Hito Nagano-yu
秘湯 ながの湯
Does Hito Nagano-yu allow tattoos? In a private bath
Nagano-yu’s water mixes sulfate into Nagayu’s usual bicarbonate, which the bathhouse says gives it a silky feel, and a family bath here costs ¥1,000 for 50 minutes.
Nagano-yu publishes no tattoo rule. It has four family bath buildings at ¥1,000 for 50 minutes, so a tattooed bather can take one alone.
The bath
The water is a magnesium and sodium bicarbonate and sulfate spring, which the bathhouse says is unusual at Nagayu, where most springs are bicarbonate alone. It leaves the ground at 45°C and is used at 43°C, run straight through the tubs. The bathhouse says the carbonation makes small bubbles cling to the skin and warms you through, and that the sulfate gives the water a silky feel that leaves skin soft, which is why people call it a beauty bath. It lists the water for neuralgia, joint pain, stiff shoulders, motor paralysis, bruises, chronic digestive trouble, hemorrhoids, cold sensitivity, fatigue, burns, chronic skin disease and hardening of the arteries.
The family baths cost ¥1,000 for 50 minutes. The bathhouse's photos show a small, square tub with thick walls and a ledge, set in a room of weathered timber boards with a window onto trees, and a plain waiting room with green chairs. The shared bath costs ¥200, or ¥100 for children.
The hotel
A low-cost bathhouse in rice fields outside Nagayu, with a men's bath, a women's bath and family baths, and a campground on the same site. Open 6 a.m. to midnight every day, except 9 a.m. to noon on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, when it closes for cleaning, and on occasional closing days.
Good to know
- A family bath for ¥1,000, 50 minutes.
- Open until midnight, from 6 a.m.
- Closed mornings three days a week, 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Getting there
The bathhouse gives no public transport route. From Oita take the JR Hohi line to Bungo-Taketa, about 1 hour 15 minutes; the Taketa tourist association puts the bath about 20 minutes from Bungo-Taketa by car. It stands in farmland about 2.5 km southwest of the Nagayu bath town.
Bungo-Taketa STN · JR Hohi Line
Not walkable.
Taxi about 20 minutes from Bungo-Taketa; no bus is named.
Where it is
- Kyushu Shinkansen 40 min
- Kyushu Odan limited express 2 hr 21 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 page gives the family bath fee)
Read on: hitou-naganoyu.jp/distinations/onsen/
Best for: the cheapest private soak around Nagayu, in a farm-country bathhouse open until midnight
Family baths ¥1,000 for 50 minutes; the operator does not say how they are booked. Shared bath ¥200 for adults, ¥100 for children of elementary school age and under. Open 6 a.m. to midnight, closed 9 a.m. to noon on Monday, Wednesday and Friday for cleaning. A campground shares the site.
The map shows every hotel close by. We haven’t checked their tattoo rules: sleep there, bathe here. Search Booking.com instead
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For current hours and prices, see the official website.