Goshono-Yu
御所の湯
Does Goshono-Yu allow tattoos? Yes!
Named for an imperial visit recorded in 1267, and the grandest of the seven: an open-air bath planted with Tajima mountain trees that borrows the wooded slope behind it.
No restrictions. Tattoos of any shape and size, nothing to cover.
The bath
The name goes back to Ankamon-in, elder sister of Emperor Go-Horikawa, whose visit in 1267 is recorded in the chronicle Masukagami. The building is modeled on the Imperial Palace in Kyoto: a curved gable over the entrance, dark lattice walls, a pond below the steps and, inside, painted screens in the foyer and lounge and Japanese flowers on the panels of the high ceiling.
The open-air bath is a wide pool floored with flat blue-green stone and set with boulders, backed by a stone wall and a timber-framed hall, with maple branches reaching over the water. The planting of Kinki mame-zakura cherry and Mitsuba azalea is meant to evoke the Tajima mountains. The tourism office describes natural light and a waterfall that can be heard from the water, and calls it the “water of beauty.” Like the town’s other bathhouses it draws on Kinosaki’s shared spring.
Hours at Goshono-yu are 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., with entry until 10:30 p.m., and it closes every Thursday. Adults pay ¥800 and children 400. Day visitors doing the round of bathhouses can buy the ¥1,500 Yumepa here instead.
Good to know
- Built after Kyoto’s Imperial Palace, with painted screens and a flower-painted ceiling inside.
- Live crowd status for each bathhouse is posted on the tourism association’s site.
Getting there
Kinosaki-Onsen STN · JR San’in line
Beside Onsenji temple, a short walk.
From Osaka, the Kounotori limited express reaches Kinosaki-Onsen in about 2 hours 40 minutes; the Kinosaki runs from Kyoto and the Hamakaze from Sannomiya and Himeji. All seven bathhouses are within walking distance of each other.
Where it is
Kinosaki-Onsen STN
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR Kansai Wide Area Pass ¥12,000 · 5 days Worth it if you’re riding the Kounotori to Kinosaki and back.
- Japan Rail Pass from ¥53,000 · 7, 14 or 21 days For a trip that takes in several regions by Shinkansen and JR lines.
The town’s policy, not the building’s
This is one of Kinosaki’s public bathhouses, and the rule belongs to the town rather than to this particular building. How Kinosaki’s Yumepa system works →
What happens when you arrive
Buy a ticket at the window, or show your Yumepa, and go in. There’s nothing to cover.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (Toyooka City / Kinosaki tourism association, English)
Read on: visitkinosaki.com/plan/visitor-info/guides/tattoos-in-kinosaki-onsen/
All seven public hot springs in Kinosaki Onsen allow tattoos of all sizes, with no need to cover them up
The operator’s own wording. Show it if anyone asks.
Best for: bathers who want the grandest bathhouse, with an open-air bath against the wooded slope
The map shows every hotel close by. We haven’t checked their tattoo rules: sleep there, bathe here. Search Booking.com instead
Booking through this link 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.
For current hours and prices, see the official website.