Nasu Ichiya Hotel
那須いちやホテル
Does Nasu Ichiya Hotel allow tattoos? In a private bath
Nasu Ichiya puts its private open-air baths on the roof and the sixth floor, looking over the highlands, and each room gets a free 40-minute turn.
Ichiya publishes no tattoo rule. Its rooftop and sixth-floor open-air baths are private and free: each room gets one 40-minute slot, booked at check-in, and early morning is open to walk in.
The bath
The two private open-air baths are on top of the hotel. Nasuyama, on the roof, is a square cedar tub between plank fences, open to the Nasu range; the hotel says the sky and the hills change color as the sun sets, and that the carpet of green in front turns red in autumn. Ichibou, on the sixth floor, looks the other way over the Kanto plain, and the hotel recommends it at dawn, when the sunrise shows in the water. Both are free. Each room gets one 40-minute slot from 3:30 p.m., handed out first come at check-in, and from 5:30 to 9:30 a.m. the baths are free time with no booking. Flip the wooden sign on the door to show it is in use, rinse before you get in, and leave soap, shampoo and towels out of the tub. The hotel may close them in bad weather, and warns that the floor can be slippery or iced.
The shared baths, one for men and one for women, each have an indoor tub and a half-open-air tub of what the hotel calls a soft alkaline simple spring, pH 7.5, which it says leaves skin smooth and names its beauty-skin water. They are open 3 p.m. to 1 a.m. and 5:30 to 9:30 a.m. Shampoo, conditioner, body soap, men's and women's skincare, face towels and dryers are provided.
The hotel
A 28-room hotel above the Nasu Kaido, with every room facing southwest to the hills. All rooms are 10 mats: eight Japanese-modern bed rooms with a 160 cm double, six Japanese-modern tatami rooms with a sofa veranda, and fourteen simple-modern rooms on the top two floors, of which the eight on the fifth floor allow smoking. Dinner is a vegetable-centered course the hotel calls the Nasu full course, from contract farms nearby, served in semi-private booths at the Shikisai dining room from 5:30 p.m.; breakfast is a buffet from 7 a.m. The second-floor kitchen gallery runs a free welcome party of vegetable bites at 5 p.m. and a bar from 8 p.m.
Good to know
- Both private baths are free. One 40-minute turn a room, booked at check-in; mornings are walk-in.
- Free soft drinks 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. in the second-floor kitchen gallery, and you can carry them to your room.
- The route bus costs ¥500 round trip, for guests who book it through the hotel three days ahead.
- Women pick a colored yukata (a light cotton robe) for free, and the amenity bar sells three items for ¥100.
Getting there
Take the Tohoku Shinkansen to Nasushiobara Station, or a Tohoku line train to Kuroiso. The hotel's free shuttle leaves Nasushiobara at 2:35 p.m., once a day, and returns from the hotel at 10:10 a.m., about 40 minutes each way; book by phone by 5 p.m. the day before. Otherwise take the Kanto bus toward Nasu-Yumoto to the Ikken-jaya stop and walk about 5 minutes; guests who register three days ahead ride round trip for ¥500, paid at the hotel. By car it is about 20 minutes from the Nasu interchange.
Nasushiobara STN · Tohoku Shinkansen (or JR Tohoku line to Kuroiso)
Not walkable.
Free shuttle 2:35 p.m. out and 10:10 a.m. back, booked the day before; or Kanto bus to Ikken-jaya and a 5-minute walk.
Where it is
Ikken-jaya bus stop
- Tohoku Shinkansen 1 hr 8 min
- Kanto Jidosha bus 38 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
Skip the shared baths and use one of the private baths. No reservation needed. Check the sign to see which are free.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site ()
Best for: a free private open-air bath on the roof with a view over the highlands
Slots start from 3:30 p.m. and are handed out first come at check-in; from 5:30 to 9:30 a.m. the private baths are free time. The shared baths are a mild alkaline spring.
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