Shoho
美ヶ原温泉 翔峰
Does Shoho allow tattoos? In a private bath
Shoho stands on the high ground of Utsukushigahara Onsen with every room facing Matsumoto and the Northern Alps, and it rents three private baths, two with the view and one in a garden.
Shoho publishes no tattoo rule. Staying guests can reserve one of three private baths for 60 minutes, and several room types have their own spring-fed bath, so a tattooed guest never has to use the shared baths.
The bath
The water is a simple spring, mildly alkaline, that leaves the ground at 40.5°C at 150 liters a minute. The hotel lists it for neuralgia, muscle and joint pain, stiff shoulders, poor circulation and fatigue. It says the baths circulate the water and let part of it run off, and that only the foot bath is fed straight from the source.
The main bath hall is open 5 a.m. to midnight. It has a regular tub and a cooler one, 31 washing places, a low-heat sauna at about 85°C that runs 3 to 10 p.m., an open-air bath in the garden and an open-air jacuzzi. The third-floor view bath, with an indoor tub, an open-air tub and a fine-bubble silk bath, is for women from 3 p.m. to midnight and for men from 5 to 10:30 a.m.
The three private baths were rebuilt as a set. Hisho-no-yu is a view bath lined in stone, in dark colors. Kiho-no-yu is a view bath in a lighter Japanese style. Goten-no-yu is the garden one, where an indoor tub runs out into an open-air tub. Each costs ¥3,300 for 60 minutes, from 3 p.m. to midnight. Staying guests can ask the reservations desk for a bath and a time before arrival. Five room types also have their own spring bath: the 113-square-meter top-floor suite with a cypress tub, the East Wing 10-mat room, the Central Wing Japanese-Western room with an open-air bath, and the West Wing view-bath twin and Japanese room.
The hotel
Shoho opened in September 1966 and has 109 rooms in an East Wing, a Central Wing and a West Wing. It was renovated in two stages in 2017 and 2018 and is run by Alpico Hotels of Matsumoto. Dinner is a Japanese kaiseki course of local produce in the open-kitchen dining room Shinshu, in three sittings from 6 p.m., and breakfast is a Japanese and Western buffet. All rooms are non-smoking. Check-in is from 3 p.m. and check-out is at 10 a.m.
Good to know
- A free shuttle leaves Matsumoto Station at 4 and 5 p.m. from beside the police box at the Oshiro exit, with no booking, and returns at 9 and 10 a.m.
- Hand towels are in the bath halls. Bring only the bath towel from your room.
- The garden foot bath faces the Northern Alps and is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., closed in rain.
- Weekend lunch plans include a bath, with towels lent, on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., booked three days ahead.
Getting there
From Shinjuku take the JR Chuo Line limited express Azusa to Matsumoto Station. The hotel's free shuttle leaves from the Oshiro exit at 4 and 5 p.m. At other times take the number 31 Utsukushigahara Onsen line bus from stand 3 of Matsumoto Bus Terminal to the Shoho-mae stop, a 1-minute walk from the door. A taxi takes about 20 minutes and costs about ¥2,500 to ¥3,000. From Nagoya the limited express Shinano runs to Matsumoto.
Matsumoto STN · JR Chuo Line (Azusa limited express)
Not walkable.
Free hotel shuttle at 4 and 5 p.m., or the Utsukushigahara Onsen line bus to Shoho-mae, 1 minute on foot; taxi about 20 minutes.
Where it is
Utsukushigahara 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 at the front desk.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the hot spring page and FAQ list three private baths at 3,300 yen for 60 minutes, and the room pages list rooms with a hot spring view bath or open-air bath)
Best for: a big hotel with three private baths and rooms whose own tub looks over Matsumoto to the Northern Alps
Three private baths: Hisho-no-yu (a stone-lined view bath in dark modern style), Kiho-no-yu (a bright Japanese-style view bath) and Goten-no-yu (a garden bath where an indoor tub joins an open-air one). Each costs ¥3,300 for 60 minutes, 3 p.m. to midnight. Staying guests can book ahead through the reservations desk; otherwise book at the front desk. Rooms with their own spring bath: the top-floor suite of the East Wing (113 m2), the East Wing 10-mat room with a view bath (56 m2), the Central Wing Japanese-Western room with an open-air bath (70 m2), and the West Wing view-bath twin (36 m2) and view-bath Japanese room (55 m2). The hotel says the water is natural spring water circulated and partly run off, and that only the foot bath runs straight from the source.
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