Shironoi Ryokan and Shironoi Onsen
城乃井旅館
Does Shironoi Ryokan and Shironoi Onsen allow tattoos? In a private bath
Shironoi pumps its own two springs into a pair of storehouse-style private baths under beams salvaged from an old farmhouse, and staying guests use them free whenever one is empty.
Shironoi publishes no tattoo rule. Staying guests get two private baths, Kaede and Momiji, free and without booking: if one is empty, go in and lock the door. Day visitors can rent the same baths, or the small family bath in the inn's public bathhouse next door, by the hour.
The bath
The two private baths, Kaede and Momiji, are what make Shironoi work for a tattooed guest. They are built like old storehouses, with heavy beams taken from a farmhouse overhead, and each has a cut-stone tub big enough for four adults. Windows open onto trees and a moss garden. Staying guests use them free from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.: no booking, just lock the door from inside if one is free, and keep it to 50 minutes. Changing rooms have their own air conditioning, a hair dryer and soaps. The water runs in fresh all the time and is changed each night. In winter the cold stone cools the water early in the morning, so the inn suggests waiting until after 6:30 a.m. Day visitors pay ¥1,500 for 60 minutes.
The inn pumps about 150 liters a minute from two springs of its own. It is Kikuchi Onsen's alkaline simple spring, clear, pH 9.5 and gentle on the skin.
Next door is the inn's public bathhouse, Shironoi Onsen, open since 1977 and free for staying guests. It has three tubs, tile murals of Mount Aso in the men's bath and local children's animals in the women's, and a small family bath at ¥1,000 for 60 minutes. The large bath costs ¥350 and is open 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The hotel
A small inn of nine rooms, founded in 1957, on the cherry-tree approach to Kikuchi Shrine. Four rooms are Western, with two semi-double beds and a veranda or window seat; the others are Japanese rooms with futons for one to four. No room has its own bath or toilet. Dinner is a home-style kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) of about ten dishes, cooked by hand each day: Kumamoto red beef grilled on a ceramic plate, horse sashimi on some plans, and Kikuchi rice grown by the senior okami's family, cooked in well water. The inn says it keeps things simple and old-fashioned.
Good to know
- Lock the door and it is yours: no booking for Kaede or Momiji, just 50 minutes at a time.
- Day visitors can rent a private bath too, ¥1,500 an hour at the inn or ¥1,000 at the bathhouse next door.
- Bring the towel from your room to the public bathhouse; it has no soap or shampoo.
- Free parking for 50 cars, with overflow at the Shimin-hiroba lot three minutes away.
Getting there
From Kumamoto Station, take the Kumamoto Dentetsu bus bound for Kikuchi Onsen to Shimin-hiroba-mae, about 1 hour 5 minutes, then walk about 5 minutes; the inn puts the whole trip at about 1 hour 10 minutes. From Aso Kumamoto Airport, the free Airport Liner runs to Higo-Ozu Station in about 15 minutes, then the Sanko bus toward Kikuchi and Yamaga reaches Shimin-hiroba-mae in about 45 minutes. By car it is about 20 minutes from the Ueki interchange.
Kumamoto STN · Kumamoto Dentetsu bus bound for Kikuchi Onsen
About 5 minutes from the Shimin-hiroba-mae stop.
Bus about 1 hour 5 minutes from Kumamoto Station; from the airport, Airport Liner to Higo-Ozu then the Sanko bus.
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
Skip the shared baths and use one of the private baths. No reservation needed.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site: (the hot spring page, which covers both private baths and the public bathhouse)
Best for: travelers who want a free private bath of the inn's own spring, used as often as they like
Private baths Kaede and Momiji: free for staying guests and for diners at a banquet or meal, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., 50 minutes per use, no booking; each holds four adults. Non-guests pay ¥1,500 for 60 minutes. The public bathhouse Shironoi Onsen next door has a family bath at ¥1,000 for 60 minutes; its large bath is ¥350 and free for staying guests. The inn advises bathing after 6:30 a.m. in winter, when the stone tubs run cool. None of the nine rooms has its own bath or toilet.
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