-air bath and the steam bath are all shared. A family bath exists too, at 2,000 yen an hour, if you would rather have the place to yourself.

TATTOO：Allowed

Best for: Woods on three sides and a steam bath thrown in with the 300-yen entry

Communal bath 07:00–20:00, closed 13:00–14:00 for cleaning, 300 yen; family bath 09:00–20:00, last reception 19:00, 2,000 yen an hour for up to four. Closed the second Wednesday. Two tubs at different temperatures, an open-air bath and a steam bath. Thirty-five parking spaces. Fifteen minutes on foot from Chinoike Jigoku.

Shibaseki Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Kamegawa, three minutes from Kamegawa Station Day-use public bathhouse, city-run Confirmed

Hamada Onsen

浜田温泉

Kamegawa’s municipal bath is marked tattoo-friendly in the city’s own facility data, refreshed to June 2026, and it sits in the public-bath group on the city’s 2026 tattoo map. Beppu City is the operator, so that is the operator’s answer. Sodium chloride water, one shared room per sex, nothing to cover.

タトゥー可

Best for: A flat, step-free bath in Kamegawa with room to park

06:30–22:30, closed 14:00–15:00 for cleaning, 200 yen, closed the first Thursday. Built in 2002 with wide level corridors, grab rails and a bathing wheelchair. Twenty-eight parking spaces. The 1935 bathhouse it replaced stands opposite as the Hamada Onsen Museum.

Hamada Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Kamegawa, in the center of the old spa quarter Day-use public bathhouse, city-run Confirmed

Kiyosen

亀陽泉

City-owned, city-run, and marked tattoo-friendly in the city’s own facility data as of June 2026. The 2026 map Beppu publishes for tattooed visitors lists Kiyosen under public baths. Two tubs, hot and warm, both shared and both open to you.

タトゥー可

Best for: A 2016 rebuild with turtle-shell motifs and a wheelchair-accessible tub

06:30–22:30, closed 14:00–15:00 for cleaning, 250 yen, closed the first Wednesday. Hot and warm tubs, multipurpose toilet, bathing wheelchair, grab rails. A ten-ticket book at 2,250 yen also works at Kaimon-ji and Furosen. Five parking spaces. A hall upstairs is used by the neighborhood association.

Kiyosen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Ueno-guchi, at the Beppu City Community Center Day-use bath attached to a city community center Confirmed

Shibai no Yu

芝居の湯

A city facility, and the city’s own onsen site prints the tattoo answer in the information block for this bath. Beppu’s 2026 tattoo map lists it among the public baths as well. The city’s tourism listing carries no tattoo attribute, so the enjoyONSEN page is the one to go by.

TATTOO: Allowed

Best for: A double-height bath hall looking out on a garden, with an utaseyu spout

11:00–21:00, last reception 20:30, 300 yen, closed Tuesdays. Opened 1995. The ceiling is open to the second floor and the tub looks onto the garden; there is an utaseyu falling-water spout. A rest area sits by the entrance. Bus to Noguchibaru from Beppu Station west exit.

Shibai no Yu tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Hamawaki, a minute from Higashi-Beppu Station Neighborhood communal bath Confirmed

Higashimachi Onsen

東町温泉

A district bath with no website of its own, so the city’s pages are the only published ones. Beppu City marks it タトゥー可 in the facility data it maintains, and its onsen site answers the same question in three letters. The bath is one room with one tub, so this is the shared bath, not a side entrance.

TATTOO: OK

Best for: A 200-yen bath a minute from a JR platform, with murals on the wall

05:30–22:45, 200 yen, no regular closing day, though the city notes bathing can be suspended in heavy rain. Parking on site. The murals differ between the men’s and women’s rooms. An older city article giving the fee as 100 yen is out of date.

Higashimachi Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Ekimae-cho, two minutes from Beppu Station Communal bathhouse with simple lodging Confirmed

Ekimae Koto Onsen

駅前高等温泉

The green-roofed bathhouse outside Beppu Station has no site of its own, and the city’s listings are the only published word on it. Both of them say the same thing: the tourism entry carries the タトゥー可 mark, and the enjoyONSEN facility line spells it out. Two tubs, a hot one and a cooler one, both shared.

TATTOO：ALLOWED

Best for: A bath two minutes off the train in a 1924 building with a pointed roof

08:00–23:00, and 06:00 to midnight only when someone is staying the night. Closed the first Monday. Adults 250 yen, children 150 yen, five parking spaces, towels sold at the counter. Two springs, atsu-yu and nuru-yu, in separate rooms. The few simple rooms upstairs are taken at the counter, not through any platform.

