Gora Hanaougi
強羅花扇
Does Gora Hanaougi allow tattoos? Yes!
Tattoos are welcome in the large baths, with nothing to cover, and the ryokan says so in its own FAQ. Every room also has an open-air bath of its own.
No restrictions. The ryokan answers the question in its own FAQ: tattooed guests may use the large bath, with no seal and no size named. Every room also has its own open-air bath.
The bath
The large baths, Soun Kakurezato no Yu, draw a spring that once supplied Sounkaku, an old inn on Sounzan. It's about 49.3°C and reddish in color. The ryokan compares it to a natural soap: smooth on the skin, and said to keep you warm long after bathing.
Each side has a large indoor bath and two open-air baths. On the men's side the second tub is granite. On the women's side it's Shigaraki ware, facing the mountains, and the women's side also has a powder room with individual stations. Both have lockable lockers, massage chairs and drinking water, and bath towels are provided. Every corridor in the inn is laid with tatami mats, so you can go down to the bath barefoot. Hours are 3 p.m. to midnight and 5 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Every room has an open-air bath of its own on the ryokan's spring, and the ryokan says the rooms look toward Mount Myojogatake, the peak lit for the Daimonji bonfire in summer. The 11 first-floor bed rooms add a 12 m² terrace to the bath space.
The hotel
Twenty rooms with keyaki wood tables, single-board doors and joinery by craftsmen from Hida Takayama, from 36 m² bed or futon rooms to two special rooms of 75 and 82 m². Kaiseki is served in private dining rooms by a chef trained in Kyoto, with Hida beef sent from Takayama. The lobby has a lattice chandelier and an irori hearth of jindai keyaki. The 2nd-floor bed and Japanese-style rooms don't take children. Check-in is 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. and checkout is 11 a.m.
Good to know
- Arriving by cable car? From Sounzan Station, walk three minutes across the station parking lot to the ryokan's own inclined elevator.
- Reddish spring water in the large baths, a type the ryokan says is rare in Hakone.
- Book a 1st-floor bed room for a 12 m² terrace beside your open-air bath.
Getting there
From Gora Station, call the ryokan when you arrive and a car collects you, usually within about five minutes, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. Drop-offs to Gora run from 9:15 a.m. From Sounzan Station, the top of the cable car, it's three minutes on foot to the ryokan's inclined elevator.
Gora STN · Hakone Tozan line, Hakone Tozan cable car
Free pickup 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.; call on arrival.
Sounzan Station (cable car) 3 minutes on foot, via the ryokan's inclined elevator.
Where it is
Gora STN
- Odakyu line 1 hr 35 min
- Hakone Tozan railway 37 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- Hakone Freepass from ¥7,100 · 2 or 3 days from Shinjuku Worth it if you’re coming from Shinjuku and moving around Hakone. It covers the Odakyu line from Shinjuku and back, then unlimited rides on the Hakone Tozan railway, cable car, ropeway, lake boats and buses. The Romancecar seat fee is extra.
- Mt Fuji and Hakone day tour Lake Ashi’s torii, the pirate ship, Owakudani and Oshino Hakkai, from Tokyo.
- 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
Check in and go to the bath. There's no seal to buy and nothing to mention at the front desk.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (FAQ answers the question directly)
タトゥーがある場合も、大浴場には入れますか？ タトゥーがある場合でも、大浴場にご入浴いただけます。
The operator’s own wording. Show it if anyone asks.
Best for: anyone who wants a yes in writing for the shared bath and a private bath anyway
Communal baths run 3 p.m. to midnight and 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. Because every room has its own open-air bath, the shared bath is a choice here rather than the only option.
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