Yu no Ka Matsunoyu
湯の香 松の湯
Does Yu no Ka Matsunoyu allow tattoos? In a private bath
Matsunoyu says it is the only inn in Tendo with two sources of its own to pour, and its detached Meiji-era house, Shinonome, has a blue-glazed open-air tub from the Jinenko kiln in its own garden.
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.
The bath
Matsunoyu pours two springs. The Matsunoyu large bath takes the Tendo Onsen cooperative source, a sulfate spring that the inn says leaves crystals on the spout because it is never machine-recirculated; the floor stone holds fossil sea lilies. Beside it, the Genkotsu open-air bath is hollowed out of a 20-ton block of Zao stone, facing a pine that is roped against snow in winter. The cypress Hakkakudo, an eight-sided hall, takes the inn's own source, a soft simple spring. Both are open 5 to 10 a.m. and noon to midnight, and the men's and women's sides swap at 10 p.m.
Five rooms have a spring tub of their own. Shinonome, the detached house, has a ceramic open-air tub from the Jinenko kiln in Oishida, in its own garden. The two Main Building A rooms have a half-open-air bath whose windows open on warm days and close in cold ones. The inn says both run straight from the source. The two Maisonette B rooms have a ceramic tub you fill with spring water when you want it. The FAQ says room baths draw the cooperative spring.
The hotel
Matsunoyu is a 12-room inn on a garden of about 1,500 tsubo (a unit of about 3.3 square meters), in five room types. Shinonome is a Meiji-era house with rooms of 12 and 8 mats for up to seven. Main Building A has a 10-mat room, a heated-floor bedroom and the half-open-air bath, with fewer steps for guests who walk with difficulty. The maisonettes stack a room over a terrace facing the garden. The inn is non-smoking throughout and has no vending machines. Check-in 3 to 6 p.m., check-out 10 a.m.
Good to know
- Two springs, one stay. The sides swap at 10 p.m. so everyone gets both.
- Main Building A suits slower walkers, with a wide tub rim to sit on and a glass screen for a helper to watch through.
- No day bathers, so the large baths are for staying guests only.
- Pickup at Tendo Station, if you give a time, ideally the day before.
Getting there
From Yamagata Station take the JR Ou line local train to Tendo Station, about 20 minutes and ¥260, or the Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa, about 10 minutes. The inn counts about 15 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by car from Tendo Station. It picks guests up at the station and asks for the time, ideally the day before, because staff are short at some hours.
Tendo STN · JR Ou Main Line (Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa)
About 15 minutes.
Inn pickup from Tendo Station, best requested the day before.
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
Use the bath in your room.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the rooms page and hot spring page list the room baths, and the FAQ says room baths draw the Tendo Onsen cooperative spring)
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.
Book your stay
- AAgodaCheck availability
- TTrip.comCheck availability
Booking through these links costs you nothing extra and earns us a small commission, which keeps this guide free and up to date for our tattoo community. Thanks for your support.