Ekimae Koto Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Myoban, above the alum huts on the hillside Day-use open-air bath, swimsuits worn, mixed bathing Confirmed

Yuyama no Sato Onsen

湯山の里温泉

You wear a swimsuit in the open-air baths here, which settles the question before it is asked, and the city says tattoos are allowed on top of that. The タトゥー可 mark sits on the city’s tourism listing and the enjoyONSEN page carries the same line. The owner runs it himself and publishes nothing, so the city’s pages are the record.

TATTOO: Allowed

Best for: A mixed open-air bath in a swimsuit, high enough to see over Myoban

Opens at 09:00 with last reception at 17:00; the family bath beside the office runs to 20:00. Adults 900 yen and children 500 yen for the open-air baths, swimsuits required. Seven open-air baths of different kinds and three family baths at 1,500 to 2,500 yen an hour. Closures are irregular, so call ahead.

Yuyama no Sato Onsen tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Kannawa, five minutes downhill from the mushi-yu Day-use bathing complex Unverified

Hyotan Onsen

ひょうたん温泉

Hyotan has taken tattooed bathers since it opened, and its owner says so in his own words on the city’s site. Note that Hyotan’s own website, including its long FAQ, publishes no tattoo rule at all; the city’s tourism listing carries the タトゥー可 mark and the city’s 2026 guide names Hyotan first among tattoo-friendly baths. Every bath here is shared and nude except the rented family baths.

“It would be the same as banning people with tattoos from using the bathroom,” says Hyotan’s owner. “It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Best for: Eight baths on the men’s side and eleven on the women’s, plus a sand bath, in one building

09:00–01:00, with the main baths closing at 24:00 and the sand bath taking its last customer at 22:30. Open all year apart from short maintenance closures in mid-April, July and December. Adults 1,160 yen, children 400 yen; the sand bath needs the 840-yen yukata rental. Family baths run 2,400 yen for 60 minutes, 3,000 for 75 and 3,600 for 90 for three adults, and each one has to be reserved in advance. Payment is cash in yen only. Water reaches the tubs through the bamboo cooling racks the company invented, so nothing is diluted. Halal food is served and the family baths may be used clothed.

Find a hotel nearby →

2 properties

Cover seal required

Smaller tattoos accepted when fully covered by a waterproof patch. What this means

Ekimae Honmachi, a minute from Beppu Station Hotel with a top-floor onsen and seven private baths Confirmed

Beppu Hatto Onyado Nono Beppu

別府八湯御宿野乃別府

The hotel refuses tattooed bathers in the shared bath unless the tattoo is covered, and it supplies the cover. Its own bath page sets out the rule and the size of the sticker it hands over, 8 by 10 centimeters, so anything larger than a palm will not pass. Seven private baths are taken first come, first served, about 45 minutes at a time, which is the way around it.

※当ホテルでは刺青･タトゥー等をされている方の入浴はお断りしております。但し施設によっては、隠し用シール（8x10cm）をご用意しております。シールで隠せる大きさであればご入浴いただけます。

Best for: Seven private tubs named for the hot spring districts, taken in turn without booking

Thirteenth-floor bath open 15:00–10:00 the next morning, sauna closed 01:00–05:00. Indoor tub, two pot baths, an open-air bath, self-service loyly sauna and a cold bath. The seven private baths run about 45 minutes a turn. Tatami floors throughout the hotel, so shoes come off at the entrance. The wording says seals are available at some properties, so confirm at the desk when you check in.

Beppu Hatto Onyado Nono Beppu tattoo policy → Check availability

Kitahama, ten minutes on foot from Beppu Station Buffet hotel with sea-facing public baths Confirmed

Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Beppu Seifu

大江戸温泉物語別府清風

The house rule is a refusal with one exception, and the exception is the hotel’s own cover seal. Its day-use page states that tattooed guests may not use the large bath unless the tattoo is completely covered by a seal the hotel sells. Buy it at the front desk before you go up; a tattoo that the seal cannot fully hide is not admitted.

