Ryokojin Sanso
旅行人山荘
Does Ryokojin Sanso allow tattoos? In a private bath
Ryokojin Sanso keeps four private open-air baths scattered through its forest, each free for staying guests for 45 minutes, and three second-floor rooms have an open-air tub of their own.
The hotel publishes no tattoo rule for its two large baths. The answer is its four open-air private baths scattered in the woods, free for staying guests in 45-minute slots booked ahead, plus three second-floor rooms with an open-air spring tub of their own. Day visitors can rent a private bath for 50 minutes.
The bath
Two springs feed the hotel. The Maruo spring is a simple hot spring at 62.4°C, clear and without taste or smell, though its iron turns the mineral flakes black; it fills the indoor tubs. The Iodani spring from Sulfur Valley is a simple sulfur spring at 81.6°C with a faint hydrogen sulfide scent whose color shifts with the weather; it fills the open-air tubs, and the hotel lists neuritis, muscle and joint pain, frozen shoulder, bruises, sprains, cold sensitivity and fatigue for it.
The two large baths, Osumi-no-yu and Kinko-no-yu, each have an indoor tub of the Maruo water and an open-air tub of the sulfur water, with shampoo, conditioner and body soap. Guests use them noon to midnight and 5 to 10 a.m.; day visitors pay 600 yen, or 300 yen for children, between noon and 3 p.m.
The point of the hill is the four private open-air baths in the trees: Akamatsu-no-yu, Hinoki-no-yu, Momiji-no-yu and Shika-no-yu, the last with level access to the tub for a wheelchair. Staying guests book one 45-minute slot per room ahead of arrival, naming the bath and the hour. Evening slots start at 3:30 p.m. and the last runs 9:45 to 10:30 p.m.; morning slots start at 6 a.m. and the last runs 9 to 9:45 a.m. If a bath is free after 6 p.m., the desk will fit in a second. Day visitors can rent one for 50 minutes at 1,200 yen between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. without a reservation.
The hotel
A five-story hotel on the hillside with every room facing south. The second floor holds the three rooms with their own open-air bath: 201 western, 202 an 8-mat tatami room and 203 an accessible Japanese-western room. The third floor has western rooms of 23 square meters and Japanese-western rooms of 46; the fourth and fifth have rooms of about 30 square meters, and room 401 is an accessible family room for up to seven. Staff do not enter rooms except to lay out futon. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 11 a.m., with an extra hour for 2,200 yen.
Good to know
- Book your forest bath before you arrive: one 45-minute slot per room, named bath and hour.
- Call from the Maruo bus stop and the hotel's car comes down in about five minutes.
- Shika-no-yu takes a wheelchair right to the tub; the other three private baths have steps.
- Rooms 201 to 203 have the only spring-fed room tubs; the rest are ordinary unit baths.
Getting there
From Kagoshima-Chuo Station take the JR Nippo Line to Kirishima-Jingu Station, which the hotel names with Kirishima-Onsen Station on the Hisatsu Line as its nearest stations, without giving minutes. From either, ride the bus to the Maruo stop and call the hotel for a free pickup, about five minutes. From Kagoshima Airport the bus to Maruo takes about 30 minutes, then the same pickup. Drivers come about 30 minutes from the airport interchange and turn up an 800-meter mountain road at the Restaurant Ofukuro sign.
Kirishima-Jingu STN · JR Nippo Main Line (limited express Kirishima)
Not walkable.
Bus to the Maruo stop, then phone for the hotel's free pickup, about 5 minutes.
Where it is
Maruo Onsen bus stop
- Kyushu Shinkansen 1 hr 18 min
- Kirishima express 48 min
- Kagoshima Kotsu bus 29 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
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 (the day-trip page and FAQ set out the four reservable private baths and the room tubs)
Best for: walkers who want a 45-minute forest bath to themselves and a south-facing room on the hill
Four private open-air baths: Akamatsu-no-yu, Hinoki-no-yu, Momiji-no-yu and Shika-no-yu, the last reachable by wheelchair to the tub. Staying guests reserve one 45-minute slot per room in advance, naming the bath and time; slots run from 3:30 p.m., the last at 9:45 to 10:30 p.m., and from 6 a.m., the last at 9 to 9:45 a.m. A second bath can be arranged at the desk after 6 p.m. if one is free. Day use 1,200 yen for adults and 600 yen for children, 50 minutes, reception 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., walk-in only. The large baths Osumi-no-yu and Kinko-no-yu each pair an indoor tub of the simple spring with an open-air tub of the sulfur spring; guests noon to midnight and 5 to 10 a.m., day use 600 yen and 300 yen, noon to 3 p.m. last entry. Rooms 201, 202 and 203 have their own open-air spring bath; the other room baths are unit baths without spring water. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 11 a.m., an hour's extension 2,200 yen.
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