Hakone Kowakien Yunessun — Mori-no-Yu
森の湯
Cover seal required — 2 designated seals must fully cover the tattoo
Onsen with tattoos allowed under a cover seal
A cover seal is a waterproof skin-coloured patch that hides a tattoo well enough to satisfy a bath’s rules. Plenty of places in Japan that will not admit a visible tattoo will admit a covered one — but only up to a size they set themselves, and that size is almost never in the booking listing.
The number below is the one that decides your trip. It ranges from 8×10 cm to 30×30 cm across this list — an eleven-fold difference in area — so a tattoo that is fine at one property is refused at another in the same chain’s next town. Measure yours before you book, not at the front desk.
Cover seal size allowed, smallest first
16 of the 27 properties below publish an exact measurement. The rest say a seal is required without naming a size — ask before you book.
| Property | Where | Seal size allowed | In inches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone | Hakone-Yumoto (Yumoto-chaya) | 8 × 10 cm | 3.1 × 3.9 in |
| Vessel Hotel Campana Kyoto Gojo | Gojo, Shimogyo-ku | 8 × 10 cm | 3.1 × 3.9 in |
| APA Hotel Keisei Narita Ekimae | Hanazaki-cho, Narita — 1 min from Keisei Narita station | 10 × 12 cm | 3.9 × 4.7 in |
| Tokyo Toyosu Manyo Club | Toyosu, Koto-ku | 11 × 20 cm | 4.3 × 7.9 in |
| Yokohama Minatomirai Manyo Club | Minatomirai, Yokohama | 11 × 20 cm | 4.3 × 7.9 in |
| Hanayama Onsen Yakushi-no-Yu | Narukami, Wakayama city | 11 × 20 cm | 4.3 × 7.9 in |
| Hotel Route Inn Grand Tokyo Toyocho | Toyocho, Koto-ku | 11.4 × 20 cm | 4.5 × 7.9 in |
| Hotel Route Inn Grand Tokyo Asakusabashi | Asakusabashi, Taito-ku | 11.4 × 20 cm | 4.5 × 7.9 in |
| Hotel Route Inn Tokyo Kamata | Kamata, Ota-ku | 11.4 × 20 cm | 4.5 × 7.9 in |
| Hotel Route Inn Osaka Honmachi | Honmachi, Chuo-ku | 11.4 × 20 cm | 4.5 × 7.9 in |
| Hotel Route Inn Grand Wakayama Station East | Wakayama city, by JR Wakayama station | 11.4 × 20 cm | 4.5 × 7.9 in |
| Hotel Route Inn Kusatsu Ritto | Ritto, Shiga — about 25 min from Kyoto | 11.4 × 20 cm | 4.5 × 7.9 in |
| Hotel Route Inn Hikone | Hikone, Shiga — about 50 min from Kyoto | 11.4 × 20 cm | 4.5 × 7.9 in |
| Hotel Route Inn Kyoto Kameoka Ekimae | Kameoka — about 20 min from Kyoto on the Sagano line | 11.4 × 20 cm | 4.5 × 7.9 in |
| Hotel Route Inn Kyoto Kumiyama | Kumiyama — south of Kyoto city, toward Uji | 11.4 × 20 cm | 4.5 × 7.9 in |
| Thermae-Yu Shinjuku | Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku | 30 × 30 cm | 11.8 × 11.8 in |
What size to buy
Measure the tattoo, not the sheet. The limits above are the size of tattoo a property will admit once covered, so what matters is whether your tattoo fits inside that rectangle — a larger seal does not buy you a larger allowance. Measure the longest and widest points, and compare against the column above rather than against the seal packaging.
Anything under about 11×20 cm (4.3×7.9 in) clears most of this list: that size, or the near-identical 11.4×20 cm, is what the two largest groups here allow. Below 8×10 cm (3.1×3.9 in) every property on the table works. Above 30×30 cm (11.8×11.8 in) none of them does, and a cover seal stops being the route — a private bath or one of the places with tattoos allowed outright is what is left.
Waterproof cover seals are sold in Japan at drugstores and at Don Quijote, and in larger sheets online. Bring one rather than assuming the property sells them — most do not.
All 27, by area
Hakone
Hoshino Resorts KAI Hakone
星野リゾート 界 箱根
Cover seal required (8×10 cm (3.1×3.9 in), up to 4 seals, sold on-site, ~JPY250 each)
Hotel Morinokaze Hakone Sengokuhara
ホテル森の風箱根仙石原
Cover seal required — fully covered tattoos accepted (trial policy since Jul 1, 2024)
Hotel Shikinoyakata Hakone Ashinoko
ホテル四季の館 箱根芦ノ湖
Cover seal required — fully covered tattoos accepted (trial policy since Jul 1, 2024)
Kyoto area
Hotel Route Inn Hikone
ホテルルートイン彦根
Admitted if a cover seal hides the tattoo completely. Route Inn’s seals are 11.4×20 cm (4.5×7.9 in), sold at the front desk.
Check availabilityHotel Route Inn Kusatsu Ritto
ホテルルートイン草津栗東
Admitted if a cover seal hides the tattoo completely. Route Inn’s seals are 11.4×20 cm (4.5×7.9 in), sold at the front desk — the most generous allowance of any chain on this site.
Check availabilityHotel Route Inn Kyoto Kameoka Ekimae
ホテルルートイン京都亀岡駅前
Admitted if a cover seal hides the tattoo completely. Route Inn’s seals are 11.4×20 cm (4.5×7.9 in), sold at the front desk — the most generous allowance of any chain on this site.
