Shunsai Tsuki no Shizuka
旬彩 月の静香
Does Shunsai Tsuki no Shizuka allow tattoos? In a private bath
Tsuki no Shizuka joins a farmhouse some 250 years old to a modern sukiya wing, and every room in that wing has a cypress tub of Utsukushigahara spring water.
Tsuki no Shizuka publishes no tattoo rule. Every room in its new wing has its own cypress tub filled with spring water, and two annex rooms have a spring bath too, so a tattooed guest who books one of those never has to use the shared baths.
The bath
The water is Utsukushigahara Onsen's mildly alkaline simple spring, 42°C at the source. The inn calls it a skin-softening water and lists it for neuralgia, muscle and joint pain, stiff shoulders, bruises, sprains, poor circulation and fatigue.
The room baths are the reason to book here. All ten rooms of the new wing have a cypress tub of spring water. The inn shows three layouts: a 12.5-mat Japanese room with a 4-mat Western room, one with two small side rooms, and a suite with an 8-mat Western room and two more rooms besides. In the annex, the two-floor maisonette has a hot spring jacuzzi and the 8-mat room with a Western bedroom has a spring bath. The six Western rooms of the main building and the two plain annex rooms have none listed.
The shared baths are one large bath for men and one for women, each with wide washing space and its own open-air bath. They open 5:30 to 9:45 a.m. and 3 to 11:30 p.m. A bathing tax of ¥150 an adult is added to the bill.
The hotel
The inn has 20 rooms. The annex is a farmhouse about 250 years old that was moved here, with high ceilings and heavy exposed beams; the new wing is modern sukiya; the main building holds the front desk, a bar lounge and Western rooms with beds. Dinner is a seasonal kaiseki course in private dining rooms in the annex. A hall of 120 mats in the new wing, built like a Noh stage, takes parties of up to 100. Guests can borrow colored yukata (a light cotton robe) at the front desk. All rooms are non-smoking. Check-in is from 3 p.m. and check-out is by 10 a.m.
Good to know
- Ask for the new wing if you want your own tub: all ten of its rooms have a cypress spring bath.
- Shared baths close mid-morning, running 5:30 to 9:45 a.m. and 3 to 11:30 p.m.
- Parking is free. When the inn's own spaces fill, it hands out a ticket for the town lot 3 minutes away on foot.
Getting there
From Shinjuku take the JR Chuo Line limited express Azusa to Matsumoto Station. Matsumoto Bus Terminal is about 2 minutes on foot from the station. From stand 3 take the Utsukushigahara Onsen line bus, which the inn puts at about 30 minutes, to the Utsukushigahara Onsen stop, then walk about 3 minutes. A taxi from the station's Oshiro exit takes about 20 minutes. From Nagoya the limited express Shinano runs to Matsumoto.
Matsumoto STN · JR Chuo Line (Azusa limited express)
Not walkable.
Utsukushigahara Onsen line bus from stand 3 to the last stop, then about 3 minutes 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.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the rooms page says every new-wing room has a cypress hot spring bath and lists two annex rooms with a spring bath)
Best for: a room with its own cypress spring tub in a modern sukiya wing
Three buildings. The new wing, in modern sukiya style, has ten rooms and the inn says all of them have a cypress hot spring bath; the three layouts it shows run from a 12.5-mat room with a 4-mat Western room to a suite with a 12.5-mat room, an 8-mat Western room and two more rooms. The annex, a farmhouse about 250 years old moved to the site, has a maisonette with a hot spring jacuzzi and an 8-mat room with a spring bath, plus two plain Japanese rooms. The main building has six Western rooms with no bath of their own listed. There is no private bath to rent. The inn warns that voices carry between annex rooms.
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