Ramune Onsenkan
ラムネ温泉館
Does Ramune Onsenkan allow tattoos? In a private bath
Ramune Onsenkan was built in 2005 to a design by the architect Terunobu Fujimori, with charred cedar walls and a pine tree growing from the peak of the roof, around a 32°C spring that coats bathers in silver bubbles.
Ramune Onsenkan publishes no tattoo rule. It rents three family baths by the hour on the day, each with the same hot and cool carbonated tubs as the main bath, so a tattooed bather can have one alone.
The bath
Nagayu's water is rich in carbon dioxide, and Ramune Onsenkan is built around that. The name means soda pop, after a writer who visited in 1934 and called this the soda bath. The bathhouse calls the spring one of the world's great carbonated waters and keeps it free-flowing. Each side of the large bath has an indoor tub at 42°C and an open-air pool at 32°C where, in the bathhouse's words, the whole body is wrapped in silver bubbles. It suggests going back and forth between the two. The open-air side has a sauna and a simple shower; the large bath has no shampoo or soap, so bring your own for the shower room.
The three family baths are the private option. Each holds both waters, a 42°C tub and a 32°C tub, and looks onto an inner courtyard. They cost ¥3,000 an hour per room, with shower, shampoo and soap supplied. They cannot be booked by phone: rooms go to whoever is there first, and the bathhouse leaves numbered tickets at the door from 7:30 a.m. for people who arrive before opening. The photos show a round sunken tub of pale plaster lit from below.
The hotel
A day-use bathhouse of charred cedar and white plaster, roofed in copper, designed by the architect Terunobu Fujimori and opened in 2005, with a pine tree planted at the top of its pointed roof. It is the outside bath of Daimaru Ryokan, whose guests bathe free. Upstairs from the waiting room is a small free art gallery with work by painters tied to Nagayu and calligraphy by Yasunari Kawabata. Admission is ¥800 for adults, ¥400 for elementary school children and ¥200 for younger children. Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Good to know
- Come early on weekends. Family baths are first come, and tickets are set out at the door from 7:30 a.m.
- Two waters in every family bath, one at 42°C and one at 32°C.
- Shampoo is supplied only in the family baths; towels are sold and bath towels rented at the desk.
- Closed one Wednesday a month, the first, or the second in January and May.
Getting there
The nearest station is Bungo-Taketa, about 1 hour 15 minutes from Oita on the JR Hohi line. The bathhouse gives driving routes only; the Taketa tourist association puts it 25 minutes from Bungo-Taketa by car. The Taketa city bus on the Nagayu line reaches the Nagayu Onsen roadside station in the bath town, and the bathhouse is across the bridge from the town center.
Bungo-Taketa STN · JR Hohi Line, then the Taketa city bus to Nagayu
Not walkable.
Taxi about 25 minutes from Bungo-Taketa; the bathhouse publishes no walking time from the Nagayu bus stop.
Where it is
Nagayu Onsen roadside station STN
- Kyushu Shinkansen 40 min
- Kyushu Odan limited express 2 hr 21 min
- Taketa city bus 45 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 use one of the private baths. No reservation needed.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the facility page lists three family baths at ¥3,000 an hour)
Read on: lamune-onsen.co.jp/access/
Best for: an hour alone in the 32°C bubbling spring Nagayu is known for
Family baths ¥3,000 an hour per room, no phone bookings, first come first served; on busy days a numbered ticket is left at the entrance from 7:30 a.m. Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed the first Wednesday of the month (the second Wednesday in January and May). Large bath ¥800 for adults. The family baths have a shower and shampoo; the large bath has none. Guests of Daimaru Ryokan bathe free.
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.