Check availabilityHotel Route Inn Kyoto Kumiyama
ホテルルートイン京都久御山
Admitted if a cover seal hides the tattoo completely. Route Inn’s seals are 11.4×20 cm (4.5×7.9 in), sold at the front desk — the most generous allowance of any chain on this site.
Check availabilityVessel Hotel Campana Kyoto Gojo
ベッセルホテルカンパーナ京都五条
Admitted if the tattoo can be hidden under two cover seals of 8×10 cm (3.1×3.9 in), handed out free at the front desk. The smallest allowance of any hotel on this site.
Check availabilityOsaka area
Candeo Hotels Kobe Tor Road
カンデオホテルズ神戸トアロード
Two routes, and the second is unusual. Cover seals are available at any time. But the hotel also sets aside a nightly window, 23:00 to 03:00, specifically so guests with tattoos and body art can use the sky spa — its stated reason is the rise in overseas visitors and mutual understanding between cultures.
Check availabilityCandeo Hotels Nankai Wakayama
カンデオホテルズ南海和歌山
Two routes, and one of them is unusual. Cover seals at any time. But the hotel also sets aside 24:00 to 04:00 nightly, when overnight guests with tattoos may use the sky spa with nothing covered. Note the limit: this applies to guests staying at the hotel. Day-spa visitors with tattoos are still refused, at any hour.
Check availabilityCandeo Hotels Nara Kashihara
カンデオホテルズ奈良橿原
Cover seal required. No size limit is published, so ask at the desk before booking if your work is large.
Check availabilityCandeo Hotels Osaka Hirakata
カンデオホテルズ大阪枚方
Cover seal required. No size limit is published.
Check availabilityCandeo Hotels Osaka Kishibe
カンデオホテルズ大阪岸辺
Cover seal required. No size limit is published.
Check availabilityCandeo Hotels Osaka Shinsaibashi
カンデオホテルズ大阪心斎橋
Cover seal required. No size limit is published.
Check availabilityHanayama Onsen Yakushi-no-Yu
花山温泉 薬師の湯
Admitted since 1 July 2025 if a single cover seal of 11×20 cm (4.3×7.9 in), bought from the ticket machine, covers the tattoo completely. Refusing to use the facility’s own seal means refusal of entry. Before that date the ban was absolute.
Hotel Route Inn Grand Wakayama Station East
ホテルルートインGrand和歌山駅東口
Admitted if a cover seal hides the tattoo completely. Route Inn’s seals are 11.4×20 cm (4.5×7.9 in), sold at the front desk — the most generous allowance of any chain on this site.
Check availabilityHotel Route Inn Osaka Honmachi
ホテルルートイン大阪本町
Admitted if a cover seal hides the tattoo completely. Route Inn’s seals are 11.4×20 cm (4.5×7.9 in), sold at the front desk — the most generous allowance of any chain on this site.
Check availabilitySolaniwa Onsen Osaka Bay Tower
空庭温泉 OSAKA BAY TOWER
Refused by default, with an exception: buy the facility’s cover seals at reception and cover the tattoo completely, including anything visible from the yukata worn inside, and you are admitted. The scheme is described as a trial. Sizes and prices are published only as an image, so confirm at the desk.
Tokyo area
APA Hotel Keisei Narita Ekimae
アパホテル〈京成成田駅前〉
Admitted if the tattoo fits under APA’s own cover seals: two seals of 10×12 cm (3.9×4.7 in), maximum, which must hide it completely. Overnight guests get two free per night at the front desk. A tattoo too large to cover is refused.
Check availabilityCandeo Hotels Omiya
カンデオホテルズ大宮
Cover seal required. No size limit is published, so ask at the desk before booking if your work is large.
Check availabilityHotel Route Inn Grand Tokyo Asakusabashi
ホテルルートイングランド東京浅草橋
Admitted if a cover seal hides the tattoo completely. Route Inn’s seals are 11.4×20 cm (4.5×7.9 in), sold at the front desk.
Check availabilityHotel Route Inn Grand Tokyo Toyocho
ホテルルートイングランド東京東陽町
Admitted if a cover seal hides the tattoo completely. Route Inn’s seals are 11.4×20 cm (4.5×7.9 in), sold at the front desk — the largest of any hotel chain surveyed.
Check availabilityHotel Route Inn Tokyo Kamata
ホテルルートイン東京蒲田 -あやめ橋-
Admitted if a cover seal hides the tattoo completely. Route Inn’s seals are 11.4×20 cm (4.5×7.9 in), sold at the front desk.
Check availabilityThermae-Yu Shinjuku
テルマー湯 新宿店
Admitted, but the rule differs by sex and by residency — the only facility surveyed that does this. Overseas tourists (passport or air ticket required, arrival within 90 days) may bathe wearing one facility-issued seal, 330 yen. Women of any nationality may enter with fashion tattoos; anything over 30×30 cm (11.8×11.8 in) needs a purchased seal. Japanese men and long-term residents are refused regardless of size, and a seal does not help.
Tokyo Toyosu Manyo Club
東京豊洲 万葉倶楽部
Admitted if covered by up to two facility-issued seals, each a maximum of 11×20 cm (4.3×7.9 in). The seals must stay on for the whole visit, not just in the bath, and the tattoo must be declared at reception. Turning up without declaring it means being asked to leave.
Yokohama Minatomirai Manyo Club
横浜みなとみらい 万葉倶楽部
Admitted if covered by up to two facility-issued seals of maximum 11×20 cm (4.3×7.9 in). Seals stay on throughout the building, not just in the bath, and the tattoo must be declared at reception.