Kikuchi Grand Hotel
菊池グランドホテル
Does Kikuchi Grand Hotel allow tattoos? In a private bath
Kikuchi Grand Hotel says its radon spring is the only one in Kikuchi Onsen, and it runs from the hot tap of every room’s bathtub as well as into a sake-barrel tub made in 1923.
The hotel publishes no tattoo rule. Every room has its own bathroom whose tap runs the hotel's radon hot spring, and there is one family bath for six that can be booked ahead for 50 minutes, so a tattooed guest has two ways to bathe in private.
The bath
There are two private options. The family bath is one tiled room with a tub big enough for six adults, fed straight from the source, with a slope and handrails for anyone who needs help bathing. Its window looks onto a small walled garden with a stone lantern and pottery raccoon dogs. It costs ¥1,100 for 50 minutes and must be booked ahead. Then there is the room bath: every one of the 50 rooms has its own bath and toilet, and the hotel says the hot tap runs spring water, so you can soak whenever you like.
The hotel calls its water the only radium spring in Kikuchi Onsen: a weakly alkaline simple radon spring at 46.7°C and pH 9.1, with 25.4 Mache units of radon. It says the water feels thick and smooth, like a natural skin lotion, and lists neuralgia, muscle and joint pain, frozen shoulder, bruises, poor circulation and fatigue among its uses. A little tap water is added, about 5 percent in summer and 1 percent in winter.
The large baths are Tono-no-yu, with a sake-barrel tub made in 1923 for the local brewer of Kikunoshiro, and Hime-no-yu, lit by daylight, whose open-air bath looks at a waterfall and the hill behind. The two sides swap depending on how busy the hotel is. Hours are 6 to 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to midnight; day visitors may come from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The hotel
A government-registered inn of 50 rooms: 46 Japanese rooms, two Japanese-Western rooms with twin beds, and two special rooms, spread over a main building and east and west wings. Japanese rooms of 12 to 15 mats sleep up to six. Dinner is a seasonal kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) cooked with Kikuchi's spring water, with horse sashimi, taipien noodle soup and wagyu on a ceramic grill as extras; breakfast is a Japanese set. The hotel says the hot spring water is also safe to drink and goes into the morning miso soup and coffee. Parking for 80 cars is free.
Good to know
- Book the family bath when you reserve the room; there is only one, and it cannot be taken on the spot.
- Wheelchair friendly, with a slope and handrails in the family bath and a wheelchair to borrow.
- Last check-in is 9 p.m., check-in from 3 p.m. and check-out at 10 a.m.
Getting there
From the Kumamoto Station-mae stop, take the Kumamoto Dentetsu bus bound for Kikuchi Onsen from platform Kita 1 or Kita 3 and ride to Shimin-hiroba-mae, then walk to the hotel; the hotel puts the whole trip at about 90 minutes and gives no walking time. From Kumamoto Airport, the free Airport Liner runs to Higo-Ozu Station, then the Sanko bus to Kikuchi Joshi-ko-mae, about 70 minutes in all. A taxi from Kumamoto Station takes about an hour.
Kumamoto STN · Kumamoto Dentetsu bus bound for Kikuchi Onsen (platforms Kita 1 and Kita 3)
A short walk from Shimin-hiroba-mae; the hotel gives no minutes.
About 90 minutes by bus from Kumamoto Station, or about an hour by taxi.
Where it is
Kikuchi Onsen bus stop
- Kyushu Shinkansen 40 min
- Kumamoto Dentetsu bus 1 hr 20 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 if Kikuchi or Ueki is one stop in a longer Kyushu trip by train.
- 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: (the hot spring page for the family bath, the rooms page for the room baths)
Best for: a family or group who want a big private bath with grab rails, booked ahead, and spring water in the room tub too
Family bath: one room, ¥1,100 for 50 minutes, booking required, big enough for six adults, with a slope and handrails. Every room’s bath is an ordinary indoor tub, but the hot tap runs spring water. The hotel adds a little tap water to the spring (5 percent in summer, 1 percent in winter). Baths open 6 to 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. to midnight; day visitors 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Book your stay
- BBooking.comCheck availability
- AAgodaCheck availability
- TTrip.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.