Umenoyu
秘湯 うめ乃ゆ
Does Umenoyu allow tattoos? In a private bath
Umenoyu has no shared bath at all, only 24 family baths along one corridor in the Oyama valley, each built differently and each with a window on the gorge.
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.
The bath
Umenoyu is family baths and nothing else: 24 of them, each built differently, set along a single corridor in an old-style building on the headwaters of the Chikugo river in Oyama. Every bath has a window on the valley, and the operator says each one runs on source-flowing spring water, timed by a coin meter.
There are three kinds. Most are plain family baths in 20 designs, from ¥2,000 for 60 minutes; on weekdays the turn runs to 80 minutes. Two designs come with a rest room that has air conditioning and its own toilet, ¥3,000 for 60 minutes, or 100 minutes on weekdays. Two more add a television and a larger rest room for a family, ¥4,000 for 70 minutes, or 120 minutes on weekdays. The longer weekday turns are offered until 6:30 p.m.
Hours are 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. It is closed on Tuesdays.
The hotel
Umenoyu stands on wide grounds in Oyama, the valley upriver of Hita, in a building the operator calls retro, with Japanese fittings throughout. Besides the baths there is a rest area within sound of the stream, a shop selling antiques from small pieces to furniture, and a counter with taiyaki and soft-serve ice cream. Its noodle restaurant closed in February 2016. Umenoyu belongs to the Yunokokoro group, which also runs the inn Sanso Tensui in Amagase and the Yume Sansui baths in Hita.
Good to know
- Weekday turns run longer: 80 minutes instead of 60 in the plain family baths, until 6:30 p.m.
- Four rooms come with a lounge and a private toilet, two of them with a television.
- Closed on Tuesdays, the only closing day the operator posts.
Getting there
From Hita IC on the Oita Expressway, follow Route 212 toward Aso and Oguni for about 15 km, about 25 minutes by car by the operator's count. The operator gives no bus, taxi or station directions, so come by car or taxi from Hita Station on the JR Kyudai Main Line.
Hita STN · JR Kyudai Main Line
Not walkable.
By car, about 25 minutes from Hita IC on Route 212 toward Aso and Oguni; no bus published.
Where it is
- 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
There's no shared bath here, so every bath you use is private.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the home and family bath pages describe 24 family baths and no shared bath)
Read on: umenoyu.info/kazokuyu/index.html
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.
The map shows every hotel close by. We haven’t checked their tattoo rules: sleep there, bathe here. Search Booking.com instead
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For current hours and prices, see the official website.