Tattoo friendly onsen in Kusatsu

Ohtaki-no-yu

大滝乃湯

No restriction, and nothing to cover. The company that runs Kusatsu’s three public baths answers this in its own FAQ: it does not refuse admission or bathing to people with tattoos, and asks only that everyone keep to bathing manners.

三湯（大滝乃湯、御座之湯、西の河原露天風呂）では、刺青（タトゥー）のある方の入館、入浴を特にお断りはしておりません。訪日外国人旅行者も含めまして、多種多様な文化的背景を受け入れると共に、どなたでもマナー遵守の上で草津温泉を楽しんでいただきたいと思っております。

Best for: The awase-yu — five wooden tubs at rising temperatures, worked through in order

09:00–21:00, last admission 20:00. Adults 1,200 yen, children 600 yen.

Goza-no-yu

御座之湯

No restriction, and nothing to cover. The company that runs Kusatsu’s three public baths answers this in its own FAQ: it does not refuse admission or bathing to people with tattoos, and asks only that everyone keep to bathing manners.

三湯（大滝乃湯、御座之湯、西の河原露天風呂）では、刺青（タトゥー）のある方の入館、入浴を特にお断りはしておりません。訪日外国人旅行者も含めまして、多種多様な文化的背景を受け入れると共に、どなたでもマナー遵守の上で草津温泉を楽しんでいただきたいと思っております。

Best for: A first bath on arrival — it is the one you walk straight into off the Yubatake

07:00–21:00 from 1 April to 30 November, 08:00–21:00 the rest of the year; last admission 20:30.

Sainokawara Rotenburo

西の河原露天風呂

No restriction, and nothing to cover. The company that runs Kusatsu’s three public baths answers this in its own FAQ: it does not refuse admission or bathing to people with tattoos, and asks only that everyone keep to bathing manners.

三湯（大滝乃湯、御座之湯、西の河原露天風呂）では、刺青（タトゥー）のある方の入館、入浴を特にお断りはしておりません。訪日外国人旅行者も含めまして、多種多様な文化的背景を受け入れると共に、どなたでもマナー遵守の上で草津温泉を楽しんでいただきたいと思っております。

Best for: The one to do in snow — it is outdoors and nothing else

07:00–20:00 from 1 April to 30 November, 09:00–20:00 the rest of the year; last admission 19:30. Adults 800 yen, children 400 yen.

Kusatsu Now Resort

草津ナウリゾートホテル

A small one only. The large bath is closed to tattooed guests, except — in the hotel’s own words — a small point tattoo that a seal covers completely. Anything larger goes in the private bath, which is bookable and paid for.

刺青がある方の大浴場利用とプール利用はお断りいたします。貸切風呂（有料）のご利用は可能です。小さなポイントタトゥーのある方は、シール等で覆い隠せる場合に限り大浴場とプールをご利用いただけます。

Best for: Families — it is the one property in town built around a pool as well as a bath

The rule covers the pool as well as the bath, in the same sentence and on the same terms. No seal size is published; the hotel does not say it sells them.

Gensen Ichinoyu

源泉一乃湯

A small one only. The large bath is closed to tattooed guests, except — in the hotel’s own words — a small point tattoo that a seal covers completely. Anything larger goes in the private bath, which is bookable and paid for.

刺青がある方の大浴場利用はお断りいたします。貸切風呂（有料）のご利用は可能です。小さなポイントタトゥーのある方は、シール等で覆い隠せる場合に限り大浴場をご利用いただけます。

Best for: Staying two minutes from the Yubatake without paying ryokan prices

Word for word the same rule as Kusatsu Now Resort, minus the pool. No seal size is published, and the hotel does not say it sells them — bring your own.

La Vista Kusatsu Hills

ラビスタ草津ヒルズ

Not the large bath — but the hotel answers the question by pointing you somewhere else in the same sentence: four private baths, free and unbooked, and the open-air onsen bath on your own room’s balcony. Nothing to cover, nothing to pay, and no size limit, because none of it is shared.

当館では「刺青」が入った方の大浴場のご利用はご遠慮頂いております。他にも、館内に【無料貸切風呂】を4か所ご用意しておりますので、温泉のご利用は貸切風呂または客室露天風呂をご利用くださいませ。

Best for: A tattooed guest who wants an onsen to themselves and does not want to negotiate for it

Kyoritsu Maintenance runs this and the Dormy Inn chain both, and the two answer the question differently: Dormy Inn offers cover seals, and this property offers private baths instead. Read the property, not the parent.

Kei

草津温泉 炯-kei-

Three private baths, taken as you find them — no booking, no charge, you check whether the door is free and use it. Three of the seven room types have an open-air bath of their own as well. The ryokan publishes no tattoo rule, and with no communal bath there is little for one to apply to.

Best for: Turning up without a plan and finding a bath free

The three private baths are first-come rather than reserved, which is unusual and worth knowing: there is no list to get onto and no time slot to miss.

Ekinariya

草津温泉 益成屋旅館

Six private baths and a bath in every room. Four of the six are tiled and run on the Yubatake source; the other two are cypress and run on the Shirahata source, so the ryokan lets you bathe in two different springs without meeting anybody. There is a communal bath as well, and no published rule about it.

Best for: Two of Kusatsu's springs in one night, both to yourself

The two sources are the point here: the Yubatake water and the Shirahata water are different springs, and the private baths are split between them.

Kindai Pension

きんだいペンション

Five private baths, free, and open around the clock as often as you like — a barrel bath, a lava cave bath and three more. There is no communal bath in the building at all, which is the whole answer here and the cheapest version of it in this guide.

Best for: The budget version of a bath to yourself: five of them, free, at any hour

No tattoo policy is published, and there is no large bath for one to apply to. Fifteen minutes on foot from the bus terminal, which is uphill on the way back.