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Illustration of three giant wooden shogi pieces on a terrace under cherry blossom, above the Tendo plain and a snow-capped mountain
Yamagata · about 2 h 55 from Tokyo · Onsen towns

Tattoo friendly onsen in Tendo

Tendo, in Yamagata, carves most of Japan’s pieces for shogi, the Japanese form of chess. Its onsen is one street of inns a walk from the station, a stop on the Yamagata Shinkansen from Tokyo. Hohoemi no Yado Takinoyu is the inn to know: it lets guests with tattoos into its two large baths and asks for no cover. The other five listed here are for a bath with nobody else in it. Ichiraku and Azumaso give every annex room a tub of flowing spring water, Tsuruya and Matsunoyu do the same in some of their rooms, and Tendo Hotel keeps a private bath for its own guests.

1 property

No restrictions

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

Illustration of Hohoemi no Yado Takinoyu in Kamata-honcho, at the west end of the Tendo Onsen inn street
Kamata-honcho, at the west end of the Tendo Onsen inn street Onsen hotel (80 rooms, two large baths with small open-air tubs, two reservable garden baths) ★★★★☆ Confirmed

Hohoemi no Yado Takinoyu

ほほえみの宿 滝の湯

Takinoyu’s accessibility page lists, under its large baths, that guests with tattoos may bathe, and it names no cover-up condition. If you would rather bathe alone, two garden baths can be rented for 50 minutes through the front desk.

タトゥーがある方の入浴可

Best for: tattooed travelers who want a big shared spring bath with no seals to buy

The large baths open 5:30 to 10 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. to midnight, and close 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Wednesdays for maintenance. The garden baths Sakuranbo and Koma are paid, 50 minutes each; the hotel publishes no price and asks guests to ask at the front desk. The hotel says these two are the only baths in the building fed 100 percent by the Tendo spring and flowing through; the large baths recirculate the water with a silver-ion system. Women’s bathing wraps are available for the large bath.

Hohoemi no Yado Takinoyu tattoo policy → See details and book
5 properties

Private onsen and baths in Tendo

Tattoos are fine in a private onsen, whether a bath you reserve or one in your room. The communal baths are restricted, or the policy is unconfirmed. What this means

Illustration of Yubo Ichiraku Tendo Spa and Brewery in Kamata-honcho, on the Tendo Onsen inn street
Kamata-honcho, on the Tendo Onsen inn street Ryokan with an on-site brewery (seven annex suites with their own open-air spring bath, two reservable open-air baths) ★★★★★ Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published

Yubo Ichiraku Tendo Spa and Brewery

湯坊いちらく

Ichiraku publishes no tattoo rule for its shared baths. The seven suites of its annex, Bettei Otoan, each have an open-air bath fed by the spring and usable at any hour, and the inn rents two open-air private baths, so a tattooed guest can stay without using the shared bath.

Best for: couples who want a spring-fed open-air tub of their own and a beer brewed on the premises

The annex Bettei Otoan has seven suites in wooden sukiya style, types D, E and F, each with an open-air bath fed straight from the spring and open 24 hours; only annex guests hold a key to that wing. The private baths are the Zao-iwa rock bath and the cypress bath on the first floor of the Tsukikoma building: 50 minutes for ¥2,200, booked ahead, free on all-inclusive plans. Room type C in the main building also has an open-air bath, but the inn says the main building’s room baths and the indoor large bath are not straight spring water.

Yubo Ichiraku Tendo Spa and Brewery tattoo policy → See details and book
Illustration of Hohoemi no Sorayubune Tsuruya in Kamata-honcho, in the middle of the Tendo Onsen inn street
Kamata-honcho, in the middle of the Tendo Onsen inn street Ryokan (22 rooms, eight with their own spring-fed open-air or half-open-air bath) ★★★★☆ Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published

Hohoemi no Sorayubune Tsuruya

ほほえみの空湯舟 つるや

Tsuruya publishes no tattoo rule for its tatami-floored large baths. Eight of its 22 rooms have their own open-air or half-open-air bath with spring water flowing through, and five of those also have a private dining room, so a tattooed guest can bathe and eat without sharing a room with anyone.

Best for: a stay where the spring tub and both meals are inside your own room

Rooms with their own spring bath: Taiyo, Seiun, Tsuki and Hoshi (half-open-air), and Konjo, Kakitsubata, Haku and Momo (open-air). Haku is barrier-free, with a helper required. Taiyo, Konjo, Kakitsubata, Haku and Seiun have a private dining room where both meals are served. The other rooms (a modern twin, Yamabuki and Uguisu) have no tub of their own. No private bath for rent is listed.

Hohoemi no Sorayubune Tsuruya tattoo policy → See details and book
Illustration of Yu no Ka Matsunoyu in Kamata-honcho, on the Tendo Onsen inn street
Kamata-honcho, on the Tendo Onsen inn street Ryokan (12 rooms on a 1,500-tsubo garden site; five rooms with their own spring tub) ★★★★☆ Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published

Yu no Ka Matsunoyu

湯の香 松の湯

Matsunoyu publishes no tattoo rule for its large baths. Five of its 12 rooms have a spring-water tub of their own: the detached Shinonome with a ceramic open-air bath, two main-building rooms with a half-open-air bath, and two maisonettes with a ceramic tub, so a tattooed guest can book one and skip the shared baths.

