Hanare Furusato Ryokan Otsukien
離れふるさと 旅館大月苑
Does Hanare Furusato Ryokan Otsukien allow tattoos? In a private bath
Otsukien pumps a simple sulfur spring from a well on its own grounds into a half-indoor, half-open-air tub in each of its six detached cottages, and the glass doors between the halves close on cold nights.
Otsukien publishes no tattoo rule. Every one of its nine rooms has its own bath filled from the inn's well: a semi-open-air tub in each of the six detached cottages and an indoor tub in the three new-wing rooms. A tattooed guest can bathe in private and skip the shared bath.
The bath
Every room at Otsukien has a bath of its own. The six detached cottages each have a semi-open-air bath: half of the tub sits indoors in a tiled room, half outside among rocks behind a timber fence, and glass doors can close the two halves off from each other on cold days. The inn says it is there to use at any hour of the day or night. The three rooms in the new wing, opened in 2018, have an indoor bath with a view of a small private garden.
The inn pumps its water straight from a bore on its own grounds into the tubs. It is a simple sulfur spring at 43°C, which the inn calls gentle and silky, a beauty spring that leaves the skin moist. It lists neuralgia, rheumatism, rough skin and fatigue among its uses. Only the shared bath may take a little added water in summer.
The shared baths in the main building are an indoor bath for men and one for women, open from check-in to 10:30 p.m. and from 7 to 9:30 a.m.
The hotel
A family inn run by the okami (the inn's proprietress) and the young master, which recently marked thirty years and renovated part of its main building. The six cottages, each with its own front door, have two connected Japanese rooms for one to four guests. The new wing holds two twin Japanese-Western rooms, Tachibana and Hanamizuki, and the special room Nishikigi with two double beds. Dinner is a kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) that changes monthly, served in the partitioned dining room Mangetsu at 6 or 6:30 p.m.; breakfast rice from a contracted local farm is cooked in a kamado stove to your breakfast time.
Good to know
- The cottage bath is open 24 hours, with glass doors to shut out the cold.
- Bring cash; the inn does not take credit cards.
- No children under 10, and last check-in is 8 p.m.
- Choose your dining seat when you book: floor, table, or a sunken kotatsu (a low heated table) for two.
Getting there
From Kumamoto, take the JR Kagoshima main line to Ueki Station, about 20 minutes, then a taxi of about 20 minutes; the inn runs no pickup. A taxi straight from JR Kumamoto Station takes about 45 minutes, and the same from Kumamoto Airport. By car, leave the Kyushu Expressway at the Ueki interchange, head north on route 3, turn right at the Toyoda light by the Ueki Onsen entrance onto prefectural road 53, and the inn is about 3 minutes on.
Ueki STN · JR Kagoshima main line
Not walkable.
Taxi about 20 minutes from Ueki Station; no pickup service.
Where it is
- Kyushu Shinkansen 40 min
- JR Kagoshima line 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.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site: (the hot spring page and the three room pages)
Best for: a couple or small family who want a detached cottage with a half-indoor, half-open-air spring tub open all night
Six detached cottages (Kunugi, Kiju, Keyaki, Ichii, Kusunoki, Yuzuriha) of two connected Japanese rooms, each with its own entrance and a semi-open-air bath usable 24 hours, for one to four guests. Three new-wing rooms (2018) for two guests each, Tachibana, Hanamizuki and the special room Nishikigi, have an indoor bath looking onto a private garden. The shared baths are a men’s and a women’s indoor bath, open from check-in to 10:30 p.m. and 7 to 9:30 a.m.; only these may take added water in summer. No children under 10. No credit cards. No pickup. Check-in 3:30 p.m. (last 8 p.m.; call if arriving after 5:30 p.m.), check-out 11 a.m. Bathing tax ¥150. Free parking.
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