Hotel New Ohruri
ホテルニューおおるり
Does Hotel New Ohruri allow tattoos? In a private bath
A 100-room Ohruri group hotel eight minutes from the station, with two private open-air baths you reserve at the desk the day you arrive.
The Ohruri group publishes no tattoo rule on the hotel page or in its FAQ. The answer here is the two private open-air baths, reserved at the front desk on the day you arrive, first come first served. Nothing is published about a fee or a time limit, so ask as soon as you check in.
The bath
The hotel draws on its own source, Ruri-no-yu, a weakly alkaline simple spring at pH 8.4 flowing at 124 liters a minute, owned by the Ohruri company. Beyond the usual list of neuralgia, muscle and joint pain and stiffness, the hotel says a weakly alkaline spring lifts old skin cells, so it sells the water on what it does for the skin.
The shared baths are a large indoor hall on the Ruri-no-yu source and a large open-air bath, each with a men's and a women's side. The open-air bath in the hotel's photo sits under a timber roof, edged with big river boulders, with the wooded gorge beyond. No bath hours are published. Soap and shampoo are at the baths, not in the rooms. Day visitors pay ¥500, towel not included, under the group's rule for all its hotels.
The private option is two private open-air baths, kashikiri rotenburo. They cannot be booked in advance: the hotel's page says reservations are taken on the day, and the group FAQ adds that in-house facilities go first come, first served at the front desk. No fee, time limit or photo is published, so ask when you check in, and ask early.
The hotel
An 11-story concrete hotel of 100 rooms for up to 315 guests, with three elevators, run by Ohruri, a Tochigi company that also has hotels in Shiobara and Kusatsu and sells its stays with its own buses and tours. Rooms have a bath, washlet toilet, fridge, safe and yukata (a light cotton robe). Meals are buffets in the dining hall, with banquet courses for groups; some plans add abalone, crab or eel. Check-in is 14:00 and check-out 9:30. The whole building is non-smoking. There is a shop, table tennis, a karaoke box at ¥1,100 an hour and a bird-watching corner.
Good to know
- Ask for a private bath the moment you check in, they are booked on the day only, first come, first served.
- One free bath towel per adult, a second is ¥50; face towels, toothbrush and yukata are provided.
- A free daily walk to Ryuokyo gorge, by the hotel's shuttle, listed on its tour page.
- Day bathers pay ¥500, and bring their own towel.
Getting there
Take the Tobu limited express (Kinu, Spacia or Revaty Kinugawa) from Asakusa to Kinugawa-Onsen Station, about 2 hours. The hotel is an 8-minute walk from the station. The group runs free shuttles, but its shuttle page lists only the Shiobara hotel's station pickups and, for Kinugawa, group pickups of ten or more within Tochigi, so a small party walks or takes a taxi. By car it is about 20 minutes from Imaichi IC, with parking at the hotel.
Kinugawa-Onsen STN · Tobu Kinugawa line (Kinu, Spacia and Revaty Kinugawa limited expresses from Asakusa)
8 minutes.
No station shuttle is published for small parties; groups of ten or more can arrange a free pickup within Tochigi.
Where it is
Kinugawa-Onsen STN
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR Tokyo Wide Pass ¥16,000 · 3 days Worth it if you’re also traveling around Tokyo on JR.
- Nikko Pass All Area ¥8,000 · 4 days Worth it if you’re coming from Asakusa. It covers the Tobu line from Asakusa and back, and Tobu trains and buses around Kinugawa and Nikko.
- Nikko classic day tour Toshogu Shrine, the Irohazaka hairpins, Lake Chuzenji and Kegon Falls, from Tokyo.
- 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 (ohruri.com/hotel/34.html and the group FAQ at ohruri.com/question)
Best for: a low-priced big-hotel stay where a private open-air bath is had by asking at the desk on arrival
Two private open-air baths (貸切露天風呂×2), booked on the day only (予約は当日受付); the group FAQ says in-house facilities are first come, first served at the front desk on the day. No price, minutes, photo or location is published; the September lead called them rooftop baths, which the hotel's page does not say. Bath hours are not published. Day-use bathing is ¥500 without a towel under the group FAQ. Whole building non-smoking. Check-in 14:00, check-out 9:30. Bath supplies are at the public baths only.
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