Mioto no Yado Sansuiso
水織音の宿 山水荘
Does Mioto no Yado Sansuiso allow tattoos? In a private bath
Sansuiso puts a barrel tub on its eighth-floor roof, open to the sky above the Arakawa gorge, and rents it by the hour alongside three smaller private baths.
Sansuiso publishes no tattoo rule for its shared baths. It rents four private baths by the hour, booked from the room after check-in, and the rooms of its Shisuitei wing each have their own source-fed tub, so a tattooed guest can bathe without sharing.
The bath
Sansuiso draws a simple spring at 60°C, 230 liters a minute, and cools it with natural spring water. The inn lists it for high blood pressure, hardening of the arteries, rheumatism, neuralgia, skin complaints, women's complaints and cold sensitivity. There are five large baths. Taishi-no-yu on the third floor is an open-air bath facing a two-step waterfall, and it changes between men and women through the day. Fuchi-no-yu and Taki-no-yu on the sixth floor swap sides; Fuchi-no-yu has shallow, deep and cooler tubs, and Taki-no-yu looks over the Arakawa gorge. On the first floor, Tsurezure-no-yu (men) and Tamayura-no-yu (women) face a Japanese garden, the women's with a carp pond.
The four private baths are booked on the day, by calling the front desk from the room after check-in, and run from 3 to 11 p.m. Seiten-no-yu, on the eighth floor, is an open-air barrel tub for star-gazing at ¥2,200 an hour. Taru-no-yu is a half-open-air barrel bath and Kawasemi-no-yu an indoor bath, both on the fourth floor at ¥1,100. Oshidori-no-yu on the fifth floor, also ¥1,100, has a shower and a barrier-free layout. The two barrel baths have no shower. The Shisuitei rooms each have their own open-air or half-open-air tub of source-flowing water.
The hotel
The inn has three wings. Shisuitei is the top tier: twin and king rooms of about 56 to 58 square meters, junior suites of 63, the Mizubasho and Shakunage suites of 84 and 92, and a barrier-free Universal Suite, all with their own tub, and a private dining room called Tori for its guests. Kachoen and Shinonome are tatami mats and twin-bed rooms of 10 to 12.5 mats. Dinner is served from 5 p.m.; the main restaurant, Shindachi, has an open kitchen and a garden view. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m.
Good to know
- Book the private baths after check-in, by phoning the front desk from your room.
- The rooftop barrel bath is open-air, with no shower, at ¥2,200 an hour.
- Free car from Fukushima Station's west exit, at 2:30 and 5 p.m., booked by 3 p.m. the day before.
- A free pickup from the Tsuchiyu Onsen bus stop, about 5 minutes; phone on arrival.
Getting there
From Fukushima Station, take the Fukushima Kotsu bus to Tsuchiyu Onsen, about 30 minutes by the inn's count, then phone the inn for its free pickup, about 5 minutes. The inn also runs a free car from the station's west exit at 2:30 and 5 p.m., about 30 to 40 minutes; book it by 3 p.m. the day before. It returns from the inn at 10 a.m. Drivers leave the Tohoku Expressway at Fukushima-Nishi, about 20 minutes away; parking is free.
Tsuchiyu Onsen bus terminal · Fukushima Kotsu bus from Fukushima Station
The inn publishes no walking time; it sends a car on request.
Free pickup from the bus stop, about 5 minutes; free car from Fukushima Station's west exit at 2:30 and 5 p.m., booked a day ahead.
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
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 ()
Best for: couples who want a source-fed tub on their own balcony, or a rooftop barrel bath under the night sky
Private baths, booked on the day by calling the front desk from the room after check-in, 3 to 11 p.m.: Seiten-no-yu (eighth-floor open-air barrel bath, ¥2,200 an hour), Taru-no-yu (fourth-floor half-open-air barrel bath, ¥1,100), Kawasemi-no-yu (fourth-floor indoor bath, ¥1,100) and Oshidori-no-yu (fifth-floor indoor bath with a shower, barrier-free, ¥1,100). Seiten-no-yu and Taru-no-yu have no shower. Every Shisuitei room has an open-air or half-open-air tub of source-flowing water, from twin rooms of about 56 square meters to suites of 84 and 92 square meters and a barrier-free Universal Suite. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m.
Book your stay
- BBooking.comCheck availability
- AAgodaCheck availability
- TTrip.comCheck availability
- EExpediaCheck availability
- HHotels.comCheck availability
Booking through these links costs you nothing extra and earns us a small commission, which keeps this guide free and up to date for our tattoo community. Thanks for your support.