Tattoo friendly onsen in Hita and Amagase

Hita Onsen Kizantei Hotel

日田温泉 亀山亭ホテル

Kizantei’s FAQ lets tattooed guests into the large bath and asks them to cover the tattoo with a seal out of consideration for others, naming no size. The bath in every room uses hot spring water, and two private baths can be reserved for 50 minutes for a fee.

お体に刺青やタトゥーのあるお客様でも大浴場をご利用いただけます。ご利用の際はシールで隠すなど、他のお客様へのご配慮をお願い致します。

Best for: a Shigaraki-ware tub of flowing spring water at a window over the Mikuma river

The hotel says every room’s bath uses hot spring water. The Premium Twin (38 m2, third and fourth floors) has a Shigaraki-ware view bath of flowing spring water; the Superior Twin and the Premium Japanese-Western rooms 601, 701 and 702 have a spring-water view bath facing the river. Two private baths, Gion-no-yu and Kagetsu-no-yu: guests only, up to four people, ¥2,000 for 50 minutes, seven sittings from 3:30 to 9:50 p.m. Children in diapers may not use the tubs; a baby bath is provided. Full renovation finished March 2024.

Sanso Tensui

山荘天水

Sanso Tensui publishes no tattoo rule. Staying guests can use any of its five private baths for free, and the three special rooms and the open-air Japanese rooms have their own spring-fed tub, so a tattooed guest never has to use the shared baths.

Best for: five free private baths and a half-open-air spring tub on your own terrace

Five half-open-air private baths: Hinoki-yu (cypress), Yama-yu and Kawa-yu (rock), Kiri-yu (cut stone) and Kama-yu (with jets). Free for staying guests, 45 minutes a turn, taken 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Day visitors pay ¥2,500 for 45 minutes, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., chosen on the day with no booking. The special rooms Asamoya, Kasumi and Kawori (75 to 85 m2) have a half-open-air bath, an indoor bath and a private terrace; Japanese rooms A and B have a half-open-air bath. The water is 100 percent source water with some water added. Amagase Station has no taxis; the inn picks up free if told ahead.

Okuhita Onsen Umehibiki

奥日田温泉 うめひびき

Umehibiki publishes no tattoo rule. It keeps three private hot spring baths for staying guests, booked for 60 minutes at ¥2,200, and several room types have their own open-air and indoor bath, so a tattooed guest can stay without using the large baths.

Best for: a reserved private hot spring bath of cypress, rock or stone, or a suite with its own open-air tub over the gorge

The three private baths (cypress, rock and stone) are for staying guests only, ¥2,200 for 60 minutes, by reservation. Rooms with an indoor and an open-air bath: the detached Ryukyo (about 105 m2), the annex Oshuku suite, semi-suite and deluxe, and Nanko on the main building’s first floor. The inn does not say whether the room tubs carry spring water. Its spring is a simple spring, recirculated, with water added and heated. Opened November 2017 by Oyama Yume Kobo, a JR Kyushu group inn. Station pickup from Hita at 3:15 and 4:15 p.m., booked three days ahead.

Ukiha Bekkan Shinshiyo

浮羽別館 新紫陽

Shinshiyo publishes no tattoo rule. Four room types have an open-air bath on their own deck, and the inn has a private open-air bath and a private hot spring room, Skyspot, that it sells to its staying guests, so a tattooed guest can avoid the shared baths.

Best for: a deck tub above the Amagase gorge, in an inn decorated top to bottom with hydrangeas

Rooms with an open-air bath: Futen (Japanese-Western, Hollywood twin and 8 mats, 18 m2 deck), Fugetsu (8-mat Japanese room, 18 m2 deck) and the Western rooms Tsukiakari and Tsukisekai (queen bed, 9 m2 deck). The inn does not say whether the room tubs carry spring water. Private open-air bath Seoto-no-yu at the far end of the hydrangea corridor; day visitors may rent it for ¥2,000 before tax plus ¥800 per person, and the inn publishes no terms for staying guests. Skyspot, a relaxation room with a private flowing hot spring open-air bath, is sold to Shinshiyo guests: ¥6,000 for two people for two hours, 3 to 9 p.m., booked at the front desk by 6:30 p.m. Day bathing 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., ¥800. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m.

Caffel Hinanosato

caffel ひなのさと

Hinanosato publishes no tattoo rule. Three of its room types have an open-air bath on the room's own veranda, so a tattooed guest can book one of those and bathe without using the shared baths.

