Tsuchiyu Bettei Satonoyu
土湯別邸 里の湯
Does Tsuchiyu Bettei Satonoyu allow tattoos? In a private bath
Satonoyu has nine rooms and four bathhouses, and nobody shares any of them: each party books its turn in the baths, among them two open-air pools reached down a stair through the cedars.
Satonoyu publishes no tattoo rule, and it needs none: every bath on site is taken by one party at a time, booked after arrival, and each of the nine rooms has its own tub of source water. A tattooed guest never shares a bath here.
The bath
The water is an alkaline simple spring, run into the tubs as it flows. The inn lists it for neuralgia, muscle pain, cold sensitivity, fatigue and skin complaints, and says it has a calming effect.
There is no shared bath. Each party books its turn after arrival and has a bathhouse to itself for 30 to 40 minutes. Shinpeki is the one the inn shows first: two open-air baths at the bottom of a stair through a stand of cedars, a large pool edged in cypress and rock and, further in, a small octagonal tub, with the virgin forest of the gorge all around. Mizuhanada is a roofed half-open-air cypress bath facing the same forest, with a place to rest. Hajizome is made of ancient cypress that the inn says is about a thousand years old, cut from fallen trees in deep mountains. Seiran pairs a half-open-air cypress bath with an indoor one walled in glass on three sides. Mizuhanada and Shinpeki are open from 2 to 10:30 p.m., the other two until 11 p.m., and all four from 5:30 to 10 a.m.
Every room has its own tub as well. The Shunyo and Teriha suites have an indoor tub of ancient cypress fed from the source, and the two Keizen rooms have an open-air bath.
The hotel
Nine rooms in three grades. Shunyo (three rooms) and Teriha (four) are two-room Japanese suites; three of the Teriha rooms have two semi-double beds. Keizen is the top grade: Kobushi, a Japanese-modern room, and Hanamura, a detached house of three rooms of 10, 8 and 7.5 mats. Dinner is a kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) of nine or ten courses that changes every month. The inn closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays outside busy seasons. Check-in 2 p.m., check-out 10:30 a.m.
Good to know
- Book your bath times when you arrive; each slot is 30 to 40 minutes.
- Free pickup from the Tsuchiyu Onsen bus stop, arranged in advance.
- Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays, except in busy seasons.
- Check-in from 2 p.m., and the baths open at the same hour.
Getting there
From stand 7 at Fukushima Station's east exit, take the bus to Tsuchiyu Onsen, about 45 minutes and ¥950 for an adult; the inn suggests the 2 or 2:45 p.m. bus on weekdays and the 1:30, 2:30 or 3:30 p.m. bus at weekends. Tell the inn in advance and it will pick you up at the Tsuchiyu Onsen stop. A fixed-fare taxi from the west exit, booked ahead, takes about 35 minutes for ¥6,000. Drivers leave the Tohoku Expressway at Fukushima-Nishi, about 19 minutes away.
Tsuchiyu Onsen bus terminal · Fukushima Kotsu bus from Fukushima Station (east exit, stand 7)
Not published; the inn picks up at the stop.
Free pickup from the Tsuchiyu Onsen bus stop on advance notice; bus about 45 minutes, ¥950.
Where it is
Tsuchiyu Onsen bus stop
- Tohoku Shinkansen 1 hr 35 min from Tokyo
- Fukushima Kotsu bus 42 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR East Pass from ¥35,000 · 5 or 10 consecutive days Covers the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Fukushima, the Yamabiko or the Tsubasa.
- 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 ()
Best for: couples who want a forest open-air pool to themselves and a cypress tub in the room
Four bathhouses, all on a private system: each party books a slot after arrival and has the bath for 30 to 40 minutes. Mizuhanada (a roofed half-open-air cypress bath facing old-growth forest) and Shinpeki (two open-air baths down steps through cedars, a large one edged in cypress and rock and a small octagonal tub) run 2 to 10:30 p.m. and 5:30 to 10 a.m.; Hajizome (an indoor bath of ancient cypress) and Seiran (a cypress half-open-air bath and an indoor bath with glass on three sides, with a powder room) run 2 to 11 p.m. and 5:30 to 10 a.m. Rooms: Shunyo (3) and Teriha (4) are two-room suites with an indoor tub of ancient cypress fed from the source; Keizen (2) are the luxury rooms with an open-air bath, Kobushi and the detached three-room Hanamura. Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays except in busy seasons. Children under 2 stay free. Check-in 2 p.m., check-out 10:30 a.m.
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