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

Ryokan Tamagoyu

旅館玉子湯

Does Ryokan Tamagoyu allow tattoos? In a private bath

Private bath only

An inn founded in 1868 whose thatched bathhouse in the garden has stood for more than 150 years. Its name, egg bath, comes from the smell of the water and the way it leaves skin.

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.

Show this at the front desk

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。

The operator’s own wording, to show at the desk if you need to.

Where it is

Sendai is the door to all of these. Akiu is 43 minutes on one bus from the station, with no change. Nyuto is the Komachi, JR’s Shinkansen across to Akita, as far as Tazawako, then a bus of 47 minutes, about 2 h 20 in all. Naruko is twelve minutes on the Shinkansen to Furukawa and three quarters of an hour up the Rikuu East line. Zao is the Senzan line rapid over the mountains to Yamagata, then a bus of 37 minutes up to the ski village. Hanamaki is the Yamabiko to Kitakami, one stop on the local line and a bus, about 2 h 10. Higashiyama is the long one: the Shinkansen to Koriyama, the Ban-etsu West line over to Aizu-Wakamatsu and the loop bus, nearly four hours with the waits, and easier from Tokyo. Ryokan Tamagoyu · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · open in Google Maps

What happens when you arrive

Skip the shared baths and reserve the private one the way this page describes. Once the door is closed, the bath is yours.

How we know

Confirmed from official site (tamagoyu.jp/spa/higaeri/ FAQ; the refusal also on tamagoyu.jp/spa/) — a refusal for the shared baths, with the listing resting on the private bath

Read on: tamagoyu.jp/spa/higaeri/

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.

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Others in the same group

More places in the takayu with private bath only

AdachiyaTakayu Onsen, beside the Attaka-yu bathhouse → Shinobu Onsen SeishuShinobu Onsen, below Takayu across a suspension bridge, Sakuramoto →

All takayu listings →