Kaiyu
海癒
Does Kaiyu allow tattoos? In a private bath
Kaiyu’s hot spring is a private bath rented by the hour, so only your own group is in the water. It’s wheelchair accessible, and day visitors can book it too.
The inn publishes no tattoo rule. Bathing without a stay is private use only, by reservation.
What the hotel says about its baths
温泉のみのご利用はご予約貸切でのご利用となります。 家族風呂（貸し切り）: 6000円 / 1時間（車いす対応バリアフリー）
The operator’s own wording.
The bath
The private bath (kazoku-buro, a family bath booked by one party) is ¥6,000 an hour from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., and ¥8,000 from 3 p.m. It has no fixed closing day. Book it by email.
The spring comes from 1 km (0.6 mi) underground and runs free-flowing through tubs lined with granite. Staff heat it over a fire of scrap timber and driftwood, adding wood about once an hour. The water is slightly salty and holds its warmth after you get out. The bath and the lobby look across the garden to the sea. Additive-free soap for hair and body is provided, and towels can be rented.
The hotel
Two buildings. The hot-spring building has cottage-style rooms with cedar floors and cypress beams for 1 to 5 people. A 1980 apartment block has renovated rooms for 1 to 5 and older tatami rooms for 1 to 3. Every room faces the sea and has a kitchenette, fridge, bath and toilet, and there are pet rooms. Specific rooms can’t be requested. Hair dryers can be used only in the hot-spring building. Dinner is a shared meal of big plates at one table, 6:30 p.m., reserved ahead. Breakfast is homemade bread, local fruit and herbal tea, booked after you arrive; it isn’t served over Golden Week, peak holiday weekends or New Year. The whole property is non-smoking.
Good to know
- Bring your own towels, sleepwear and toothbrush. The inn provides no towels, yukata or other amenities in the rooms.
- Cash only, in Japanese yen; no cards.
- Email only. The inn takes questions and bath bookings by email, not by phone.
Getting there
Kaiyu no Yu-mae bus stop · Kochi Seinan Kotsu bus
The stop is named for the inn.
From Okayama, take the Nanpu limited express to Kochi, about 2 hours 25 minutes, then the Ashizuri limited express to Nakamura, about 1 hour 45 minutes. From Nakamura Station, take the Kochi Seinan Kotsu bus toward Cape Ashizuri to Kaiyu no Yu-mae, about 40 minutes. Tell the driver when you board that you want to get off there. Trains and buses are infrequent, so allow extra time.
Where it is
Kaiyu no Yu-mae STN
- JR Nanpu limited express 2 hr 24 min
- JR Ashizuri limited express 1 hr 42 min
- Kochi Seinan Kotsu bus 40 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR All Shikoku Rail Pass from ¥12,000 · 3 or 7 days Worth it if you’re traveling around Shikoku by train.
- Okayama and Kurashiki day tour Korakuen Garden and Kurashiki’s old canal quarter in one day, from Okayama, with an optional sushi-making lunch.
- 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
Arrange your hour in the private bath with the inn by email before you arrive, then go at your booked time.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (the hot spring page)
Best for: long-stay travelers who want a wood-fired spring, a kitchenette and a sea-turtle beach outside the window
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