Hotaru to Zekkei no Yado Tsurezure
ホタルと絶景の宿 つれづれ
Does Hotaru to Zekkei no Yado Tsurezure allow tattoos? In a private bath
Tsurezure is a room-only inn in the Kyusuikei gorge where all nine small rooms have their own spring bath, the best of them a barrel tub on a balcony over the valley.
Tsurezure publishes no tattoo rule. Every one of its nine rooms has its own bath of free-flowing spring water, four of them half-open-air, and day visitors can hire a family bath with a rest room by the hour, so a tattooed guest never needs the shared bath.
The bath
Tsurezure shares its spring with Nihiki no Oni next door: the source the inns call Nihiki no Oni, a bicarbonate water of pH 6.9 run straight through the tubs. A new wing holds men's and women's large baths with a sauna and an electric bath.
The point of staying is the bath in your room. All nine rooms have one, filled with free-flowing spring water and open whenever you like. The four six-mat rooms have a half-open-air bath plus an indoor tub; the five four-and-a-half-mat rooms have an indoor bath. The photo of a six-mat room's bath shows a round barrel tub of dark wood on a balcony behind a crossed timber railing, looking out at the steep green walls of the gorge.
Day visitors can hire the same kind of room as a family bath with a rest room: ¥1,800 for an hour or ¥2,500 for 90 minutes with a six-mat room, ¥1,500 or ¥2,100 with a smaller one. The inn lists the tubs as a barrel open-air bath and indoor baths of cut stone, marble and cypress. The large bath costs ¥500.
The hotel
A row of small Japanese rooms under a long timber eave in the Kyusuikei gorge, run with the inn Nihiki no Oni. Stays are room only and the rooms sleep two adults, with small children sharing a futon. Each has a toilet, washbasin, TV, air conditioning, fridge and kettle; a shared microwave and coin laundry are by the desk. There are no shops or restaurants nearby, so bring food, or book dinner at Nihiki no Oni. The Kokonoe Yume suspension bridge is about three minutes away by car.
Good to know
- Every room has its own spring bath, open around the clock.
- Bring dinner with you; there is no shop or restaurant nearby.
- Pickup from the Kuju Tozanguchi or Iida Kogen bus stops if you give your arrival time.
- Bath towels are on loan from the desk.
Getting there
The inn gives one public transport route: the bus from Kumamoto Kotsu Center to the Kuju Tozanguchi or Iida Kogen stop, where the inn picks up if you tell it your arrival time, even in snow. Its sister inn Nihiki no Oni also picks up at JR Bungo-Nakamura on the Kyudai line by reservation.
Bungo-Nakamura STN · JR Kyudai Main Line
Not walkable.
Pickup from the Kuju Tozanguchi or Iida Kogen bus stops by arrangement; Nihiki no Oni's pickup runs from Bungo-Nakamura.
Where it is
- Yufuin no Mori 1 hr 47 min
- JR Kyudai line 13 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, or reserve a private bath.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the stay plan page lists rooms with their own spring bath; the hot spring page lists family baths by the hour)
Best for: a cheap, room-only base in the gorge with a barrel tub of spring water on your own balcony
Nine rooms, all with a spring bath open at any hour: four six-mat rooms with a half-open-air bath (and an indoor bath), and five four-and-a-half-mat rooms with an indoor bath. Room only; bring food, as there are no shops or restaurants nearby; a microwave and coin laundry are at the desk. Rooms sleep two adults. Day visitors: family baths with a six-mat rest room ¥1,800 for 60 minutes or ¥2,500 for 90; with a four-and-a-half-mat rest room ¥1,500 or ¥2,100. Bath towels on loan at the desk. Room choice is not possible. Cards accepted.
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