Hotel Route Inn Hikone
ホテルルートイン彦根
Does Hotel Route Inn Hikone allow tattoos? Yes, covered
Hikone’s Route Inn, at Higashi-Ainami south of the castle town, with a large communal bath. Forty-nine minutes from Kyoto on the special rapid, no change.
Tattoos are allowed if a cover seal hides them completely. The group names no seal size and doesn’t say the hotel sells seals, so bring your own.
Show this at the front desk
入れ墨(タトゥー)のある方のご入浴はお断りしております。ただし、カバーシールを用いて入れ墨(タトゥー)が完全に覆えている場合に限り、大浴場をご利用いただけます。
The operator’s own wording, to show at the desk if you need to.
The bath
The Hikone bath runs on Route Inn’s radium artificial spring rather than hot-spring water. The additive, Rajihope, is a medicated product approved by the health ministry, and the chain credits the radium with making the water feel soft on the skin. Colorless, odorless, indoors, with no sauna listed. Separate men’s and women’s baths open 3 p.m. to 2 a.m., close for three hours, then reopen 5 a.m. to 10 a.m., so a late arrival or an early start still gets a soak. Soap, shampoo, conditioner, toner, milk lotion and dryers on both sides; the women’s bath also has cleansing oil and cotton pads, the men’s shaving foam and razors.
The hotel
206 rooms at Higashi-Ainami, south of the castle town. Breakfast at Hanachaya is a free buffet with European breads that change daily. Dinner is at Hanahanatei, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. except Sundays and holidays: udon noodles, rice bowls, Route Inn’s own Ueda curry, and izakaya (a Japanese pub) plates with the chain’s house sake. It can be booked out by groups on some nights.
Good to know
- 132 free parking spaces, 2.5 km (about eight minutes) from the Hikone interchange.
Getting there
Hikone STN · JR Biwako line
About 10 minutes by taxi, or the hotel shuttle.
The special rapid reaches Hikone from Kyoto in 49 minutes with no change. The hotel shuttle has nine seats and runs to a timetable; book it ahead, and the hotel warns it can be canceled without notice.
Where it is
- JR Kansai Wide Area Pass ¥12,000 · 5 days Worth it if you’re riding out to Kinosaki or Shirahama and back.
- Gion food tour, 13 dishes at 4 eateries Three hours on foot through Gion and Pontocho with an English-speaking guide, dinner spread over four small eateries. Meets at 6 pm.
- Funaoka Onsen bathhouse visit with a guide A guide takes you into Funaoka Onsen, Kyoto’s 1920s bathhouse, and the cafe in a former bathhouse nearby. Klook lists it as tattoo-friendly, and admission is included.
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- Japan Rail Pass from ¥53,000 · 7, 14 or 21 days For a trip that takes in several regions by Shinkansen and JR lines.
A chain rule for the whole group
Route Inn sets this rule once for the whole group, Route Inn, Grand, Ark and Grand Vrio alike. The whole picture on Route Inn, and every Route Inn listing on this site →
What happens when you arrive
Bring your own seals and cover the tattoo completely before you go in. The hotel doesn't specify a size, so cover everything.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (group FAQ, no property exceptions)
Best for: travelers visiting Hikone Castle and the east shore of Lake Biwa
Book your stay
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