入れ墨・タトゥーのある方は大浴場をご利用いただけません。ただし、当館指定のカバーシール（有料）を貼って、入れ墨・タトゥーが完全に覆える場合に限り、大浴場をご利用いただけます

Best for: An open-air tub looking straight out at Beppu Bay, with the buffet included

Day visitors: bathing 15:00–24:00, last entry 22:00; dinner buffet 17:00–21:30. Buffet with bath from 3,600 yen on weekdays, more at weekends and peak dates, towels included and bathing tax extra. The open-air bath faces the bay. Ten minutes on foot from Beppu Station, three from the Kitahama bus center.

Ooedo Onsen Monogatari Beppu Seifu tattoo policy → Check availability

11 properties

Private baths only

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

Shoningahama, on the shore between Beppu Station and Kamegawa Hotel (ryokan-style seaside resort) Confirmed

AMANE RESORT SEIKAI

潮騒の宿晴海

All fourteen room types here come with their own open-air bath on the sea side, and the hotel states plainly that the room bath runs on undiluted spring water rather than heated tap water. That bath is yours alone, so nothing needs covering and nothing needs asking. The two communal baths, Shiosai-no-yu at sea level and the guests-only Shoyo-no-yu on the eighth floor, are a separate question, and the hotel publishes no tattoo rule for either one. There is no kashikiri-buro, so the room is the private option.

ご利用シーンに合わせて選べる客室は14タイプ。全てが客室露天風呂付き＆オーシャンビューで、客室露天風呂は、源泉掛け流しの温泉です。

Best for: A tattooed guest who wants the Beppu Bay view from a bath with a door on it

Rooms sit in three wings, Hare-no-to, Umi-no-to and Sora-no-to, plus a Signature Collection in the sea wing. The bath page says every bath in the building, room baths included, is free-flowing from the source. Spring type is sodium chloride. No reservable private bath exists, and the first-floor large bath also takes day visitors from 12:30 to 22:00 at 2,500 yen for adults, worth knowing if you would rather bathe when it is quieter. The hotel's bath page now lists only the first-floor Shiosai-no-yu: its spa notice says the eighth floor of the sea wing is being refitted.

AMANE RESORT SEIKAI tattoo policy → Check availability

Kannawa, on the Yamanoue slope above the steam vents Villa ryokan (23 detached units) Confirmed

Umine Annex

別館うみね

There is no communal bath on the property at all. Each of the 23 villas is a standalone building with an open-air hot spring bath, an indoor bath, a low-temperature sauna and a cold plunge, all behind your own gate. The operator lists 温泉 in the equipment line of every villa type, so the water is the spring rather than a heated tub. The only shared water is a seasonal view pool that runs June through September and costs extra.

全23棟の客室に露天風呂、内湯、低温サウナ、水風呂、ウッドデッキ、プライベートガーデン、キッチン付

Best for: Someone who wants a sauna and cold plunge round without ever undressing in front of anyone

Opened in September 2025 and marked its first anniversary in September 2026. Villa grades run from a 42-square-meter standard with two beds to 100-square-meter suites, three of which add a private summer pool. Drinks in the front-building lounge are included through the stay. The view pool is 1,100 yen for adults and 550 for children, 15:00 to 21:00, and the front desk asks for a signed waiver. Every villa has a few steps at the entrance.

Umine Annex tattoo policy → Check availability

Kannawa, beside Shiraike Jigoku Hotel Confirmed

Oniyama Hotel

別府鉄輪温泉おにやまホテル

One room type answers the question and the rest do not. Yuraku, five barrier-free rooms of 55 square meters on the third floor, has a hot spring bath in the room running free-flowing from the source around the clock. The hotel is unusually blunt that the tubs in its other rooms are not hot spring water, and it closed its family and private baths in March 2024, so there is no reservable alternative. Book Yuraku or you are down to the large baths, for which the hotel publishes no tattoo rule.

標準和室はシャワーのみでございます。詳細はお部屋のページからご確認ください。また、新しく造りました「湯楽」というお部屋には24時間使える温泉のご準備がございます。お客様のお好きな時間に、源泉かけ流しの良泉をお愉しみくださいませ。

Best for: A tattooed traveler who needs a wheelchair-accessible room and a bath of their own in the same booking

The source is Oniyama Jigoku at 98 degrees, a chloride spring. The rooms page carries the warning 客室のお風呂は温泉ではございません on the seventh-floor special rooms and on the 18.5-square-meter Japanese rooms, so read the room type, not the hotel. Two of the five Yuraku rooms have electric beds, and the hotel keeps a bath wheelchair and a tub mat. The FAQ states 貸切風呂、家族風呂はございません and dates the closure to March 2024, along with the Sora-no-yu view bath.

