Hotel Tokaien
ホテル東海園
Does Hotel Tokaien allow tattoos? In a private bath
Hotel Tokaien has the highest site in Nishiura Onsen and a view of Mikawa Bay from every room. Three private open-air baths face the sunset, and the hotel recommends booking one for that hour.
The hotel publishes no tattoo rule for its large baths. It has three private open-air baths, reserved by phone for 50 minutes at 4,400 yen, and guest rooms with an open-air bath of their own. The private baths are kept for staying guests except on certain days.
The bath
The hotel has three private open-air baths and charges ¥4,400 for 50 minutes. They are booked by phone, and the hotel warns that once every slot is taken no more can be added. The first session starts at 4 p.m. and the last at 10 p.m. Except on certain days they are for staying guests only. The hotel's own suggested day puts the private bath at dusk, to watch the sun go down over the bay, or later for the night view, and says the baths are large enough for a family. Its photo shows a stone-rimmed tub behind a glass rail, with small islands in the water below.
The guest rooms with an open-air bath face the same view. They come as a single room or as a pair of connecting rooms that the hotel suggests for families.
The shared baths are on a larger scale. Indoors there are a marble bath, a cypress bath and three sauna rooms. Outside there are a marble open-air bath, a cypress open-air bath and two jacuzzis, one Western and one Japanese in style. Men and women each have one side, and the sides swap by time so that everyone can use both. Hours are 3 to 11 p.m. and 6 to 9 a.m. The spring is Nishiura Onsen's alkaline simple spring, listed for joint pain, muscle pain and fatigue.
The hotel
Tokaien is a large resort ryokan with a main building, an east wing and the open-air bath rooms, all with an ocean view; the hotel says the bay can be seen from anywhere in the building. Dinner is a buffet of about 40 dishes or a kaiseki course built on fish from Nishiura's port. There are a sky lounge, a tea lounge, a karaoke room, table tennis, an esthetic salon and a convention hall for 450. In summer a private elevator takes guests down toward the swimming beach, three minutes away on foot. Parking holds 100 cars.
Good to know
- Private baths are ¥4,400 for 50 minutes, by phone, with starts from 4 to 10 p.m.
- Staying guests only for the private baths, except on certain days.
- Both bath sides in one stay: the marble and cypress halls swap between men and women.
- An elevator to the beach in summer, three minutes on foot from the hotel.
Getting there
From Nagoya, take the JR Tokaido Line to Gamagori and change to the Meitetsu Gamagori Line for Nishiura, the station for Nishiura Onsen. The hotel's access page gives road directions from the Otowa-Gamagori and Okazaki interchanges and refers rail travelers to a route planner; it prints no train times and no shuttle timetable. The Nishiura Onsen inns share a free microbus from Nishiura Station in mid-afternoon, so confirm a pickup with the hotel when you book. The car park holds 100 cars.
Nishiura STN · Meitetsu Gamagori Line
The hotel publishes no walking time.
Confirm the station pickup with the hotel; its access page gives road directions only.
Where it is
Hotel shuttle stop
- JR Tokaido line 45 min
- Meitetsu Gamagori line 10 min
- inns' free microbus 5 to 10 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR Mt. Fuji-Shizuoka Area Tourist Pass Mini ¥6,500 · 3 consecutive days Worth it only if Shizuoka or Mount Fuji is on the same trip.
- 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, or reserve a private bath by phone.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (private open-air bath page, rooms page and facilities page):
Best for: families who want a roomy private open-air bath facing the sunset over Mikawa Bay
Private open-air baths: three, 50 minutes for 4,400 yen, last start 10 p.m., first start 4 p.m., booked by phone; if every slot is taken there is no waiting list. Rooms with an open-air bath come in one-room and two-room layouts. The large baths and open-air baths, one side each for men and women, swap by time so guests can try both.
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