Best for: a small garden inn where your room tub runs on the town spring

Shinonome (one detached Meiji-era house for two to seven) has its own garden and an open-air tub made at the Jinenko kiln. The two Main Building A rooms have a half-open-air bath with windows that open. The inn says both run straight from the source, piped so the water does not overflow. The two Maisonette B rooms have a ceramic tub that you fill with spring water yourself. The four Maisonette A rooms have a unit bath with spring water piped in. The inn takes no day bathers.

Yu no Ka Matsunoyu tattoo policy → See details and book
Illustration of Shohakutei Azumaso in Kamata, at the east end of the Tendo Onsen inn street
Kamata, at the east end of the Tendo Onsen inn street Ryokan (34 rooms; seven annex rooms with their own spring-fed cypress bath, two with an open-air bath too; one reservable private bath) ★★★★☆ Confirmed

Shohakutei Azumaso

松伯亭 あづま荘

Azumaso’s FAQ refuses tattoos in its shared baths, fashion and religious ones included. It adds that a guest with a small fashion tattoo who will hide it under a seal should ask at the front desk. Every room in its annex, Koin, has a cypress bath with the spring flowing through, and two add an open-air tub.

当館では入れ墨（刺青）・タトゥーのあるお客様のご入浴はご遠慮頂いております。ただし、小さいファッションタトゥーなどをシールで隠すなどご配慮頂ける場合はフロントまでご相談ください。

Best for: a cypress tub of flowing spring water in a sukiya-style annex with its own garden

The annex Koin has seven rooms. Tokine, Ukigumo, Usugasumi, Tasogare and Kagero have a cypress indoor bath. Muso and Yoimachi have an open-air bath and a cypress indoor bath; the inn says the rooms have hosted the Oza title match in shogi. All annex baths run straight from the source. The private bath Yutore, renewed in 2023, costs ¥3,300 for 45 minutes (¥550 more for 10 extra minutes), booked by the day before or on the day if a slot is free. The inn resumed selling the open-air bath rooms from December 11 after a pause.

Shohakutei Azumaso tattoo policy → See details and book
Illustration of Bimi Kyushin no Yado Tendo Hotel in Kamata-honcho, on the Tendo Onsen inn street
Kamata-honcho, on the Tendo Onsen inn street Onsen hotel (rooms on floors five to nine; one reservable private bath for staying guests and two barrier-free rooms with their own spring tub) ★★★☆☆ Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published

Bimi Kyushin no Yado Tendo Hotel

美味求真の宿 天童ホテル

Tendo Hotel publishes no tattoo rule for its large baths. It rents a private bath, Sakura, to staying guests by the hour, and two barrier-free rooms have a ceramic tub of Tendo spring water, so a tattooed guest can bathe without sharing.

Best for: wheelchair users and families who want a private hour in a large spring bath

Private bath Sakura, opened March 2024, is for staying guests only: one hour for ¥3,300, up to four people, starting at 3:30, 5, 6:30 and 8 p.m., and at 9:30 and 11 p.m. Book online, by phone or at the front desk on the day; late changes count as cancellations. Rooms 526 and 626 are 90 square meters, step-free, with a ceramic tub of Tendo spring water usable at any hour.

Bimi Kyushin no Yado Tendo Hotel tattoo policy → See details and book
Traveler’s note

Takinoyu puts its tattoo line on its accessibility page, not its bath page, so a desk clerk may not know it by heart; it is worth mentioning when you book. Tendo Grand Hotel Maizuruso, which older guides list, closed in 2024. Sakaeya Hotel and Hotel Osho are not listed: neither publishes a tattoo rule, and neither sells a room with a spring tub of its own.

Getting there

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Common questions

Tendo questions

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

At Takinoyu, yes. Its accessibility page says guests with tattoos may use the large baths, Beni-no-yu and Ai-no-yu, and names no cover-up condition. No other inn in Tendo publishes a rule for its shared baths, so every other listing here is for a bath you have to yourself.

Which inns rent a private bath?

Azumaso rents its private bath, Yutore, for ¥3,300 per 45 minutes, and Tendo Hotel rents Sakura to staying guests for ¥3,300 an hour, up to four people. Ichiraku has two open-air private baths at ¥2,200 for 50 minutes, free on all-inclusive plans. Takinoyu rents its two garden baths, the only ones in the building that run straight from the spring, through the front desk.

Which inns give a room its own bath?

All seven annex rooms at Ichiraku and all seven at Azumaso have a tub of flowing spring water, two of Azumaso’s with an open-air tub as well. Eight of Tsuruya’s 22 rooms have an open-air or half open-air spring bath, five of Matsunoyu’s twelve have a spring tub, and Tendo Hotel’s two barrier-free rooms each have a ceramic tub of the spring.

How do I get to Tendo from Tokyo?

Take the Tsubasa, the Yamagata Shinkansen, straight to Tendo, about 2 hours 55 minutes with no change. The inn street is about 15 minutes on foot east of the station, and every listed inn except Ichiraku will collect you if you ask when booking.

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