Ryokan Iroha
旅館 いろは
Does Ryokan Iroha allow tattoos? In a private bath
Three of Iroha's rooms have a rock bath of their own, built of boulders in a fenced corner of greenery, and the shared bath splits its water into hot, warm and cool tubs.
Iroha publishes no tattoo rule. Three of its rooms have a private open-air rock bath, so a tattooed guest who books one of them can bathe in private and stay out of the shared baths.
The bath
Three of the twelve rooms have an open-air bath reserved for that room. The inn's photos show a rock bath of piled boulders around a floor of dark flagstones, a spout of spring water falling in between the rocks, and shrubs and a timber fence around it. The inn invites you to take your own time in it. Ask for one of these three rooms when you reserve.
The water is a weakly alkaline simple spring, run straight from the source without recirculating. The inn lists neuralgia, high blood pressure and diabetes among its uses. Indoors, the bath is split into three tubs at high, medium and low temperature, so you can pick the heat that suits you, and a jet bath works on tired muscles. Through the indoor bath are the men's and women's open-air rock baths among trees, which were one mixed bath until 2013. Day visitors can bathe from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., last entry 9 p.m., for ¥400 (¥200 for children of elementary-school age).
The hotel
A ryokan of twelve rooms, three of them with an open-air bath, which describes its rooms as old-fashioned and set among greenery. Rooms have air conditioning, a television, towels, yukata (a light cotton robe) and a down futon. Breakfast (7 to 8:30 a.m.) and dinner (5:30 to 8 p.m.) are served in your room. There are banquet halls of 64 and 30 mats, karaoke and massage for a fee, an indoor gateball court, rental bicycles, and shogi (Japanese chess), go and mahjong sets.
Good to know
- Meals come to your room, breakfast from 7 a.m. and dinner from 5:30 p.m.
- Choose your temperature in the indoor bath's three tubs, hot, warm and cool.
- Book by phone; the inn's own site takes no online reservations.
Getting there
Iroha gives road times only: about 8 minutes by car from the Ueki interchange on the Kyushu Expressway, about 35 minutes by taxi from Aso Kumamoto Airport and about 45 minutes by taxi from JR Kumamoto Station. The inn lists pickup among its services but does not say from where; ask when you book by phone.
Kumamoto STN · Taxi from JR Kumamoto Station
Not walkable.
About 45 minutes by taxi from Kumamoto Station; pickup offered, place not stated.
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, or reserve a private bath by phone.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site: (the hot spring page and the rooms page)
Best for: travelers who want a rock bath on their own room's garden and dinner served in the room
Three of twelve rooms have a private open-air bath; book the room type with the open-air bath. The shared baths are an indoor bath of three tubs at high, medium and low temperature with a jet bath, and men’s and women’s open-air rock baths (rebuilt from a single mixed bath in March 2013). Day visitors 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. (reception to 9 p.m.), ¥400 adults and ¥200 elementary-school children. The inn takes bookings by phone on its own site. Breakfast 7 to 8:30 a.m. and dinner 5:30 to 8 p.m., both in the room.
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