Kuma, on the Mikuma river in the Hita Onsen hotel strip, by the Hita Onsengai bus stop Hotel (one private family bath with indoor and open-air tubs; one special room with its own hot spring bath) ★★★☆☆

Mikuma Hotel

小京都の湯みくまホテル

Does Mikuma Hotel allow tattoos? In a private bath

Private bath only

Mikuma Hotel puts its all-cypress open-air baths on the tenth and eleventh floors, 50 meters up, which it calls the highest in Kyushu, and it serves dinner on its own roofed boats on the Mikuma.

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.

Illustration of Mikuma Hotel in Kuma, on the Mikuma river in the Hita Onsen hotel strip, by the Hita Onsengai bus stop

The bath

The hotel describes its water as a simple and alkaline simple spring, soft on the skin, and repeats the local names for Hita's springs, a bath for beauty and a bath for couples hoping for children. It lists the water for neuralgia, nerve paralysis, joint and muscle trouble, fatigue and rheumatism. The large observation bath and two all-cypress open-air baths, Tsuki-utsushi-no-yu and Tenku-no-yu, sit on the tenth and eleventh floors, 50 meters above the ground, which the hotel calls the highest in Kyushu; at night it says the lights of the river boats look like a second sky. Bathing runs 6 a.m. to midnight. Day visitors are taken noon to 3 p.m. when bookings allow, so call first.

The hotel has one private family bath, Tenryo-no-yu, with both an indoor tub and an open-air tub. It opens 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. for a fee; ask at the desk, since the hotel publishes neither the price nor the length of a turn. The one special room, on the ninth floor, has its own hot spring bath, and the hotel says the view from it is one it recommends with confidence.

The hotel

All rooms face the Mikuma river and none allow smoking. The standard room is a 10-mat Japanese room for four or five; there are also 12-mat and modern Japanese rooms, Japanese-Western rooms, Japanese twins on the ninth floor, deluxe twin and deluxe Japanese-Western rooms renovated in June 2023, and the special room. Dinner starts at 6, 6:30 or 7 p.m. From late May to the end of October the kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) can be taken on a shared roofed boat that leaves the hotel's own landing about 6:45 p.m. for an hour or more, with cormorant fishing in season, at extra cost.

Good to know

Call from the station for a pickup, and the hotel comes for you from Hita Station or Hita Bus Center in about 5 minutes.
Dinner on the river: shared boats from late May to the end of October, booked with the room.
Check-out is 10 a.m., with an hour's extension for ¥2,200 a room.
Free parking for 60 cars, 5 minutes from Hita IC.

Getting there

From Hita Station on the JR Kyudai Main Line, take the Hita bus to the Hita Onsengai stop, which is right by the hotel. The hotel also picks up from Hita Station or Hita Bus Center: call on arrival and it comes in about 5 minutes. From Fukuoka Airport the highway bus runs to Hita Station, then 3 minutes by taxi. Drivers are 5 minutes from Hita IC on the Oita Expressway.

Hita STN · JR Kyudai Main Line
The hotel publishes no walking time.

Hita bus to the Hita Onsengai stop; or call the hotel on arrival for a pickup in about 5 minutes.

Where it is

Mikuma Hotel · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · open in Google Maps

Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
JR Kyushu Rail Pass from ¥12,000 · 3, 5 or 7 consecutive days Worth it if Hita is one stop on a longer Kyushu trip by train.
Yufuin and Hita day tour Yufuin and Hita in a day, with the Yufuin no Mori train as an option.
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.

How we know

Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the hot spring page and FAQ list one paid private family bath; the rooms page lists a special room with its own hot spring bath)

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.

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Others in the same group

More private-bath options in Hita and Amagase

Hotel and Restaurant Kizan ClubKuma, on the Mikuma river in the Hita Onsen hotel strip, 12 minutes on foot from Hita Station → Ryokan & Sauna Yorozuya HitaKuma, on the Mikuma river in the Hita Onsen hotel strip → Caffel HinanosatoKuma, on the Mikuma river in the Hita Onsen hotel strip, 10 minutes on foot from Hita Station → Kotohira Onsen Yume SansuiKotohira-machi, on the Takase river at the southwest edge of Hita, about 10 minutes by car from Hita Station → Ogase Tennen-yu Senraku OnsenOgase-machi, on Route 210 above the river, east of central Hita → Hita Onsen GenseniyaKawashimo, Yoake, at the western end of Hita, 5 minutes on foot from Yoake Station →

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