Best for: a veranda tub over the Mikuma river at an inn run as a cafe, with free cookies and coffee in the lobby

Rooms with an open-air bath: the Western twin (12 mats in size, one or two guests), the Japanese-Western corner room (28 m2, twin beds and 8 mats, up to four) and the 10-mat Japanese room with a wide veranda bath (up to four). The inn does not say whether the room tubs carry spring water. The shared baths are a 44°C alkaline simple spring that the inn says contains lithium. Formerly Sanyokan, rebranded in 2019. All rooms non-smoking since July 2018.

Mikuma Hotel

小京都の湯 みくまホテル

Mikuma Hotel publishes no tattoo rule. It has one private family bath with an indoor and an open-air tub, open 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. for a fee, and one special room on the ninth floor with its own hot spring bath; either keeps a tattooed guest out of the shared baths.

Best for: a private family bath with an open-air tub above the river, and cypress rooftop baths 50 meters up

One private family bath, Tenryo-no-yu, with an indoor and an open-air tub: paid, 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.; the hotel publishes no fee, length or booking method. The special room on the ninth floor has its own hot spring bath. Other rooms have a small unit bath, which the hotel does not call spring water. All rooms face the river and are non-smoking. Pickup from Hita Station or Hita Bus Center on request after arrival. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m.

Hotel and Restaurant Kizan Club

ホテル＆レストラン KIZAN倶楽部

Kizan Club publishes no tattoo rule. It has no shared bath: its two hot spring baths are taken in private by time slot, free for staying guests, so a tattooed guest bathes alone or with their own party.

Best for: a four-room hotel where every bath is private and free

Two private baths of flowing simple spring water, booked by time slot, free; staying guests use them 3 to 11 p.m. and 7 to 10 a.m. Shampoo, conditioner and body soap provided. Four rooms (three twins, one double), all facing the river, each with a shower booth. Check-in 3 p.m. (last 8 p.m.), check-out 10 a.m. Credit cards are not accepted. Bathing tax ¥150 a person.

Ryokan & Sauna Yorozuya Hita

萬屋 よろづや

Yorozuya publishes no tattoo rule. It has no shared bath: each of its eight suites has its own sauna, cold plunge and hot spring tub, so a tattooed guest bathes in private for the whole stay.

Best for: a suite with its own sauna, a 16.5°C cold plunge and a spring tub at a window on the river

Eight suites of about 70 m2, two to a floor on floors three to six, all facing the Mikuma river. Each has a private sauna for one to four with aroma loyly (four concepts, designed by the sauna producer TTNE), a cold bath held at 16.5°C, a separate hot spring tub, and a cooling-off space open to the outside air. Two suites, Utsukushi and Akari, have hiba-wood tubs at the window. Day plan of eight hours, 2 to 10 p.m., booked on the official site. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m. (extension to noon for a fee).

Momonoki Villa

桃の木別荘

Momonoki Villa publishes no tattoo rule. It rents each of its three cottages whole, and every cottage has its own bath of Amagase spring water, so there is no shared bath to face.

Best for: a group or family who want a whole house with a rock bath of spring water and a deck facing the sunset

Three cottages, each rented to one group: Main Cottage (96 m2, two stories, up to 12) with a half-open-air rock bath for four adults; Family Cottage (72 m2, two stories, up to 7) with a half-open-air granite bath for three or four; Tiny Cottage (50 m2, one story, tatami, up to 6) with an indoor stone bath and a small open-air bath outside the front door for one or two. The operator says the baths use natural Amagase spring water, 24 hours a day. The Tiny Cottage's open-air bath has no boiler and the spring comes out at about 45°C, so it is closed from about November to March. Self-catering kitchens. Check-in 4 p.m. and check-out 11 a.m. (Main and Family); 3 p.m. and 10 a.m. (Tiny).

Yamakisou

山樹荘

Yamakisou publishes no tattoo rule. It is a whole house rented to one group, and its open-air rock bath of flowing spring water comes with the house, so a tattooed guest bathes with no one else around.