Oniyama Hotel tattoo policy → Check availability

Kannawa, on the wooded slope by Onsen Jinja Ryokan Confirmed

Sanso Kannawaen

山荘神和苑

Kannawaen turns tattooed guests away from its large bath and says so on its own bath page, naming tattoos alongside intoxication. It does not need to end the stay, because every one of the 50 rooms has a hinoki or stone bath of its own fed free-flowing from the inn’s two private sources, and many rooms add an open-air tub as well. The room bath is the whole plan here, not a consolation. What you give up is Hono-no-yu, the blue bath the inn is known for, and the Kannawa steam bath beside it.

※泥酔者および、タトゥー・刺青（入れ墨）をされている方の大浴場ご利用はお断りしております。

Best for: A guest who accepts losing the famous blue bath in exchange for a private hinoki tub running all night

Two on-site sources, no water and no steam added. The room list is explicit about which rooms add an open-air bath: the three detached special rooms, the detached Japanese and Japanese-Western rooms, the eight annex rooms, and rooms 502, 503, 505/506, 507 and 508 in the Sora wing. Main-building rooms have the indoor hinoki bath only. Nine Sora-wing rooms are indoor-bath only and eleven have both. The Noh stage and the thatched tea room are on the grounds.

Sanso Kannawaen tattoo policy → Check availability

Myoban, on the slope below the Myoban bridge Ryokan Confirmed

Okamotoya Ryokan

岡本屋旅館

Three of Okamotoya’s rooms have a private hot spring bath, and it is an indoor one rather than an open-air one: Bokai at 51 square meters, Nogiku at 48 and Botan at 30. The inn describes all three as 源泉かけ流し, so the milky blue sulfur water reaches the room undiluted. Every other room type is listed as 内湯なし, and the inn runs no reservable private bath, so the room grade decides everything. The garden open-air bath and the two large baths are shared, and the inn publishes no tattoo rule for them.

ご滞在中はいつでも源泉掛け流しの温泉をお楽しみいただけます。プライベート空間で贅沢なひとときをお過ごしください。

Best for: Bathing in Myoban’s milky blue sulfur water alone, inside a 150-year-old wooden inn

Founded 1875. The spring is 硫黄泉酸性・含硫黄-単純温泉（硫化水素型）, self-flowing, with no water or heat added. Shared bathing hours are 15:00 to 23:00 and 6:00 to 9:30. The inn takes no day bathers at all, which its own site states as 岡本屋は立ち寄り入浴を行っておりません. If you specifically want an open-air bath to yourself, this is not the property, because the private tubs are indoors.

Okamotoya Ryokan tattoo policy → Check availability

Kankaiji, on the hillside about 200 meters above the bay Ryokan Confirmed

Ryotei Matsubaya

旅亭松葉屋

Matsubaya has four baths you take alone and one large bath you do not, and the inn says guests may use all of them. Yakushi-no-yu and Meoto-no-yu are private open-air baths, Muku-no-yu is a private half open-air bath, and Usagi-no-yu is an indoor family bath. All five run free-flowing from the source. Six of the eight rooms in the Tsuki-no-so wing also have an open-air bath on the balcony, and Hatsune and Matsukaze have a view bath indoors.

ご宿泊のお客様は、本館丘ノ想の「薬師の湯」と3つの湯処を集めた「ゆるり小路」、月ノ想「月あかりの湯」、すべての湯処をご利用いただけます。

Best for: Working through four different private tubs in one night, high enough to watch the bay go dark

Neither the Japanese nor the English page states whether the private baths cost extra or how you claim a slot, only that guests may use them and that hours run 15:00 to 24:00 and 6:00 to 8:00 or 9:00. Ask at check-in. Spring type is 単純温泉, drinkable at the tap. Okano-so, the ten-room main building, has no bath in the rooms. A notice about Muku-no-yu being rebuilt in early 2024 is still on the page, so confirm it has reopened.

Ryotei Matsubaya tattoo policy → Check availability

Horita, on the plateau above the Beppu interchange Hotel Confirmed

SEKIYA RESORT GALLERIA MIDOBARU

ガレリア御堂原

All 35 rooms have a half open-air bath cut from a single block of stone, fed free-flowing with Horita’s sulfur water, and the hotel’s facility sheet lists no communal bath of any kind. That makes the tattoo question moot from arrival to checkout. The word the hotel uses is 半露天, a bath open to the air on one side rather than a garden tub. Rooms come as Twin, King and Suite, and every grade has one.

