Hotel Tamanoyu
ホテル玉之湯
Does Hotel Tamanoyu allow tattoos? In a private bath
Hotel Tamanoyu gives every staying guest 40 free minutes in a private open-air bath under the sky, and built one of them with a ramp so a wheelchair can roll to the edge of the tub.
Hotel Tamanoyu publishes no tattoo rule. Staying guests get 40 minutes free in one of three private open-air baths, booked at the front desk after check-in, and a few rooms have their own open-air bath, so a tattooed guest can bathe without using the shared baths. Day visitors can rent a private bath by the hour too.
The bath
The water is a mildly alkaline simple spring that leaves the source at 49 degrees C, clear and almost without smell. The hotel lists it for neuralgia, muscle pain, stiff joints, poor circulation and fatigue. Each of the two large baths, Basho for men and Komachi for women, has an all-cypress open-air tub beside it; the men's side has a sauna. They stay open around the clock except for cleaning from 10 to 11 a.m., and the sides do not swap. The changing rooms have heated floors.
The private baths are the reason to come. Three open-air ones sit side by side under the name Pokkari Ten-no-yu. Higashi is walled on four sides and has a jet bath for up to four. Minami looks over the Matsumoto basin toward the Takabotchi highland and is reached by a ramp. Kita has a reclining jet tub for two and colored lights at night. Staying guests get 40 minutes free in one of them between 5 a.m. and 11 p.m.; the desk takes names after check-in, first come, and hands over a key and bath towels.
Haru-no-yu, the fourth, is an indoor private room with a lift from the washing area into the tub, ¥800 per person per hour. Three guest rooms, one each on the third, fifth and sixth floors, have their own open-air bath, and a Japanese-Western room renovated in April 2024 has a half-open-air tub off the bedroom.
The hotel
Tamanoyu has 35 rooms for about 100 guests, all non-smoking, and is planned around wheelchair users: ramps, a lift bath, borrowable wheelchairs and shower chairs. Rooms run from modern Japanese twins and doubles to two-room Japanese suites and barrier-free Japanese-Western rooms renovated between 2022 and 2024. Dinner comes in four courses of different sizes, served in the dining rooms, with soba noodles cut by the owner. A small concert is held in the lounge most nights from 8:45 p.m. Check-in is 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m.
Good to know
- Forty minutes in a private open-air bath is free, booked at the front desk once you have checked in; the hotel takes no bookings before arrival.
- Day visitors can rent one too. Between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. an hour in Minami or Higashi costs ¥1,200 on top of the ¥900 admission.
- The Kita bath closes in winter, and showers on the open-air baths may be taken off in the cold months.
- No station shuttle. The city bus stops at the door instead.
Getting there
From Shinjuku the JR Chuo Line limited express Azusa reaches Matsumoto in about 160 minutes by the hotel's count. From stand 23 at the station's Oshiro (castle) exit plaza, take the Asama line about 20 minutes to Shimo-Asama Hiroba; the stop is at the hotel's door. From the Asama Onsen Iriguchi stop the walk is about 1 minute. The hotel runs no shuttle. From Nagoya the limited express Shinano takes about 120 minutes to Matsumoto.
Matsumoto STN · JR Chuo Line (Azusa limited express)
Not walkable.
Asama line bus from stand 23 at the station's Oshiro exit plaza, about 20 minutes to Shimo-Asama Hiroba, at the door; no hotel shuttle.
Where it is
Asama Onsen bus stop
- Azusa limited express 2 hr 35 min
- Alpico bus 25 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR East Pass from ¥35,000 · 5 or 10 consecutive days Covers the Azusa, JR’s limited express from Shinjuku to Matsumoto, with a reserved seat.
- Miso factory tour and lunch in Matsumoto A guided half day at Ishii Miso, a miso maker more than 150 years old, with lunch.
- 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 private bath page lists four private baths and their terms, and the FAQ gives the day-use fees)
Best for: a free 40-minute private open-air bath on the roof level, with step-free access
Three private open-air baths share the name Pokkari Ten-no-yu: Higashi (jets, up to four people), Minami (ramp to the tub, wheelchair users have priority) and Kita (reclining jet tub for two; no daytime use). They are free for 40 minutes to staying guests, 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., last slot 10:20 p.m.; ask at the desk after check-in, first come, no advance booking. The desk hands over the key and bath towels. A fourth private bath, Haru-no-yu, is an indoor room with a lift into the tub: ¥800 per person per hour for staying guests, free once a day on stays of two nights or more. In winter the showers and taps on the open-air baths may be removed against freezing. The hotel says the private baths and the room tubs recirculate the spring water, while the large baths combine free-flowing and recirculated water. Day visitors pay ¥900 admission, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (last entry 2 p.m.), plus ¥1,200 for an hour in Minami or Higashi, or ¥2,000 for Haru-no-yu.
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