Best for: a group renting a whole wooden house with a rock pool of flowing spring water at the edge of the woods

One two-story wooden house for up to eight: three double beds upstairs, four single sofa beds downstairs. Open-air rock bath of natural spring water, flowing without recirculation, for the renting group only, 24 hours a day; there is also an indoor bath of hinoki cypress. Full kitchen, washing machine, covered barbecue terrace and a brick oven; the outdoor barbecue set costs extra. The same operator rents a second house nearby, Nibankan, which has only an indoor bath; this listing is for Yamakisou. No pets; no smoking indoors.

Kotohira Onsen Yume Sansui

琴ひら温泉 ゆめ山水

Yume Sansui publishes no tattoo rule. It rents 16 family baths by the hour, so a tattooed bather can take one alone or with their own party instead of using the shared open-air baths.

Best for: an hour in one of 16 family baths, from river stone to cypress, beside a mountain stream

Sixteen family baths in seven tub types (river stone, mountain stone, iron pot, hollowed-out stone, wooden tub, cut stone, hinoki cypress), all air-conditioned, 60 minutes a room: ¥2,500 on weekdays (¥2,000 for the room Kawasemi), ¥3,000 on weekends and holidays. Family baths 10 a.m. to 9:50 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. on weekends and holidays, last entry 8:50 p.m. Open-air baths ¥800 (¥1,000 at Golden Week, Obon and New Year), children ¥400. Free members’ card: a free family bath after ten visits. Free parking for 60 cars. Two places to stay on or near the grounds (the inn Hatago Kayausagi and Kotohira Guest House) share the open-air baths.

Ogase Tennen-yu Senraku Onsen

おがせ天然湯 せんらく温泉

Senraku Onsen publishes no tattoo rule. It rents eight family baths by the 50 minutes, drained and refilled for every party, so a tattooed bather can soak alone instead of using the shared open-air baths.

Best for: a late-night family bath of flowing spring water, open until midnight every day

Eight family baths, 50 minutes each: four rock baths (Uguisu, Oshidori, Sekirei, Hototogisu) and two cut-stone baths (Yamadori, Yoshikiri) at ¥1,900, two hinoki cypress baths (Kawasemi, Yamasemi) at ¥2,100; ¥200 for each extra 10 minutes. The operator says the water flows straight through and every tub is refilled for each party. Shared open-air baths ¥600, elementary school children ¥300. Open 11 a.m. to midnight on weekdays and from 10 a.m. on weekends and holidays, last entry 11 p.m.

Hita Onsen Genseniya

日田温泉 源泉屋

Genseniya turns away tattooed bathers from its large baths and recommends its private baths instead. Its four private baths are rented by the 50 minutes for up to three adults, so a tattooed bather can soak in the same spring water there.

タトウーが入っていても大浴場は入浴可能ですか　タトウーや刺青がはいっている方は、お断りしています　貸切風呂をおすすめします

Best for: a private soak in self-flowing bicarbonate spring water, five minutes on foot from a JR station

Private baths, 50 minutes, up to three adults (or two adults and three children): enamel ¥1,300, cut stone ¥1,500, hinoki cypress with a tatami floor ¥1,500. Weekdays only: a single bather pays ¥1,000 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and a 30-minute extension costs ¥600 (enamel) or ¥700 (cypress, cut stone). No soap or shampoo in the private baths. Large baths ¥600 plus ¥50 bathing tax. Open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; last entry 7:30 p.m. for the large baths and 7 p.m. for the private baths, or earlier once all are taken. Closed Tuesdays, open on holidays. Formerly Yoake Yakuto Onsen, renamed December 2025.

Umenoyu

秘湯 うめ乃ゆ

Umenoyu publishes no tattoo rule. It has no shared bath at all: its 24 baths are family baths, each rented whole, so a tattooed bather soaks alone or with their own party.

Best for: a family bath of flowing spring water with a window on the valley, chosen from 24 different rooms

Twenty-four family baths, each different, all with a valley window, source-flowing, on coin timers. Plain family baths (20 designs) from ¥2,000 for 60 minutes, 80 minutes on weekdays; two designs with an air-conditioned rest room and toilet, ¥3,000 for 60 minutes (100 on weekdays); two with a rest room, television and toilet, ¥4,000 for 70 minutes (120 on weekdays). Hours noon to 9 p.m. on weekdays (last entry 7:50 p.m.) and noon to 9:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays (last entry 8:20 p.m.); the longer weekday turns run until 6:30 p.m. Closed Tuesdays. Part of the Yunokokoro group, with Sanso Tensui and Yume Sansui.