別府八湯のひとつ、由緒正しい堀田温泉の名湯を、源泉掛け流しで。それぞれの客室で、街を一望できる半露天風呂を心ゆくまでお楽しみいただけます。

Best for: A tattooed guest who wants zero shared water and contemporary art in the corridors

Opened 18 December 2020. The spring is 硫黄泉（硫化水素型）from Horita, one of the Beppu Hatto. Bathroom tiles are made-to-order Mino ware and the tubs are hollowed from solid stone, which the hotel says suits sulfur water. Works by Ine Izumi, Shimabuku, Mika Aoki and Hiraku Suzuki are installed through the building. Three minutes by car from the Beppu interchange, about fifteen from the station.

SEKIYA RESORT GALLERIA MIDOBARU tattoo policy → Check availability

Kitahama, eight minutes on foot from the east exit of Beppu Station Ryokan Confirmed

Yamada Bessou

くつろぎの温泉宿山田別荘

The open-air bath at Yamada Bessou is only ever used privately, and for people staying the night it is free. You book a 30-minute turn, and the inn allocates slots in the order guests check in, with the last turn at 23:00. The indoor baths are split by gender and open around the clock, so those remain shared water the inn says nothing about. Day visitors pay for the same private bath, which tells you how the inn values it.

【宿泊のお客様】・内風呂：24時間（清掃時間除く）・貸切露天風呂：1回30分 ※予約制・チェックイン順に予約可

Best for: A short walk from the station to a private open-air bath that costs nothing extra

The building is a 1930 wooden villa on roughly 600 tsubo of grounds, and the inn counts it at 95 years old. Two springs: the open-air bath is ナトリウムー炭酸水素塩・塩化物泉, the indoor baths 塩化物泉. Day bathers pay 500 yen for the indoor bath and 1,000 yen per person for 30 minutes in the private open-air bath, or 3,000 yen for a group of up to four for 50 minutes, and the inn asks you to phone first because closing days vary. Bathing tax of 250 yen is charged separately. The inn's own page gives the private bath's turn as 50 minutes in one place and 30 in another, so confirm the length at the desk.

Yamada Bessou tattoo policy → Check availability

Kitahama, on the seafront about 15 minutes from Beppu Station Ryokan Confirmed

Tenku Yubo Seikaiso

天空湯房清海荘

Seikaiso puts four private open-air baths on its roof, named for the Big Dipper, a shooting star, the galaxy and the Milky Way, each with its own entrance and its own tub. They run free-flowing from the source and they cost money even if you are staying: 1,000 yen for 45 minutes, against 2,500 on a weekday and 3,000 on a weekend for anyone walking in. Guests get an extra morning window from 7:00 to 8:30 that day visitors cannot book. Third-floor rooms billed as 半露天風呂付和洋室 add a half open-air bath in the room.

ご宿泊のお客さまは45分1,000円（税込）でご利用いただけます。ご宿泊以外の立ち寄りは45分平日2,500円・土日祝3,000円（税込）です。

Best for: A rooftop soak over Beppu Bay at a price worth paying twice

Twenty-seven rooms, eight Western and nineteen Japanese. The rooftop baths are up one flight of stairs with no elevator. General hours are 12:00 to 21:00. Day visitors can phone the same morning, with last start at 14:00 and no bookings after 15:00. Three sixth-floor rooms have a foot bath on the balcony reserved for guests in those rooms. The indoor view bath is a large shared bath, 15:00 to 01:00 and 05:00 to 09:30, and guests can also use the large baths at two sister inns about three minutes away at no charge.

Tenku Yubo Seikaiso tattoo policy → Check availability

Ueda-no-yu, six minutes on foot from the west exit of Beppu Station Ryokan (JR Kyushu Hotels and Resorts) Confirmed

Hanabeppu

別府温泉竹と椿のお宿花べっぷ

One family bath, named Egao, sits on the first floor beside the two large baths, and it is the only water here you do not share. The hotel’s own hot spring page prices it at 2,200 yen for 50 minutes and marks it 御予約制, so you reserve rather than wait for a free lamp. Hours are 15:00 to 22:00 with the last start at 21:00. Guest rooms have ordinary bathrooms, and the hotel does not describe any room tub as hot spring water, so the family bath is the plan.

