Hohoemi no Sorayubune Tsuruya
ほほえみの空湯舟 つるや
Does Hohoemi no Sorayubune Tsuruya allow tattoos? In a private bath
Tsuruya lays tatami everywhere, down to the floor of its large bath, and eight of its rooms keep their own tub of flowing Tendo spring water on a garden terrace.
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.
The bath
Tsuruya gives the spring's history on its bath page: hot water came up in 1886 from a well dug for irrigation, and a hotter source was struck in 1911. The water is a sodium-calcium sulfate spring, which the inn lists for cuts, burns, chronic skin trouble, neuralgia, joint pain, cold sensitivity and fatigue. The large baths, Ginga-no-yu for men and Tenku-no-yu for women, each have an indoor bath on filtered, recirculated water and an open-air bath with the spring flowing through. Their floors are waterproof tatami, which the inn says stays warm and does not slip. They open 3 p.m. to midnight and 5 to 10 a.m.
Eight rooms have their own spring tub with the water flowing through. Konjo, Kakitsubata, Haku and Momo have an open-air bath; Taiyo, Seiun, Tsuki and Hoshi have a half-open-air bath. The photos show round ceramic tubs on timber decks beside small gardens. Konjo and Kakitsubata were refitted in October 2025 with a shower booth beside the tub. Haku is built for wheelchair users, who need a helper with them.
The hotel
Tsuruya is a 22-room inn built as a corridor around a Japanese garden, with tatami laid through the whole building. The lobby is furnished with chairs by Tendo Mokko, the furniture maker in town, including a 1964 easy chair in Brazilian rosewood. Dinner is a creative kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal). Guests in any of the open-air bath rooms eat in a private dining room, and five of those rooms have one built in. A free drinks lounge with records runs 3 to 10 p.m. All rooms are non-smoking. Check-in 3 p.m., check-out 10 a.m.
Good to know
- Tatami underfoot in the large bath, laid to keep feet warm in winter and stop slips.
- Five rooms come with their own dining room, so both meals arrive without leaving your suite.
- Free drinks from 3 to 10 p.m. in a lounge with old records and CDs.
- Free pickup at Tendo Station, if you book it ahead.
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. Tsuruya runs a free pickup from Tendo Station if you book it ahead. Without it, the inn counts about 15 minutes on foot or 5 minutes by car. From Yamagata Airport it is about 15 minutes by car.
Tendo STN · JR Ou Main Line (Yamagata Shinkansen Tsubasa)
About 15 minutes.
Free pickup from Tendo Station, 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
Use the bath in your room.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (: the rooms page names eight rooms with a spring-fed open-air or half-open-air bath)
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.
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