Fukushima · above Fukushima city · Mountain onsen

Tattoo friendly onsen in Takayu

Takayu sits 750 meters up Mount Azuma, on milky sulfur water the inns are proud to leave untreated. It also has what almost nowhere else in Tohoku has: a place that lets tattooed guests into the shared baths in writing. The rest of this page is inns with a bath of your own, and two of them rent one to people who are only passing through.

1 property

No restrictions

Tattoos are welcome in every bath. Nothing to cover, nothing to book. What this means

Takayu Onsen, Kaminomori, the highest point of the village Onsen hotel Confirmed

Kagetsu Highland Hotel

花月ハイランドホテル

Tattoos are allowed in the large bath and the open-air bath, and the Japanese FAQ says so plainly. The hotel reserves the right to step in over heavy work it judges intimidating or over bad manners. Its English page still carries an older line asking tattooed guests to stay out of the public baths, so if staff point to it, the Japanese FAQ is the current answer; two private open-air baths are the fallback.

はい、当館ではタトゥー・刺青のあるお客様も大浴場・露天風呂をご利用いただけます。ただし、他のお客様に威圧感を与えてしまうような過度な彫り物がある場合や、入浴マナー（脱衣所や浴槽内での振る舞い）をお守りいただけない場合は、お声をかけさせていただく、あるいはご利用をお断りすることがございます。

Best for: Open-air bathing with a tattoo and the Azuma range filling the view

Large bath Yama-no-yu, open 24 hours, and open-air bath Mori-no-yu. Two private open-air baths, Himesayuri: 1,650 yen for guests, 2,200 yen for day visitors, 50 minutes, 15:00–23:00 and 06:00–09:00, booked by phone or at check-in, first come first served. Day bathing 11:00–21:00 by the FAQ, adults 1,100 yen on weekdays and 1,300 yen on weekends and holidays. Free bus for overnight guests from JR Fukushima Station west exit bays 8 or 9 at 15:00, back at 10:00, by reservation. Free parking for 100 cars.

Kagetsu Highland Hotel tattoo policy → Check availability

3 properties

Private baths only

Tattoos are fine in a private or in-room bath. The communal baths are restricted, or the policy is unconfirmed. What this means

Takayu Onsen, lower end of the village Ryokan with a thatched bathhouse Confirmed

Ryokan Tamagoyu

旅館玉子湯

The shared baths refuse tattoos outright, and the inn’s own FAQ sends tattooed visitors to its paid private open-air bath, Seoto, instead. It costs 2,200 yen for 45 minutes and cannot be reserved ahead: it goes first come, first served among people already at the inn. The same answer covers overnight guests’ shared baths, so plan the stay around Seoto.

申し訳ございませんが、タトゥー・入れ墨のある方のご利用は固くお断りしております。有料の貸切風呂のご用意がございますので、よろしければそちらをご利用ください。

Best for: A private open-air tub beside the stream at a thatched-bathhouse inn

Private open-air bath Seoto, 2,200 yen for 45 minutes on top of admission, no advance reservations; the FAQ says mixed groups may use it. Day bathing 11:00–14:00 (last entry 13:30) and 16:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), 90 minutes, adults 1,300 yen; the midday session is off on Wednesdays. Free day-bather bus from Fukushima Station west exit at 10:40, back from the inn at 13:15. Overnight guests’ bus leaves the west exit at 14:30 and returns at 10:00, by reservation. Part of the IS Holdings group.

Ryokan Tamagoyu tattoo policy → Check availability

Takayu Onsen, beside the Attaka-yu bathhouse Ryokan Confirmed

Adachiya

安達屋

Adachiya has no tattoo rule on its site. What it has is three private baths: two open-air tubs in a wooden bath hut, Yakushi-no-yu, and a small indoor one, Himesayuri. Overnight guests book them at the front desk after arrival, and late at night they are simply locked from inside. Day visitors can book one too.

貸切露天風呂がふたつ。極上のプライベート。

Best for: Two private open-air tubs in a wooden hut under the village’s Yakushi hall

Yakushi-no-yu: for guests, reserved 07:00–22:00 at the front desk after arrival, then open to whoever locks it 22:00–24:00 and from dawn to 06:45; 50 minutes. Himesayuri indoor private bath: reserved 07:00–22:00, free 22:00–07:00. Day visitors: 1,500 yen admission plus 1,100 yen for a private bath, reception 10:30–13:00, closed Tuesdays, Fridays and inn holidays. The big open-air bath Taiki-no-yu, rebuilt with a west half opened 2025-07-10, is now split east and west and swapped between men and women. The top page says children of elementary age and under are not accepted for stays.