■ご利用時間／ 15:00～22:00（最終21:00～）　■ご利用料金／ 50分 2,200円（税込）御予約制

Best for: A station-side stay where one booked 50-minute slot covers the bathing

Booking sites advertise one free 50-minute use of the family bath per stay as an included benefit, but the hotel’s own page carries only the 2,200 yen price, so check whether your specific plan includes it. The spring is ナトリウム炭酸水素塩泉. The large baths, Otohime for women and Momotaro for men, are tatami-floored and do not swap by gender; the women’s side has a microbubble bath and a mist sauna. The hotel reopened after a refit on 6 March 2026 with an all-inclusive lounge. Its published accommodation rules say nothing about tattoos.

Hanabeppu tattoo policy → Check availability

Yumigahama, south of Beppu Station toward Hamawaki Ryokan (13 detached maisonette units, room only) Confirmed

Sin-an

匠晴の宿心庵

All thirteen units are freestanding two-story cottages, and each one has both an indoor bath and a bath in its own garden, with the source poured in undiluted. There is no shared bath to negotiate and no meal service to sit through, since the inn runs room only and expects you to eat in town. Garden baths differ by unit: rock tubs, a full hinoki tub, ceramic bowl tubs and wooden barrels. Ran adds a convection sauna you can pour spring water over, and Chi and To add a low-temperature bedrock bath indoors.

全13室のすべてのお部屋の内湯とお庭のお風呂には、美人湯と謳われる上質な源泉をそのままに掛け流しています。

Best for: Eating your way around Beppu at night and coming back to two private baths

Room only, no meals, no kitchen in the units, but each has a microwave and the staff will point you at local restaurants and delivery. Units run 77 to 124 square meters. The two special rooms, Shinryu and Shinshun, top 100 square meters and add free drinks. The inn describes the water as faintly blue and odorless, which it flags for people who avoid sulfur springs. Bathing tax is 250 yen, or 500 above 50,001 yen per person. Check-in 15:00 to 19:00.

Sin-an tattoo policy → Check availability

Traveler’s note Beppu’s reputation for taking tattoos is the city’s claim more than the operators’. The city tags each bath in its own tourism data, and its 2026 visitor map goes further than that data does: three baths it marks as friendly either refuse tattooed guests on their own pages or are marked “not allowed” on the city’s own facility page. Where the two disagree, this page follows the operator, and says which is which in the listing.

Getting there

Tickets for the ride in

JR Kyushu Rail Pass Three, five or seven days of unlimited JR trains in Kyushu, which is what the Sonic up the coast from Hakata is. The pass comes in a northern, southern or all-Kyushu version, so check the area covers the rest of your trip as well.
Kyushu SunQ Pass Unlimited buses and ferries rather than trains, which is the one that matters inside Beppu: the town’s eight hot spring districts are joined by the Kamenoi buses, not by rail.

Sold on Klook. Booking through these links costs you nothing extra and sends a small commission our way.

Common questions

Beppu questions

Is Beppu really tattoo friendly?

For the city’s own bathhouses, yes, and in writing: Beppu City publishes a tattoo attribute for each bath it runs, and where it says yes there is no seal and no conversation. That covers the twelve municipal baths and a handful of others in the same system. It does not cover the hotels, several of which refuse, or the privately run baths the city calls friendly without the operator saying so.

How much is a municipal bath, and what do I need?

Between 100 and 700 yen depending on the bath, paid at the door or into an honesty box. Most of them have a changing room, a tiled tub and nothing else: no towel, no soap, no lockers. Bring a small towel, or buy one at the counter where there is one.

Which districts are worth the trip?

Beppu is eight hot spring districts, not one town, and the water differs between them. Kannawa steams from the street and has the mushi-yu, the steam bath over herbs. Myoban is the sulfur one, up the hill, with milky water. The station area and Hamawaki are where the everyday city baths are. Kankaiji is the hotel district, and it has no tattoo-friendly public bath at all.

How do I get there?

About one hour and fifty-five minutes from Hakata on the Sonic, JR Kyushu’s limited express up the north-east coast. It reverses direction at Kokura and carries on as the same train, so stay in your seat. From Oita Airport the Air Liner bus takes about fifty minutes and is the usual way in; there is no airport bus from Fukuoka Airport to Beppu.

More places to bathe

Other guides

All eighteen guides are live.

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