Hitoyoshi Ryokan
人吉旅館
Does Hitoyoshi Ryokan allow tattoos? In a private bath
Hitoyoshi Ryokan is a 1934 wooden inn on the river by Aoi Aso Shrine whose two family baths are free to guests and taken on the spot, an hour at a time, whenever one is empty.
Hitoyoshi Ryokan publishes no tattoo rule. It keeps two family baths that staying guests take free for about an hour whenever one is empty, with no booking, so a tattooed guest can bathe alone instead of using the two large baths.
The bath
The inn's spring is a sodium bicarbonate and chloride spring at pH 8.16, weakly alkaline, rich in bicarbonate ions and metasilicic acid, flowing straight through with nothing added. It feels thick on the skin, and the proprietor, a certified onsen sommelier, says it both cleanses and moisturizes and that she splashes it on her face every night. The inn lists it for neuralgia, joint pain, stiffness, bruises, chills, chronic digestive complaints, piles, recovery after illness, cuts, burns and chronic skin disease, and says drinking it settles the stomach. The spring was chosen for a well-known guide to Japan's hundred best hot springs.
There are two large indoor baths, one 80 centimeters deep with a wooden bench to sit on in the water and one a rough rock bath, and they swap between men and women by time so guests try both; they are open to guests around the clock. One open-air bath is for staying guests only, 3:30 to 10 p.m. and 6 to 9 a.m., and closes once the weather turns cold. Day visitors are taken 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the front desk for ¥1,000 (adults) and ¥500 (children), large baths only, towels sold for ¥200, and may be turned away when the inn is busy or cleaning.
The private answer is the two family baths. They are free, there is no booking except in special cases, and a staying guest takes one for about an hour whenever it is empty. Dryers, shampoo, conditioner, body soap, lotion and cleansing foam are in the changing rooms.
The hotel
Built in 1934 in the modern Japanese style of the day, the inn has been a nationally registered tangible cultural property since 2012 and is run by the third-generation owner Horio Kenjiro and his wife Satomi, who came from Korea as an interpreter and has lived here 34 years. The July 2020 flood filled the ground floor to the ceiling; the building was restored with its original look. Rooms are the founding-era sukiya (tea-house style) rooms with high ceilings and shoji screens, larger rooms for families and groups, and rooms with modern touches; the inn does not take requests for a particular room. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m., curfew midnight.
Good to know
- The family baths cannot be booked: take one when it is empty, about an hour.
- Day visitors get the indoor baths only, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; the open-air bath stays closed to them.
- No free towels for day use; the desk sells one for ¥200.
- A foot bath at the entrance, and free parking beside Aoi Aso Shrine with room for buses.
Getting there
From Kumamoto Sakuramachi bus terminal take the Sanko highway bus down the Kyushu Expressway to Hitoyoshi, about 1 hour 50 minutes by the city's count. The inn's own routes all end at the Hitoyoshi IC highway bus stop: from Hakata the Shinkansen to Shin-Yatsushiro (60 minutes) and the B&S Miyazaki bus (40 minutes); from Kagoshima Airport the Kirishima highway bus (50 minutes). It gives no walking or taxi minutes from the stop or from Hitoyoshi Station. Drivers should navigate to Aoi Aso Shrine; the inn's free parking is next to the shrine, open 24 hours.
Hitoyoshi STN · Sanko highway bus from Kumamoto Sakuramachi; B&S Miyazaki bus from Shin-Yatsushiro to Hitoyoshi IC
The inn publishes no walking time.
No shuttle; free parking next to Aoi Aso Shrine.
Where it is
Hitoyoshi Sanko bus stop
- Kyushu Shinkansen 40 min
- highway bus 1 hr 50 min
- 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 only if the rest of the trip is by train.
- Kyushu SunQ Pass Hitoyoshi’s railway has been cut since the 2020 floods, so the way in is the highway bus from Kumamoto. Worth it if you’re riding buses elsewhere in Kyushu too; it covers that bus and the island’s highway lines.
- 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
Skip the shared baths and use one of the private baths. No reservation needed.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the hot spring page lists two family baths, free, about an hour, used when empty)
Best for: a 1934 wooden inn where two free family baths are taken whenever empty
Two family baths, no reservations except in special cases, used for about an hour when free during a stay. Two large indoor baths that swap between men and women by time, one 80 cm deep with a wooden bench, one rock-style, open around the clock to guests; one open-air bath for guests only, 3:30 to 10 p.m. and 6 to 9 a.m., closed in cold weather (an older block on the same page gives 4 to 9:30 p.m. and 6 to 9:30 a.m.). Day use 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., ¥1,000 adults, ¥500 children, large baths only, towels sold for ¥200, guests first. Built 1934, registered tangible cultural property since 2012, flooded to the first-floor ceiling in 2020 and restored. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m., curfew midnight. Room count not published.
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