Kokoro no Oyado Jizaiso
こころのおやど 自在荘
Does Kokoro no Oyado Jizaiso allow tattoos? In a private bath
Jizaiso sets aside a half-open-air private bath for any staying guest, 30 minutes at a time, and some rooms open onto a garden tub of their own.
Jizaiso publishes no tattoo rule. Any staying guest can use its half-open-air private bath, and some rooms have a garden open-air bath of their own.
The bath
The inn's water is Jizo-no-yu, the Omaru spring that is also piped to the Nasu Imperial villa: a simple spring (neutral, hypotonic, high temperature), colorless and clear with a trace of hydrogen sulfide, at 750 liters a minute. The inn calls it a beauty bath that is kind to the skin. The open-air bath flows through; the indoor large bath is partly recirculated and chlorinated. A drinking fountain of the source stands by the baths, and the rest room has free massage chairs.
The half-open-air private bath is open to any staying guest. Sign up at the front desk after check-in for a 30-minute turn between 1:30 and 10 p.m. (last entry 9:30). It is step-free, with a wheelchair-accessible toilet, a shower chair and baby soap. Four rooms have a garden open-air tub of their own, source-fed, with a shower room: Hagi, Aoi and Kiri, and a twin-bed room; the Gozenbachi room has a Shigaraki ceramic open-air tub that is pumped up and cleaned.
The open-air bath also has a jacuzzi, a half-body tub and a mist sauna, and the men's and women's sides swap at midnight. Hours are 1 p.m. to midnight and 5 to 10 a.m. Day visitors bathe 1 to 6 p.m. (last entry 5 p.m.) for ¥1,000, children ¥700, even on the Wednesdays and Thursdays when the inn takes no overnight guests.
The hotel
A 15-room inn whose rooms are named after alpine plants: standard Japanese rooms of 8 to 10 mats facing the forest, a larger corner room, twin-bed rooms, three garden open-air rooms and the Shigaraki-tub room Gozenbachi with a heated stone couch. Dinner is a creative Japanese kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) with Tochigi wagyu, river fish and highland vegetables, 5:30 to 9 p.m. in the dining rooms Kinran and Ginran, or in the room for ¥2,200 a person if asked ahead; breakfast is a Japanese tray with the inn's three-year miso. The lounge Sora serves smoothies, sake tastings and coffee from 2 to 9 p.m. Check-in is 1 p.m., check-out 11 a.m.
Good to know
- Private bath: sign up at the desk after check-in, 30 minutes a turn, 1:30 to 10 p.m., with a shower chair and baby soap.
- Drink the spring: a fountain of the source by the baths, and free massage chairs in the rest room.
- Check-in is 1 p.m., earlier than most inns, so the private bath can start after lunch.
- No free station shuttle: paid pickup at ¥3,300 one way, or the route bus at ¥500 return booked two days ahead, with a free pickup from the Shin-Nasu stop.
Getting there
Take the Tohoku Shinkansen to Nasushiobara Station (1 hour 8 minutes from Tokyo on the Yamabiko), then the Kanto route bus toward Nasu-Yumoto to the Shin-Nasu stop. Guests pay ¥500 for the round trip (normally ¥1,020 each way) if they book with the inn two days ahead; give the inn's name to the driver. Phone the inn with your arrival time and it picks you up at the stop. A paid pickup from the station costs ¥3,300 one way, reserved ahead. Free parking for 30 cars.
Nasushiobara STN · JR Tohoku Shinkansen, then the Kanto bus toward Nasu-Yumoto
Not walkable.
Kanto bus to Shin-Nasu (¥500 return for guests, booked two days ahead), then the inn's free pickup from the stop; paid station pickup ¥3,300 one way.
Where it is
Shin-Nasu bus stop
- Tohoku Shinkansen 1 hr 8 min
- Kanto Jidosha bus 39 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR Tokyo Wide Pass ¥16,000 · 3 days Worth it if Nasu is one stop in a longer Kanto trip.
- 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.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site ()
Best for: families with small children who want a private turn in a source-flowing bath
The private bath runs from 1:30 to 10 p.m. (last entry 9:30), 30 minutes a turn. The garden open-air rooms have a source-flowing tub and a shower room. The inn’s spring, which it says is also piped to the Imperial villa, can be drunk at a tap by the bath.
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