Bousui
望水
Does Bousui allow tattoos? In a private bath
Bousui built pavilions on the Hokkawa shore, each with an open-air bath facing Izu Oshima, and gives every room 50 minutes in one at no charge. The inn calls them private gazebos.
The inn publishes no tattoo rule. Every room is given one free 50-minute session in a private gazebo, a seafront pavilion with its own open-air bath, and there are four of them. Two larger premium gazebos can be reserved ahead for 90 minutes at ¥13,200. That is a full private bath for any guest; ask the inn before using the shared halls.
The bath
The private gazebos are small pavilions on the seafront, each with a sitting area and an open-air bath of its own, built so that a couple or family can sit between sky and sea with nobody else in view. There are four: Nami-makura, Hi-no-Nagori, Ukifune and Sazanami, from 56 to 93 square meters. They run from 2 p.m. to 10 the next morning. Each room may use one for 50 minutes at no charge. After you arrive, the staff ask which gazebo and which time you would like; guests who arrive late may find their first choice taken. A paid option adds an hour to the session.
Two newer premium gazebos are bigger, 100 and 138 square meters. They are booked ahead on the inn's site or by phone and cost ¥13,200 for 90 minutes.
The gazebo baths use the inn's own source on the grounds, a sodium and calcium chloride spring. It runs through without being reused, with cold water added because the source is very hot. The shared halls, Shakunage-no-yu and Tsubaki-no-yu, each have an open-air bath and change between men and women around midnight; they are open from 2 p.m. to 10 a.m.
The hotel
A long-established ryokan of 33 rooms on the Hokkawa shore, sleeping 120. Rooms have a cypress bath or a shower booth, all are non-smoking, and several types are named for the Moon Road, the path of moonlight on the sea that Hokkawa is known for. Dinner is served in the Moon Road dining room or in private dining rooms on the second and third floors. Check-in is 2 p.m. and check-out 10 a.m.; an extra hour, to 11 at the latest, costs ¥2,200 a room. The seaside public bath Kuroneiwaburo is across the road.
Good to know
- One free gazebo session a room, 50 minutes, arranged when you arrive.
- Arrive early for your pick of times; the inn allots them in order.
- The premium gazebos are booked ahead and cost ¥13,200 for 90 minutes.
- Tell the inn your train and it collects you at Izu-Atagawa Station.
Getting there
The inn gives 2 hours 20 minutes from Tokyo to Izu-Atagawa Station on the direct Odoriko limited express. The nearest station is Izu-Hokkawa, but because limited expresses stop at Izu-Atagawa, the inn runs its pickup from there; contact it with your arrival time. By car it is about 3 hours from Tokyo by way of Atsugi, Odawara, Atami and Ito. The front entrance is on National Route 135.
Izu-Atagawa STN · Izukyu Line (Odoriko limited express from Tokyo)
Not walkable.
Pickup from Izu-Atagawa Station on request; Izu-Hokkawa is the nearest local stop.
Where it is
Izu-Atagawa STN
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR Tokyo Wide Pass ¥16,000 · 3 days Three days of JR East trains from Tokyo, and the Izukyu line from Ito on to Izu-Atagawa and Izu-Inatori.
- Izukyu Discovery Pass Worth it if your stay also stops at Ito or Shimoda. It covers two or three days in a row on the Izukyu line between Ito and Izukyu-Shimoda, Izu-Atagawa and Izu-Inatori included, and a vacant ordinary seat on the Odoriko. It doesn’t cover the JR part of the ride from Tokyo.
- Mt Omuro and the Izu coast day trip The Mt Omuro lift, the Atami beach road, the Jogasaki cliffs and Ito’s harbor.
- 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: (the private gazebo pages give the four free pavilions, the two premium ones, the hours and how to book)
Best for: couples who want a pavilion and an open-air tub to themselves at the water's edge, included in the stay
Private gazebos, collectively Toki-no-Nagi: Nami-makura, Hi-no-Nagori, Ukifune and Sazanami, 56 to 93 square meters, open 2 p.m. to 10 a.m. One 50-minute use a room is free; the type and time are settled after you arrive, so late arrivals may not get their first choice. An extra hour can be added as a paid option. Premium gazebos of 100 and 138 square meters: 90 minutes, ¥13,200, reserved in advance on the inn’s site or by phone. Water is added to the free-flowing source to bring the temperature down.
Book your stay
- TTrip.comCheck availability
- KKlookCheck availability
Booking through these links costs you nothing extra and earns us a small commission, which keeps this guide free and up to date for our tattoo community. Thanks for your support.