Mercure Hida Takayama
メルキュール飛騨高山
Does Mercure Hida Takayama allow tattoos? In a private bath
Mercure Hida Takayama keeps three private open-air baths, Hinoki, Sugi and Matsu, beside its top-floor hot spring, four minutes on foot from Takayama Station.
Mercure Hida Takayama publishes no tattoo rule for its shared baths. Its answer for a tattooed guest is one of three private open-air baths, rented for 45 minutes at a time. They cannot be reserved ahead; ask at the front desk at check-in.
The bath
The three private open-air baths are named for woods: Hinoki (cypress), Sugi (cedar) and Matsu (pine). Each is for one party at a time, alone or with family or friends, and the hotel says each frames its view like a picture. A turn is 45 minutes and costs ¥4,500, between 3 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., and comes with a drink. There is no advance booking. Tell the front desk at check-in that you want one and take the time offered. The hotel's photo of one shows a deep blue mosaic tub under a timber ceiling, opening onto a deck with a lounger and a planted court.
The shared baths are on the top floor. The open-air bath looks over the roofs of Takayama to the mountains beyond, and the indoor hot spring bath is finished in Japanese materials. Both are open 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to midnight. Accor's page for the hotel calls the water a natural hot spring rich in sodium bicarbonate and says it calms and softens the skin.
The hotel
This is an Accor hotel with 161 rooms. The rooms use Hida dyeing and local handmade paper: superior doubles and twins of 22 square meters, triples of 25, privilege rooms that include free drinks in the first-floor bar from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., connecting rooms of 44 square meters for four, and a universal room for wheelchair users. The restaurant Hobar serves a breakfast buffet from 6:45 a.m. to 10 a.m. and dinner with Hida beef from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; dinner is best reserved. The bar stays open to 11 p.m.
Good to know
- Ask for the private bath at check-in. It cannot be reserved before you arrive.
- ¥4,500 buys 45 minutes and a drink, any time from 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
- The station is four minutes away on foot, so no shuttle or taxi is needed.
- Parking is at a partner lot one minute away, ¥2,000 for 24 hours, first come first served.
Getting there
From Nagoya Station the JR Hida limited express on the Takayama Main Line reaches Takayama Station in about 2 hours 20 minutes by the hotel's count. From there the hotel is about four minutes on foot. The hotel names no station exit and runs no shuttle. Drivers use the partner lot, NB Parking, about one minute from the hotel on foot, and bring the parking ticket to the front desk.
Takayama STN · JR Takayama Main Line
About 4 minutes.
No shuttle; the hotel is a short walk from the station and the bus center.
Where it is
Takayama STN
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR Takayama-Hokuriku Area Tourist Pass ¥19,800 · 5 consecutive days Worth it if Gero, Shirakawa-go or Kanazawa is on the same 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.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the onsen page lists three private open-air baths with price, minutes and how to ask)
Best for: a private open-air bath a short walk from Takayama Station, asked for at check-in
Three private open-air baths named Hinoki, Sugi and Matsu: ¥4,500 for 45 minutes, 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., with a drink included. They are not taken by advance reservation; guests ask at the front desk when they check in. The shared open-air bath and indoor bath are open 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to midnight. The guest rooms are standard hotel rooms without a hot spring tub listed.
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