Orihashi Ryokan
おりはし旅館
Does Orihashi Ryokan allow tattoos? In a private bath
Orihashi has kept an inn at Myoken since 1879, and today all twelve of its detached cottages come with a source-fed open-air bath and an indoor bath of their own on 33,000 square meters of riverside woodland.
The inn publishes no tattoo rule. Every one of its twelve detached cottages has its own source-fed open-air bath and indoor bath, so a tattooed guest can skip the shared Enoki-no-yu open-air bath and the two indoor baths. There is no family bath for day visitors, but the inn sells day plans that include a cottage and its baths.
The bath
The water is a sodium bicarbonate spring carrying sodium, magnesium and calcium, and the inn lists neuralgia, skin disease, cuts and bruises for it. Enoki-no-yu, the big open-air bath, runs 100 percent flow-through from the source and is kept for staying guests and diners; day visitors cannot use it. In the annex Sansuiso is Kizu-yu, a lukewarm bath on what the inn says is the only spring in Myoken that rises by itself, and beside it the indoor Take-no-yu. Those two indoor baths take day visitors for 500 yen from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., reception closing at 2 p.m., and from 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays.
The cottages make the private listing. Each of the twelve has a source-fed open-air bath and an indoor bath of its own; Shouan adds a cold bath and a reclining bath, Chikurin a sauna, and Sensui a round tsubo (a unit of about 3.3 square meters) tub at the foot of the hill, while the riverside cottages open onto decks above the water. There is no family bath to rent by the hour, but the inn sells a cottage day plan for visitors who want a cottage and its two baths for the day, and lunch or dinner guests who book by 5 p.m. the day before use Enoki-no-yu and the indoor baths free.
The hotel
Orihashi was founded in 1879 and its main hall is Taisho-era architecture, renovated in 2016, on about 33,000 square meters of woodland along the Amori River. The twelve cottages sleep one to six: Shouan, Uraku and Chikurin up to six, Kawagiri and Suimei five, Yamasemi, Fukurou, Kajika, the barrier-free Kaede and Sazanka four, Tensen and Sensui three, with renewals in 2022 and 2023 and Refa shower heads in several. Dinner is a kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) of local ingredients. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m. Parking is on the grounds.
Good to know
- Two baths per cottage, one outdoors and one in, both source-fed.
- The Myoken Onsen bus stop is two minutes away, on the airport line that also serves Hayato and Kokubu.
- The cheap shuttle taxi ended March 31, 2026; a taxi from the airport now runs about 4,000 yen.
- Kaede is barrier-free, a riverside cottage with its own baths.
Getting there
From Kagoshima-Chuo Station take the JR Nippo Line to Hayato or Kokubu Station; the inn gives no train time. From either station ride the Myoken line bus toward Kagoshima Airport to the Myoken Onsen stop, about two minutes on foot from the inn, or a taxi. From Kagoshima Airport the same bus line stops at Myoken Onsen, and a taxi is about 4,000 yen. Drivers leave the expressway at Mizobe, 15 minutes away, or Yokogawa, 25. The inn's discounted shuttle taxi ended on March 31, 2026.
Hayato STN · JR Nippo Main Line (limited express Kirishima)
Not walkable.
Myoken line bus from Hayato Station to the Myoken Onsen stop, then 2 minutes on foot; taxi about 4,000 yen.
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, or reserve a private bath.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (the rooms page gives every cottage its own open-air and indoor bath; the FAQ says there is no family bath but a cottage day plan)
Best for: people who want a cottage with its own spring tub at the inn where Myoken's bathing began
Twelve cottages: Shouan, Uraku, Kawagiri, Suimei, Chikurin (with sauna and room theater), Tensen, Sensui (a tsubo tub at the foot of the hill), Yamasemi, Fukurou, Kajika, Kaede (barrier-free) and Sazanka, each with a source-fed open-air bath and an indoor bath; several renewed in 2022 and 2023. Shared baths: the large open-air Enoki-no-yu, 100 percent flow-through, for staying and dining guests only; Kizu-yu, a lukewarm bath on the only self-rising source in Myoken, in the annex Sansuiso; and the indoor Take-no-yu. Day use of the indoor baths 500 yen, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with reception to 2 p.m., from 11:30 a.m. on Tuesdays and Fridays. Lunch or dinner guests use all baths free if booked by 5 p.m. the day before. No family bath; a cottage day plan covers a cottage's baths. Founded in 1879; the main hall dates from the Taisho era. The discounted shuttle taxi ended on March 31, 2026. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m.
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