Hanayama Onsen Yakushi-no-Yu
花山温泉 薬師の湯
Does Hanayama Onsen Yakushi-no-Yu allow tattoos? Yes, covered
A spring so strong the source tub is left at its own 26°C, undiluted and unheated, beside the large bath at 41.5 and a low-temperature tub at 38; the water is changed every day rather than filtered. Ten minutes by car from JR Wakayama.
Admitted since July 1, 2025 if a single cover seal of 11 cm × 20 cm (4.3 × 7.9 in), bought from the ticket machine, covers the tattoo completely. Refusing to use the facility’s own seal means refusal of entry. Before that date the ban was absolute.
Show this at the front desk
当館券売機にて販売のタトゥーカバーシール（11cm×20cm）1枚までで、完全に覆うことができる場合はご入館いただけることといたします。
The operator’s own wording, to show at the desk if you need to.
The bath
The spring rises from a bore 501 meters deep under its own carbon dioxide pressure, with no pump: a bubbly, iron-rich, salty spring, 25.2°C at the source, coming up clear and turning brown as the iron meets the air, so the main bath is an opaque orange-brown. The source tub is certified Pure Onsen rank A: nothing added, heated, circulated or disinfected. Beyond the three indoor tubs there is an open-air bath at 40°C, a cold bath at 18°C and a steam sauna; the operator recommends alternating the hot large bath with the cool source tub. Day bathing 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., last entry 9 p.m., closed Thursdays; adults ¥1,400 before 5 p.m. and ¥1,100 after on weekdays, more on weekends, cash only, sauna included.
The hotel
There are 14 guest rooms, each for one to five people. Staying guests can bathe from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., including before check-in and after check-out. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m. Breakfast and dinner are for guests; the Nagomi-tei restaurant serves lunch to everyone from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., with kamameshi (rice cooked in an iron pot) as its signature.
Getting there
Wakayama STN · JR Hanwa and Kisei lines
About 10 minutes by car; it’s not a walk.
A free shuttle leaves hourly, 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., from near the bike parking at the east exit; it has eight seats, must be booked and doesn’t run on Thursdays. By car, Wakayama IC is about 5 minutes, and the lot holds 60 cars.
Where it is
- Subway Midosuji line 15 min
- JR Hanwa line 1 hr 5 min
- JR Kansai Wide Area Pass ¥12,000 · 5 days Worth it if you’re riding out to Kinosaki or Shirahama and back.
- Dotonbori food tour, 12 dishes and 2 drinks Two and a half hours around Dotonbori with an English-speaking guide: an izakaya, street food and a local restaurant, in a group of no more than fifteen. Evening starts.
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- 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
Buy one cover seal, 11 cm × 20 cm (4.3 × 7.9 in), from the ticket machine and cover the tattoo completely before you go in.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (facility’s own notice, dated June 17, 2025)
Best for: travelers who want one of the country’s most concentrated mineral springs
Book your stay
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