Pal Club Daichi no Yu
パルクラブ 大地乃湯
Does Pal Club Daichi no Yu allow tattoos? In a private bath
Daichi no Yu pumps its water from 900 meters down, a green-brown bicarbonate spring that the bathhouse says is rare for the area, into men’s and women’s baths and five family baths.
Daichi no Yu publishes no tattoo rule. Besides its men’s and women’s baths it has five family baths, one built for disabled bathers, taken on the day without booking, so a tattooed bather can use one alone.
The bath
The water comes up from 900 meters underground, a bicarbonate spring that runs free into the tubs. The bathhouse calls its green-brown color unusual for the Kuju area and lists it for neuralgia, joint pain and stiff shoulders. The men's and women's sides each have an indoor bath and an open-air bath, and in winter the open-air tubs look out on snow. The Taketa tourist association adds that the indoor tubs are cypress and the open-air tub sits under an arbor roof, and that the water carries salt as well and is drinkable.
For privacy there are five family baths, one of them built for bathers with disabilities. They cannot be reserved: the bathhouse says guests who come in person come first. The fees are posted on its Instagram account rather than its website, so check there before you go. The operator's photo of the family bath building shows a covered timber walkway leading through shrubs and maples to a low wooden bath house.
The hotel
A day-use bathhouse at the Pal Club farm complex on the Kuju highland, run by the welfare corporation Hakuaikai. There is a 30-mat rest room where you can eat Bungo beef udon noodles, curry and the farm's own sausages from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and a shop, Kujuya, selling Bungo beef, vegetables, ham and jam. Hours run 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. from March to November and to 6 p.m. in winter; it closes on Tuesdays except in August.
Good to know
- Five family baths, no booking; come early on weekends.
- Check Instagram for the fees; the website does not list them.
- Closed Tuesdays, except in August.
Getting there
The bathhouse gives no public transport. From Oita take the JR Hohi line to Bungo-Taketa, about 1 hour 15 minutes, then a taxi; there is no bus to the door. It is on the Kuju highland road toward Kuju Flower Park.
Bungo-Taketa STN · JR Hohi Line
Not walkable.
Taxi from Bungo-Taketa; no bus or pickup is named.
Where it is
- Kyushu Shinkansen 40 min
- Kyushu Odan limited express 2 hr 21 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 Kuju is part of a longer Kyushu trip by train.
- 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 bathhouse page lists five family baths)
Read on: hakuai-oita.com/shop/daichi-no-yu/
Best for: a family bath of green-brown spring water on a farm, with Bungo beef udon in the rest room
Five family baths, one for disabled bathers; no reservations, first come. The operator publishes its fees on Instagram, not on its page. Open March to November 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (last entry 6 p.m.), December to February 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (last entry 5 p.m.); closed Tuesdays except in August. Run by the social welfare corporation Hakuaikai.
The map shows every hotel close by. We haven’t checked their tattoo rules: sleep there, bathe here. Search Booking.com instead
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For current hours and prices, see the official website.