Wakayama · 4 hours from Osaka · Onsen town

Tattoo friendly onsen in Nachi-Katsuura

The tuna port at the far end of the Kuroshio line, with Nachi falls and the Kumano shrines behind it and its hot springs out on the islands and headlands of the bay. Its famous bath is a cave that opens onto the Pacific, and the hotel that owns it publishes nothing about tattoos. The two listings here answer with the bath in the room, one of them in its own FAQ.

2 properties

Private baths only

Ink is fine in a private or in-room bath. Communal baths are restricted, or the policy is unconfirmed. What this means

Nakanoshima island, five minutes by boat from the pier Ryokan (island) Confirmed

Kumano Bettei Nakanoshima

熊野別邸中の島

Book the Nagi-no-sho wing and the bath is yours: every room there has an open-air hot spring bath of its own, on an island with six sources. The bath at the water’s edge, Kishu Choumon-no-yu, carries no published rule, so the wing is the answer.

Best for: An island to yourself, and a bath on it that is

The wording is 全室客室露天風呂付きの「凪の抄」; the older Shomon-tei wing does not say the same. Reached by the ryokan's boat from the sightseeing pier. No tattoo policy is published.

Contact

0735-52-1111

〒649-5334 和歌山県東牟婁郡那智勝浦町勝浦1179-9

Full policy and what to expect → Check availability

Katsuura, on the bay Hotel (Kamenoi) Confirmed

Kamenoi Hotel Nachi-Katsuura

亀の井ホテル那智勝浦

Not the large bath or the open-air one off it, whether the tattoo is traditional or fashion — and the hotel’s own answer points at the room instead. Book one of the rooms with a hot spring open-air bath and there is nothing to cover.

刺青、ファッションタトゥー、どちらを入れている場合も、大浴場・大浴場続きの露天風呂のご利用はすべてお断りしております。

Best for: A quoted rule and a way round it in the same sentence

The rooms are sold as 温泉露天風呂付 and 温泉展望露天風呂付. Note the difference from Kamenoi Nara, whose FAQ accepts a seal: this property's does not. Read the property, not the chain.

Contact

0735-52-0333

〒649-5334 和歌山県東牟婁郡那智勝浦町勝浦216-19

Full policy and what to expect → Check availability

Traveler’s note Hotel Urashima’s Boki-do is the reason most people come to Katsuura, and the hotel’s spa page and FAQ say nothing about tattoos either way. A directory reports that the hotel, asked by phone, said tattooed guests are asked to refrain. That is a report, not a policy, and it is not listed on. TAOYA Nachi-Katsuura belongs to a group that refuses outright. Neither is below.

Common questions

Nachi-Katsuura questions

Can I bathe in the cave at Hotel Urashima?

Nobody has published the answer, and this site does not list on a telephone report someone else made. The hotel has six baths across three buildings and no private bath on its pages. Ask the hotel before you book, and ask in writing.

What is the answer in Katsuura, then?

A room with the bath in it. Every room in Nakanoshima’s Nagi-no-sho wing has an open-air bath of its own, on an island reached by the ryokan’s boat. Kamenoi’s FAQ refuses the large bath and points at its rooms with hot spring open-air baths, which is a rule and its answer in one sentence.

Is it worth four hours?

Not for the baths alone. It is worth it for Nachi falls and the Kumano Kodo, with a bath at the end of the day, and it pairs with Shirahama on the way down the coast rather than with anything on the other side of the peninsula.

How do I get there?

About four hours from Shin-Osaka on the Kuroshio limited express to Kii-Katsuura, the last real stop on the line. Nakanoshima’s boat leaves from the sightseeing pier by the station; Kamenoi is on the bay road toward Nachi.

More places to bathe

Other guides

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