Izumiso
和泉荘
Does Izumiso allow tattoos? In a private bath
Izumiso turns away tattoos, even under a cover seal, from its shared baths, but two of its rooms have their own open-air tub of Asama spring water, one ceramic and one cypress, with a cypress bath indoors as well.
Izumiso refuses tattoos in its baths. The notice sits with the day-use bathing terms on its hot spring page and says people with tattoos cannot use the baths, cover seals included. The way to bathe here is to book one of the two special rooms, each with its own open-air spring bath and a cypress indoor bath. The inn has no reservable private bath.
The bath
The two special rooms are the part of Izumiso a tattooed guest can use. One has a round ceramic tub of spring water outdoors, a cypress bath of spring water indoors, a 10-mat room, a small tea room and a terrace. The other has a square cypress tub outdoors under timber shutters that open onto garden greenery, a cypress bath indoors, a 10-mat room with a 4.5-mat room beside it, and a terrace. The inn says the cypress room is popular with couples.
The water is an alkaline spring of pH 8.9. The inn says it leaves the skin smooth, is mild enough for sensitive skin and babies, and lists it for neuralgia, muscle and joint pain, poor circulation and fatigue.
The shared baths have two tubs on the men's side and three on the women's, with an open-air bath among greenery and a sauna in each large bath, open from arrival to departure. Day visitors are admitted from noon to 8 p.m. for ¥800, or ¥1,100 with a towel, on days the inn is open for it. Staying guests can use the massage chairs by the courtyard for free after bathing.
The hotel
Izumiso sells six room types: the two special rooms with open-air baths, standard Japanese rooms of 8 to 10 mats looking over Matsumoto, larger rooms of 12 to 14 mats facing the Northern Alps, Japanese-Western rooms, and Chikutei, a two-story detached house of four rooms that a group can take whole. Dinner is a kaiseki meal built on Shinshu beef or pork, served in a private dining room, and breakfast is served in the same room.
Good to know
- Cover seals do not help here. The inn's notice refuses tattoos in the baths with seals included.
- Two rooms have two private baths each, one open-air and one indoor, both of spring water.
- Parking is free for 23 cars.
Getting there
From Shinjuku take the JR Chuo Line limited express Azusa to Matsumoto, about 2 hours 30 to 40 minutes. From stand 23 at the station's Oshiro (castle) exit plaza, bus 32, the Asama line, takes about 30 minutes to Shimo-Asama Hiroba, the third stop after the bus turns back at the Asama Onsen terminus; the inn is 1 minute on foot. Bus 130, the Shindai-Yokota loop, takes about 20 minutes to Asama Onsen Iriguchi, a 7-minute walk. A taxi takes about 15 minutes. From Nagoya the limited express Shinano reaches Matsumoto in about 2 hours.
Matsumoto STN · JR Chuo Line (Azusa limited express)
Not walkable.
Asama line bus from stand 23 at the station's Oshiro exit plaza, about 30 minutes to Shimo-Asama Hiroba, then 1 minute on foot; taxi about 15 minutes.
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
Use the bath in your room, or reserve a private bath.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (the hot spring page carries the refusal in its day-use bathing terms; the rooms page lists the two rooms with their own open-air and indoor spring baths)
入れ墨、タトゥー（シール含む）のある方はご利用いただけません。
This is the rule for the shared baths. It doesn’t apply to the private baths.
Best for: a special room with both an open-air tub and a cypress indoor bath of its own
The refusal covers cover seals as well as bare tattoos. It is printed under the day-use bathing terms; the inn prints no separate rule for staying guests, so assume the shared baths are closed to tattooed guests and ask before booking an ordinary room. Two special rooms have private baths: one with a ceramic open-air spring tub, a cypress indoor spring bath, a 10-mat room, a tea room and a terrace; the other with a cypress open-air spring tub, a cypress indoor spring bath, a 10-mat and a 4.5-mat room and a terrace. Day-use bathing is noon to 8 p.m., ¥800 or ¥1,100 with a towel, tickets from a machine that takes no bills larger than ¥1,000, irregular closing days.
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