Adachiya tattoo policy → Find a hotel nearby →

Shinobu Onsen, below Takayu across a suspension bridge, Sakuramoto Three-room ryokan Confirmed

Shinobu Onsen Seishu

信夫温泉青州

Seishu publishes no tattoo rule and has no shared bath to worry about. Each of its three rooms has its own open-air bath, prepared with herbs chosen for the guest, and its two spring-fed open-air baths are both used as private baths.

※「川側露天風呂清韻(せいいん)の湯」「山側露天風呂静観(せいかん)の湯」は、貸切風呂となります。

Best for: A splurge at a three-room hideaway where every bath is yours alone

Three rooms, all upstairs with no elevator, each with an open-air bath of its own. Private baths Seikan-no-yu (mountain side, with an indoor carbonated bath) and Seiin-no-yu (river side). Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays except in busy seasons. All-inclusive; free shuttle by reservation. The whole inn can be taken for 1 to 11 guests. This is Shinobu Onsen, a separate spring the Takayu association lists with its members.

Shinobu Onsen Seishu tattoo policy → Check availability

Traveler’s note

The town’s own bathhouse, Attaka-yu, publishes the plainest rule in the region: tattoos are fine and there is no need to cover them. It is closed for works from August 2026 until about mid-February 2027, which is why it is not listed below yet; check its reopening before you plan around it. One hotel here also says two different things in two languages: its Japanese FAQ allows tattoos, its English page asks tattooed guests to stay out. The listing quotes both.

Getting there

Tickets for the ride in

JR East Pass, Tohoku area Covers the Yamabiko between Sendai and Fukushima, and the Shinkansen from Tokyo if that is where you start. The Fukushima Kotsu bus up the mountain is 920 yen and is not included.

Sold on Klook. Booking through these links costs you nothing extra and sends a small commission our way.

Common questions

Takayu questions

Can I use a shared bath in Takayu with a tattoo?

At one hotel, yes: Kagetsu Highland Hotel’s Japanese FAQ allows tattoos in its large and open-air baths, unless the staff judge a piece intimidating. Its English page is stricter, so it is worth mentioning when you book. The town bathhouse also allows tattoos uncovered, once it reopens after its works.

Can I bathe privately without staying the night?

Yes, at two inns. Ryokan Tamagoyu rents an open-air bath for 45 minutes on top of its day admission, first come first served, and Adachiya rents private baths to day visitors as well.

Is the water really untreated?

The inns say so: Takayu publishes that its water is not chlorinated and runs straight from the source. That is a claim about the water, not about tattoos, and it is why the baths smell strongly of sulfur.

How do I get to Takayu?

From Sendai, the Yamabiko Shinkansen to Fukushima takes about twenty minutes, and the Fukushima Kotsu bus from the west exit climbs to Takayu in 36 minutes for 920 yen. The bus runs only a few times a day, so plan the train around it. From Tokyo, the Shinkansen reaches Fukushima in about an hour and a half.

More places to bathe

Other guides

All twenty-three guides are live.

Tokyo area69 places → Osaka area39 places → Kyoto area15 places → Sapporo area11 places → Sendai area8 places → Hakone23 places → Kinosaki Onsen10 places → Kusatsu Onsen9 places → Nikko6 places → Atami7 places → Shirahama7 places → Arima Onsen8 places → Yumura Onsen3 places → Nachi-Katsuura2 places → Awaji Island4 places → Beppu Onsen32 places → Yufuin Onsen13 places → Kurokawa Onsen17 places → Ibusuki Onsen14 places → Ureshino Onsen14 places → Noboribetsu Onsen8 places → Jozankei Onsen13 places → Niseko12 places → Lake Toya5 places → Akiu Onsen7 places → Naruko Onsen10 places → Zao Onsen8 places → Nyuto Onsen4 places → Higashiyama Onsen10 places → Hanamaki Onsen10 places → Takayu OnsenYou are here