Meisui no Yado Houjuya
名水の宿 宝珠屋
Does Meisui no Yado Houjuya allow tattoos? In a private bath
Houjuya has kept an inn at Sujiyu since the Meiji era, and its three private baths are cut from cypress, rough rock and the stones of an old storehouse.
Houjuya publishes no tattoo rule. It has three private baths, of cypress, rock and old storehouse stone, which staying guests take by the hour, so a tattooed guest can bathe privately instead of in the large baths or the mixed open-air bath.
The bath
Houjuya runs Sujiyu's soft simple spring straight from the source, a water it lists for neuralgia, muscle pain, chronic digestive trouble and fatigue, and says the village's springs have been used for more than a thousand years. The inn has a men's and a women's large bath, a mixed open-air bath called Ebisu-buro, and a standing-depth open-air bath for women only. Staying guests may also walk to the village's three public baths, the Utase bath, Yakushi-yu and Iwan-yu.
The three private baths stand in the inn's bath house: Hinoki-buro, a square tub framed in cypress logs; Iwa-buro, a deep round tub cut into dark rock; and Kuraishi-buro, made of stone from an old storehouse. The photos show each under a high timber roof with a paper-screened window and a single lamp. For staying guests they cost ¥1,000 per room per hour from 3 to 9 p.m. and are free outside those hours, from check-in to midnight and from 6 a.m. to check-out. Day visitors pay ¥2,000 an hour from noon to 4 p.m.
The hotel
A large village inn founded in the Meiji era, with 29 rooms: 26 Japanese, two Japanese-Western and one Western, for up to 120 guests. Dinner is a creative kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) of local food served in the room or a hall; breakfast is in a hall or the dining room. Check-in from 3 p.m.; the last dinner seating is 7 p.m., so arrive by then. Check-out 10 a.m. Parking for 40 cars.
Good to know
- Private baths are free outside 3 to 9 p.m.; in those hours they cost ¥1,000 an hour.
- Arrive by 7 p.m. for the last dinner seating.
- Three public baths are a short walk away, including the Utase bath.
- The open-air Ebisu-buro is mixed bathing; the women-only bath is separate.
Getting there
Take the JR Kyudai line to Bungo-Nakamura, then the bus to Sujiyu Onsen, about 45 minutes by the inn's count. By car it is about 2 hours from Fukuoka, about an hour from Beppu by way of Yufuin, and about an hour and a half from Oita by Route 210.
Bungo-Nakamura STN · JR Kyudai Main Line, then the bus to Sujiyu Onsen
Not walkable.
Bus about 45 minutes; the inn gives no walk from the stop.
Where it is
Sujiyu Onsen bus stop
- Yufuin no Mori 1 hr 47 min
- JR Kyudai line 13 min
- Kokonoe community bus 50 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 reserve a private bath.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the bath-house page lists three private baths and their fees)
Best for: a big old village inn whose three private baths are free late at night and in the morning
Private baths Hinoki-buro, Iwa-buro and Kuraishi-buro: staying guests pay ¥1,000 per room per hour from 3 to 9 p.m. and nothing at other times; day visitors ¥2,000 an hour from noon to 4 p.m. The inn also has a men’s and a women’s large bath, a mixed open-air bath, Ebisu-buro, and a women-only standing open-air bath. Baths may close for cleaning 10 a.m. to noon. Check in by 7 p.m., the last dinner time. The about page says cards are not taken; the booking-terms page says card or cash.
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