Jozankei, east side, a couple of minutes above the Futami suspension bridge Hotel

Chalet Ivy Jozankei

シャレーアイビー定山渓

Does Chalet Ivy Jozankei allow tattoos? Yes, covered

Cover seal required

A Western-run hotel on the Jozankei riverbank whose Japanese FAQ sells the answer over the counter: one cover seal, bought at the front desk, and the shared bath is open to you. Every room has its own hot spring bath for anything a single seal will not hide.

Chalet Ivy is the one operator in Jozankei that answers the question with a yes rather than a no. Its own Japanese FAQ says a tattoo that a single small seal can cover is fine in the shared baths, and that the seals are sold at the front desk. Anything larger than one seal, the hotel says, is for the hot spring bath in your room, which every room here has.

Show this at the front desk

タトゥー・入れ墨がある場合も、大浴場には入れますか。小さなシール1枚で隠れる大きさであればシールをご利用いただいたうえでお楽しみいただけます。フロントで販売しております。シールのサイズを超える場合は、お部屋の温泉をお楽しみいただいております。

The operator’s own wording, to show at the desk if you need to.

Where it is

Sapporo to Noboribetsu Onsen is about 1 h 45: the Suzuran, JR’s limited express (a faster train with fewer stops and a fee on top of the fare), then a Donan bus of 21 minutes up to the onsen terminal. Toyako Onsen is the Hokuto, the limited express to Hakodate, as far as Toya, then a Donan bus of 24 minutes around the lake, about 2 h 20 in all. Niseko is about 3 h 25 by way of Otaru and Kutchan, or a direct highway coach for less money. Jozankei has no railway: the Jotetsu Kappa Liner runs there from Sapporo Station in 56 minutes and is booked in advance. Chalet Ivy Jozankei · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · open in Google Maps

What happens when you arrive

Cover the tattoo completely before you go in, to the size on this page. How the seals work, and where to buy them →

How we know

Confirmed from official site (the hotel’s own Japanese FAQ page for the Jozankei property)

Read on: chaletivy.com/ja/jozankei/frequently-asked-questions/

Best for: Buying a cover seal at the desk and getting into the shared bath the same afternoon

One seal is the limit the hotel sets, and it sells them. The shared bath is indoor plus outdoor with a sauna and no cold plunge, and the operator says the open-air bath is fenced for privacy so there is no view from it. Day use is not sold: the bath is for staying guests. The same company’s Niseko houses, Chalet Ivy Hirafu and Weiss Hanazono, answer the same question with a flat yes and no seal at all, so a tattooed traveler moving between the two sees the policy change.

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