Shohakutei Azumaso
松伯亭 あづま荘
Does Shohakutei Azumaso allow tattoos? In a private bath
Azumaso says its founder dug the 1886 well that started Tendo Onsen, and its sukiya-style annex now gives every one of its seven rooms a cypress tub of that spring.
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.
The bath
The water is the Tendo Onsen spring, a sodium-calcium sulfate spring the inn lists for cuts, burns, chronic skin trouble, stiff joints, bruises and sprains, cold sensitivity and recovery from illness and fatigue. Its open-air baths, Hyottoko for men and Okame for women, are the only ones in Tendo with no roof, the inn says. The large bath Sato-no-yu draws the same spring. Both are open 1 p.m. to 10 a.m. the next morning.
The annex Koin is the reason to book. All seven rooms have a cypress bath with the spring flowing straight through. Muso, a 12.5-mat room with a 6-mat room for up to seven, and Yoimachi, a 12.5-mat room for up to four, also have an open-air tub on a deck. The photos show a round tub of pale cypress bound with a metal hoop.
The private bath Yutore, renewed in 2023, has a wide rim to sit on and a shallow tub for small children. It costs ¥3,300 for 45 minutes, with 10 more minutes for ¥550, free for families with a preschooler or a guest with a disability. Slots start at 3, 4:10 and 5:20 p.m., then 7:20, 8:30 and 9:45 p.m.; book by the day before, or on the day if one is free.
The hotel
Azumaso has been run by one family for over 100 years. The inn says its founder, Takahashi Soemon, dug the 1886 well that first struck warm water here and opened the inn, then called Azumayu, when the spring opened in 1911. Today there are 34 rooms in three wings: 17 standard rooms in the main building, all facing the garden; 10 universal-design rooms in the west wing, renewed in 2024, two with a theater; and the seven-room sukiya-style annex Koin with its own garden and dining room. Meals use local produce, with a choice of set courses.
Good to know
- Book the private bath for 3 p.m. and the inn lets you check in at 2:30.
- Open-air baths with no roof at all, which the inn says is unique in Tendo.
- Baby baths and chairs are lent free, and the private bath has a shallow tub for small children.
- Free pickup at Tendo Station, if you book it ahead.
Getting there
From Yamagata Station the inn counts about 19 minutes on the JR Ou line to Tendo Station; the Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa takes about 10 minutes. From Tendo Station the inn's free pickup bus takes about 8 minutes and runs 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; book it ahead by phone. On foot it is about 15 minutes. Outside pickup hours, the inn asks guests to use other transport.
Tendo STN · JR Ou Main Line (Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa)
About 15 minutes.
Free inn bus from Tendo Station, about 8 minutes, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., booked ahead.
Where it is
Tendo STN
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR East Pass from ¥35,000 · 5 or 10 consecutive days Covers the whole ride: the Tsubasa, the Yamagata Shinkansen, runs from Tokyo to Tendo with no change, and the inns are a walk or a free pickup from the station.
- Yamadera, Tendo and Ginzan day trip Yamadera’s mountain temple, a stop in Tendo and a stroll through Ginzan Onsen, from Sendai.
- 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
Book an annex room and use its bath. For a small tattoo under a seal, ask the desk whether the shared baths are open to you.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (the inn’s own FAQ, opened from the questions button on its site, under the question on the large bath)
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。
This is the rule for the shared baths. It doesn’t apply to the private baths.
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.
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