Myoken Onsen Nemu
妙見温泉 ねむ
Does Myoken Onsen Nemu allow tattoos? In a private bath
Seven ground-floor rooms at Myoken Onsen Nemu open onto an open-air tub of the inn's high-carbonate bicarbonate spring, piped at full strength with no dilution or circulation.
The inn publishes no tattoo rule for its two shared baths. The answer is a ground-floor room: seven of them have their own open-air tub of the inn's high-carbonate bicarbonate spring. The inn also lists a family bath but gives no terms for it.
The bath
The spring is a sodium, calcium and magnesium bicarbonate water at 53°C with 1,172 mg of bicarbonate, 378 mg of free carbon dioxide and 187 mg of metasilicic acid per kilogram, which the inn calls one of the world's rare high-concentration carbonated bicarbonate springs. It adds no water and recirculates nothing; the water passes through heat exchangers so it reaches the tubs without touching the air, and the bubbles settle on the skin in the bath. The inn lists neuralgia, muscle and joint pain, skin disease, cold sensitivity, recovery after illness, fatigue, burns, cuts and diabetes.
Two shared baths sit on the first floor. Iwaburo, the rock bath, is the biggest in the valley and holds a tsubo (a unit of about 3.3 square meters) tub, a reclining bath and an open-air section; Ogon-yu is the golden bath, named for the tint of its water. They swap between men and women, with Iwaburo on the men's side from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and a 10-minute pause at the change. Day visitors come 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., reception until 1 p.m., for 1,000 yen, 500 yen for children and free for infants, with a towel set for 300 yen and shampoo, conditioner, body soap and skin lotion provided.
The seven first-floor rooms are the private answer: each 10-mat room has its own open-air tub of the same carbonated water, fed from the same source as the large bath. The inn also lists a family bath but publishes no count, price or hours for it, so ask at the desk.
The hotel
A three-story building of ten rooms with an elevator, on the Amori River in the Myoken valley: seven 10-mat rooms with open-air baths on the ground floor, two 10-mat rooms without and one barrier-free western room. The restaurant Nemunoki Chaya serves breakfast 8 to 9 a.m., lunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and dinner 6 to 9:30 p.m., with a kids' space and children's menu. Check-in 3 p.m. with last check-in at 8 p.m., check-out 10 a.m. Parking for 30 cars and an EV charger at 2,200 yen.
Good to know
- Book a first-floor room: those seven have the open-air tubs; the upper floors do not.
- Last check-in is 8 p.m., and the restaurant stops serving dinner at 9:30 p.m.
- The Myoken line bus from Hayato Station takes about 17 minutes, and about 10 from Kareigawa Station.
- Day use is short, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with the desk closing at 1 p.m.
Getting there
From Kagoshima-Chuo Station take the JR Nippo Line about 40 minutes to Hayato or Kokubu Station. From Hayato the Myoken line bus takes about 17 minutes, or a taxi; from Kareigawa Station on the Hisatsu Line the bus is about 10 minutes; from Kokubu it is about 20 minutes by bus or a taxi. The inn publishes no walking time from the stop. From Kagoshima Airport it is about 15 minutes by car. Parking for 30 cars.
Hayato STN · JR Nippo Main Line (limited express Kirishima)
Not walkable.
Myoken line bus about 17 minutes from Hayato Station, or about 10 minutes from Kareigawa Station; taxi otherwise.
Where it is
Myoken Onsen bus stop
- Kyushu Shinkansen 1 hr 18 min
- Kirishima express 38 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 you’re coming from Hakata by train.
- Kyushu SunQ Pass Worth it if you’re riding buses around Kagoshima. It covers the airport bus to the spa villages and Myoken and the Kagoshima Kotsu bus from Kirishima-Jingu Station.
- Sakurajima volcano half-day tour Half a day on Sakurajima, the active volcano across the bay from Kagoshima.
- 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 rooms page lists seven first-floor rooms with an open-air bath)
Best for: people who want a carbonated spring tub outside their room and a restaurant on site, 15 minutes from the airport
Ten rooms on three floors with an elevator: seven first-floor 10-mat rooms with an open-air bath of the high-concentration bicarbonate spring, two 10-mat rooms without, and one barrier-free western room. Shared baths: Iwaburo, the rock bath, the largest in the area, with a tsubo tub, a reclining bath and an open-air section, and Ogon-yu, the golden bath; the two swap, Iwaburo men 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. then women, with a 10-minute gap at the change. Family bath listed without count, price or hours. Day use 1,000 yen for adults, 500 yen for children, infants free, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with reception to 1 p.m.; towel set 300 yen. Spring 53°C, 1,172 mg bicarbonate, 378 mg free carbon dioxide, 187 mg metasilicic acid, no dilution or circulation, piped through heat exchangers. Restaurant Nemunoki Chaya 8 to 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and 6 to 9:30 p.m. Check-in 3 p.m. (last 8 p.m.), check-out 10 a.m. Parking 30 cars; EV charger 2,200 yen.
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