Kikuchi Onsen, central Waifu, beside the bamboo grove of Shokanji temple Hotel (83 rooms in two buildings) ★★★☆☆

Kikuchi Kanko Hotel

菊池観光ホテル

Does Kikuchi Kanko Hotel allow tattoos? Yes, covered

Cover seal required

Kikuchi Kanko Hotel lets a tattooed guest into its rock-lined open-air baths below the Shokanji bamboo grove if one 8 cm × 10 cm (3.1 × 3.9 in) seal covers the tattoo.

The hotel turns tattooed guests away from its large baths as a rule, but makes an exception when one 8 cm × 10 cm (3.1 × 3.9 in) cover seal hides the tattoo completely. The hotel does not supply seals, so bring your own. A tattoo too big for a single seal is refused in the shared baths.

Show this at the front desk

タトゥーなどを入れたお客様の大浴場のご利用は、原則お断りしています。ただし、8cm×10cmのカバーシール１枚で見えないようカバーしていただいた場合は、この限りではありません。シールはお客様ご自身で持参願います。

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

Illustration of Kikuchi Kanko Hotel in Kikuchi Onsen, central Waifu, beside the bamboo grove of Shokanji temple

The bath

The water is Kikuchi Onsen's alkaline simple spring from a 300-meter bore, 48.2°C at the source and pH 9.6, clear, tasteless and odorless. The hotel cools it to 40 to 42°C by adjusting the flow through the year. It calls the water slippery and good for the skin, and asks bathers not to rinse it off afterward. It lists fatigue, muscle and joint pain, stiff shoulders, bruises, chronic digestive trouble and poor circulation among its uses.

There are two sets of large baths. The main building's indoor baths are fed straight from the source and swap between men and women every day. The east building's indoor baths sit under a high ceiling with a wall of glass; they are partly filtered overnight so they can open again in the morning, though fresh water keeps overflowing. Outside the east building are men's and women's open-air rock baths at the foot of the Shokanji temple bamboo grove, also source-fed, with some tap hot water mixed in during the coldest weeks. All the baths open 3 to 11:30 p.m. and 6 to 9 a.m.

The hot spring page also shows a private open-air bath among the rocks and bamboo fencing, without a price or booking terms. The one special room in the east building has its own rock bath, fed straight from the source.

The hotel

An old-established hotel of 83 rooms run by BBH Hotel Group. The main building has standard Japanese, Western and combined rooms on floors three to seven, with unit baths. The east building holds 35 Japanese rooms of 12.5 mats plus an anteroom on floors seven to thirteen, with separate bath and toilet and views from the upper floors, and the special room with a living room, bedroom and rock bath. Dinner is a buffet of about 35 Japanese and Western dishes from 6 p.m. (last entry 7:30 p.m.) with ninety minutes of free drinks. Every room is non-smoking.

Good to know

Bring your own seal, one 8 cm × 10 cm (3.1 × 3.9 in) patch; the front desk does not sell them.
The front desk closes from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., with staff on hand for emergencies only.
Free bicycles at the front desk, first come, first served, for errands and sightseeing nearby.
Parking is free, with 60 spaces.

Getting there

From Kumamoto Station, take the Kumamoto Dentetsu bus bound for Kikuchi Onsen; the hotel puts the ride at about 80 minutes. Get off at the Kikuchi Onsen stops in the middle of the spa; the hotel publishes no walking time from the bus. By car the hotel is about 20 minutes from the Ueki interchange on the Kyushu Expressway, 30 minutes from Kumamoto Airport and 50 minutes from central Kumamoto.

Kumamoto STN · Kumamoto Dentetsu bus bound for Kikuchi Onsen
Not walkable.

Bus about 80 minutes to Kikuchi Onsen; the hotel gives no walking time from the stop.

Where it is

Kikuchi Kanko Hotel · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · open in Google Maps

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

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 hot spring page, under its notes on bathing)

Best for: a tattoo small enough for one seal, and a buffet dinner with ninety minutes of free drinks

One seal of 8 cm × 10 cm (3.1 × 3.9 in), brought by the guest. The main building’s large baths swap sides daily; the indoor baths in the main building and the special room are fed straight from the source, while the east building’s indoor baths are partly filtered overnight so they can open again in the morning. The open-air baths are source-fed but may take some tap hot water in the coldest weeks. Baths open 3 to 11:30 p.m. and 6 to 9 a.m. The hotel shows a private open-air bath on its hot spring page but publishes no price or booking terms for it. Bathing tax of ¥150 is charged on top of the room. Run by BBH Hotel Group.

Book your stay

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All Kikuchi and Ueki listings →