Gero Onsen Yamagataya
下呂温泉山形屋
Does Gero Onsen Yamagataya allow tattoos? In a private bath
Seven open-air baths of different shapes sit in a row above the Hida river here, reservable by the 45 minutes, with the largest taking a whole family at once.
The refusal here is flat and it is limited. Yamagataya says that regardless of where the tattoo is or how big it is, and with seals ruled out as well, tattooed guests may not enter the large bath or its open-air bath. The sentence names those two baths and stops. The seven reservable open-air baths and the rooms with their own tubs are governed by nothing, which is what makes a stay work.
Show this at the front desk
刺青・タトゥーが入ったお客様は、部位・大きさ・種類（シールも不可）に関係なく、大浴場及び露天風呂にはご入浴はいただけません。
The operator’s own wording, to show at the desk if you need to.
Where it is
Nagoya STN
Hida, JR’s limited express on the Takayama line 1 h 50
Takayama STN
Hotel locationGero STN
JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass Five days for 19,800 yen on JR trains between Nagoya, Gero, Takayama and Toyama, with six reserved seats, which covers the Hida from Nagoya to Gero both ways. Worth it if Takayama, Shirakawa-go or Kanazawa is on the same trip. Sold on Klook.
What happens when you arrive
Skip the shared baths and reserve the private one the way this page describes. Once the door is closed, the bath is yours.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (the bath-conditions block on geroyamagataya.com/spa/, repeated as an FAQ answer at /faq/). The wording covers the large bath and its open-air bath only.
Read on: geroyamagataya.com/spa/
Best for: Seven riverside baths you can reserve, including one big enough for a group
The seven reservable open-air baths run along the Hida river. Tamayura, the large one, is 5,500 yen for 45 minutes; the other six are 4,400 yen for 45 minutes. Day visitors can use them for an extra 1,100 yen a head with a towel, plus the 100 yen bathing tax, and a bath towel rents for 330 yen. Soap and shampoo are not to be used in the reservable baths, which are open 16:00 to 22:00. There are also retro-modern rooms with their own open-air bath in the Tosenkaku wing.
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