Sujiyu Onsen, Kokonoe, a little above the village center, about 10 minutes on foot from the bus stop Ryokan of detached houses (8 rooms, each with its own half-open-air spring bath; three private baths, all free) ★★★★☆

Shugetsu

秀月

Does Shugetsu allow tattoos? In a private bath

Private bath only

Shugetsu has eight detached houses and no shared bath: each house has its own half-open-air tub of cypress, rock or cut stone, and the staff say they stay out of sight once you arrive.

Shugetsu publishes no tattoo rule. Every one of its eight detached rooms has its own half-open-air bath of spring water, and the inn has turned its former large bath into a private bath too, so there is no shared bath at all.

Illustration of Shugetsu in Sujiyu Onsen, Kokonoe, a little above the village center, about 10 minutes on foot from the bus stop

The bath

Shugetsu runs Sujiyu's spring straight through every tub, a water the inn calls soft and good for the skin, from a spa it says opened in 958.

The point of the place is the bath in your own house. All eight detached rooms have a half-open-air bath, each built differently, of cypress, rock or cut stone, and you can use it whenever you like. The photos show a deep square tub with a wide wooden rim under heavy dark beams, open on one side to a garden, and another of rough grey stone slabs beside a planted courtyard.

Down stone steps from the covered walkway are two private baths, Shu-no-yu and Tsuki-no-yu, cut-stone tubs big enough for three or four, with a shower booth and shampoo. Take the key and they are yours, free, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.; open the wooden doors to a garden the inn replanted in April 2024 and lights up at night. The former large bath has also been turned into a private bath, so nobody at Shugetsu ever shares one.

The hotel

Eight detached houses, each a Japanese room and a Western bedroom side by side. Two had a sunroom and a shower room added in October 2023, and one pair was renovated in September 2024 with massage chairs and wall-mounted televisions. The inn says staff keep contact to a minimum once you are settled, to give the feel of your own villa. Dinner is a seasonal kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) with organic rice grown without pesticides in Kokonoe, served at 6 p.m. in a private dining room with chairs or a sunken table; breakfast at 8 a.m. The whole inn is non-smoking.

Good to know

No shared bath anywhere; even the old large bath is now private.
Three private baths are free, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., by key.
Some houses take no children; check the room type when you book.
Bring your own toothbrush, as the inn asks under its green policy.

Getting there

Take the JR Kyudai line to Bungo-Nakamura, then the bus to Sujiyu Onsen, about 50 minutes, and walk about 10 minutes from the Sujiyu Onsen stop. By car it is about 30 minutes from the Kokonoe interchange of the Oita Expressway by the Shikisai Road; the inn warns of ice and snow in winter.

Bungo-Nakamura STN · JR Kyudai Main Line, then the bus to Sujiyu Onsen
About 10 minutes from the Sujiyu Onsen bus stop.

Bus about 50 minutes from Bungo-Nakamura.

Where it is

Shugetsu · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · open in Google Maps

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 rooms page and the hot spring page)

Best for: a two-room detached suite with its own cypress or stone tub, and staff who keep out of your way

All eight rooms are detached Japanese-Western suites with a half-open-air bath of free-flowing spring water. Two private cut-stone baths, Shu-no-yu and Tsuki-no-yu, 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., taken by key; the former large bath is also run as a private bath. All free. Some rooms are closed to children. Dinner at 6 p.m., breakfast at 8 a.m., in private dining rooms. The inn asks guests to bring their own toothbrush.

Book your stay

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Others in the same group

More private-bath options in Kuju and Nagayu

Yamaai no Yado KiyasuyaSujiyu Onsen, Kokonoe, in woodland just off the road above the village → Ryoso Komatsu BessoSujiyu Onsen, Kokonoe, in a garden on the upper side of the village, about 10 minutes on foot from the Utase bath → Ryokan NanakamadoSujiyu Onsen, Kokonoe, in a bamboo grove near the upper end of the village, beside the Hacchobaru View Hotel → Tabi no Yado YamatsubakiSujiyu Onsen, Kokonoe, at the T-junction at the top of the village street → Sanso YamanoiroSujiyu Onsen, Kokonoe, on the cliff edge at the upper end of the village, by the Hizen-yu bus stop → Ryokan FurusatoSujiyu Onsen, Kokonoe, at the entrance to the village →

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