Ryokan Nanakamado
旅館 ななかまど
Does Ryokan Nanakamado allow tattoos? In a private bath
Each of Nanakamado’s five rooms has its own spring bath, and each tub is made of stone from a different river or mountain, from blue Ishizuchi rock to rounded stones from the upper Chikugo.
Nanakamado publishes no tattoo rule. Every one of its five rooms has its own bath of free-flowing spring water, open around the clock, so a tattooed guest bathes in the room.
The bath
The inn calls itself a hidden inn within Sujiyu: five detached-style rooms, each laid out differently, and every one with its own bath of natural spring water running 24 hours. The water is a simple spring, which the inn lists for rheumatism, motor disorders and menopausal complaints.
Each tub is built of a different stone. Maizurugusa, the only Japanese-Western room, has a half-open-air bath of blue stone from the Ishizuchi mountains, with a washing area tinted red for contrast. Kokemomo uses black stone from the Daisetsu mountains, Iwakagami an indoor bath of rounded river stones from the upper Chikugo River, Rindo a tub of Hiten slate from Toyama, and Hanashinobu a cut-stone tub of black stone from the Aso mountains. The photo of Iwakagami shows a tub ringed with smooth brown stones, a brass spout and a wide window onto a lawn, a wooden fence and green trees.
Staying guests may also use the large bath and open-air bath at the Hacchobaru View Hotel next door free, and the inn hands out tokens for the village public baths. Those are shared baths.
The hotel
Five rooms in detached style around a bamboo-fenced compound, joined to the main house by a covered walkway, each looking out to Mount Waita and the hills. Four are Japanese rooms with half-size tatami mats, among them the ten-mat Rindo; Maizurugusa has twin beds with Airweave mattress pads. Rooms have a humidifying air purifier, cable television and Wi-Fi. Meals use local seasonal food. You may request a particular room when you book.
Good to know
- Every room has its own spring bath, open all day and night.
- Pick your room and your stone; the inn takes requests for a specific room.
- Free entry to the Hacchobaru View Hotel's baths next door, which are shared.
Getting there
From JR Bungo-Nakamura on the Kyudai line, take the community bus bound for Makinoto Pass and get off at Sujiyu Onsen, about 50 minutes; a taxi takes 30 to 40 minutes. By car it is about 30 minutes from the Nogami junction on Route 210.
Bungo-Nakamura STN · JR Kyudai Main Line, then the community bus toward Makinoto Pass
Not walkable.
Community bus about 50 minutes to Sujiyu Onsen, or a taxi of 30 to 40 minutes.
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
Use the bath in your room.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the about page says every room has its own hot spring bath)
Best for: five rooms, each with a stone tub of its own built from river stones from a different valley
All five rooms have their own spring bath, free-flowing 24 hours; Maizurugusa, the one Japanese-Western room with twin beds, has a half-open-air bath. You can ask for a particular room when booking. Staying guests may also use the large bath and open-air bath at the Hacchobaru View Hotel free, and get tokens for the village’s Utase bath, Yakushi-yu and Iwan-yu, which are shared.
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