Ryokan Furusato
旅館 ふるさと
Does Ryokan Furusato allow tattoos? In a private bath
One of Ryokan Furusato’s five private baths is a single 10-ton boulder hollowed into a tub; another sits on a rise looking out at the Kuju mountains.
Ryokan Furusato publishes no tattoo rule. It has no shared bath: all five of its baths, in separate little bath houses around the grounds, are private, so a tattooed guest bathes alone.
The bath
The inn runs Sujiyu's water, which it lists as a simple spring, straight through every tub, and calls the spa about a thousand years old. It lists the water for neuralgia, muscle and joint pain, stiff shoulders, bruises, motor paralysis, stiff joints, sprains, cold sensitivity, recovery after illness and fatigue.
There is no shared bath. Instead five private baths stand apart in their own little buildings around the grounds, and they are open from 3 p.m. to 9:30 the next morning. The view bath sits on a rise a short walk from the main house, looking out at the Kuju mountains; the inn asks you to take care on the path at night. The stone open-air bath is wide and, in season, good for watching the moon. Kiri-ishi-no-yu has a heavy cut-stone tub in a wooden bath house the inn likens to an old country bath. Maru-ishi-no-yu is a single boulder of about ten tons hollowed out into a tub. Hinoki-no-yu, of cypress and cedar, is closest to the rooms.
The hotel
A small inn at the entrance to Sujiyu, run by a family who say they want guests to feel they have come home. Rooms run from eight to fifteen mats, all with a toilet and washbasin and a view of the hills around the village; the inn assigns them by group size. Both meals are a mountain kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) served in a private dining room, though not always when the inn is full. Guests leave notes on paper strips pinned to a gold folding screen in the hall.
Good to know
- Five private baths and no shared one, open 3 p.m. to 9:30 a.m.
- The view bath is up a path; take care after dark.
- The Komatsu steam vents are about 800 m away, two minutes by car.
Getting there
The inn gives driving routes and one bus: from Beppu Station, about 2 hours to the Sujiyu Onsen Iriguchi stop. By train, take the JR Kyudai line to Bungo-Nakamura, then the bus to Sujiyu Onsen, about 50 minutes by the Sujiyu tourist association's count. By car, about 30 minutes from the Kokonoe interchange.
Bungo-Nakamura STN · JR Kyudai Main Line, then the bus to Sujiyu Onsen
Not walkable.
Bus about 50 minutes; or the bus from Beppu Station to Sujiyu Onsen Iriguchi, about 2 hours.
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
There's no shared bath here, so every bath you use is private.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the bath page lists five private baths)
Best for: a family-run inn where you can work through five private baths, one cut from a 10-ton boulder
Five private baths in separate buildings, open 3 p.m. to 9:30 a.m.: a view open-air bath up the hill, a stone open-air bath, the cut-stone Kiri-ishi-no-yu, the boulder Maru-ishi-no-yu and the cypress Hinoki-no-yu. The view bath is a short walk from the main house, so take care at night. Meals in private dining rooms, though not always when the inn is full. Run by a family.
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