Oyado Mikawaya
お宿 三河屋
Does Oyado Mikawaya allow tattoos? In a private bath
Mikawaya publishes no tattoo policy, but its two small baths are used by one guest or group at a time. There’s no booking and no time slot: if a bath is free, it’s yours.
The inn has one men’s and one women’s bath, both small enough that it lets guests use them privately.
The bath
Mikawaya is one of the few inns in Nozawa Onsen piped from the Shin-yu spring. It has two small bathrooms, one men’s and one women’s, and each is used privately. There are no set hours and no reservations, so go in whenever one is free. When the inn is busy, it asks guests to take turns. The baths were renovated at the end of December 2025.
Towels, bath towels and yukata (light cotton robes) are in the room from April to November. From December to March, only a towel and toothbrush are provided, so bring a bath towel. Bathing tax is ¥150 per adult per night.
The hotel
A small inn run by a couple, with nine rooms: eight Japanese rooms, most of them 8 tatami mats, and one Japanese-Western room with beds. Toilets and washbasins are shared on each floor. Every room has air conditioning or a heater, a TV and Wi-Fi, and the whole inn is non-smoking. Check-in is 3 p.m., and checkout is 10 a.m. Dinner and breakfast are the proprietress’s home cooking, with vegetables from the family’s fields and its own Koshihikari rice. Both meals are served at set times in the dining room. The inn has its own parking lot next door.
Good to know
- Email works best. The owners are often out working during the day and may not answer the phone.
- Cards and IC cards accepted, as well as cash.
Getting there
Nozawa Onsen bus stop · Nozawa Onsen Liner bus
About 5 minutes on foot.
From Tokyo, take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Iiyama, about 1 hour 45 minutes. At Iiyama Station, take the Nozawa Onsen Liner bus from stop 4 to the central terminal at the end of the line in Nozawa Onsen, about 25 minutes. The inn is on one of the wider streets in the village, so it’s easy to reach by car.
Where it is
Nozawa Onsen bus stop
- Hokuriku Shinkansen 1 hr 44 min
- Nozawa Onsen Liner 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 Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo to Iiyama.
- 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 village’s public baths and use the inn’s own bath for your gender. No reservation needed; go in when it’s free.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (the inn’s About page)
Best for: travelers who want home cooking and a quiet, family-run inn in the middle of the village
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