Ijika Daiichi Hotel Kagura
石鏡第一ホテル神具良
Does Ijika Daiichi Hotel Kagura allow tattoos? In a private bath
Kagura stands on the cape above Ijika, looking across Ise Bay to Kamishima and Cape Irago. Its four private baths go first come on the day, and every NABURA room has an open-air tub of spring water kept hot all day and night.
Kagura publishes no tattoo rule, so plan on its private baths rather than the shared ones. It has four, booked on the day for 40 minutes, and its NABURA rooms each have an open-air bath of spring water kept hot around the clock.
The bath
Kagura has four private baths. Kanata-no-haku and Ao-no-kirameki cost ¥3,300 a group for 40 minutes, as do Kizuna-no-yu, which has a jacuzzi, and Nagomi-no-yu. The photo of Kanata-no-haku shows a long tub of veined grey stone in a dark-tiled room, open on one side to the sea. Sessions start on the half hour from 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. Slots are booked on the day, first come first served, and two groups each can reserve the 3:10 and 4 p.m. starts by phone. Two of the family baths opened in March 2023.
The NABURA rooms, in an Asian resort style, all have an open-air bath. The hotel says the water is the Shin-Misato Onsen spring, which it calls a long-life water, kept hot 24 hours a day so you can bathe whenever you like.
The spring, Shin-Misato Onsen Choju-no-yu No. 2, has its source in Misato, Tsu; it is an alkaline simple spring. The shared open-air baths, Kibo-no-yu with the islands of Ise Bay and Yume-no-yu with the open sea and hills, are rock baths that swap daily. The view bath looks to Cape Irago and Kamishima, and on clear winter days, the hotel says, to Mount Fuji. Both are open 3 p.m. to midnight and 5:30 to 9:30 a.m., in separate rooms.
The hotel
A hotel on the cape top above Ijika, a fishing village on the Pearl Road. Besides the NABURA rooms there are main-building Japanese rooms on the sea and hill sides, and East-building special, Japanese-Western, Japanese and Western rooms; room meals are served in the East building's Japanese rooms, and NABURA guests get their own dinner of Ise lobster, abalone and seasonal seafood. Others dine in the main dining room, which holds a sunrise viewing every morning. At 7:10 a.m. staff feed the kites from the 3rd-floor terrace.
Good to know
- Private baths go first come on the day; phone ahead for a 3:10 or 4 p.m. start.
- NABURA room tubs stay hot all day and night, filled with the spring.
- Free bus from Kintetsu Toba exit 1 at 3, 4 and 5 p.m., booked by the day before.
Getting there
Take the Kintetsu limited express from Kintetsu Nagoya to Toba, about 1 hour 30 to 1 hour 40 minutes. The hotel's free bus leaves exit 1 of Kintetsu Toba Station at 3, 4 and 5 p.m. and returns at 9 and 10 a.m.; ask for it when booking or phone by the day before. The route bus from Toba Station takes about 30 to 55 minutes, and the drive about 30. The front entrance is on a steep slope; use the garden steps on the right.
Toba STN · Kintetsu Toba Line (limited express from Kintetsu Nagoya)
Not walkable.
Free hotel bus from Kintetsu Toba exit 1 at 3, 4 and 5 p.m., booked by the day before; route bus 30 to 55 minutes.
Where it is
Hotel bus stop
- Kintetsu limited express 1 hr 35 min
- hotel bus about 30 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- Kintetsu Rail Pass, 5 days ¥4,900 Worth it if you’re coming from Osaka, or stopping at Ise or Nara on the way. It covers Kintetsu trains between Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, Ise, Toba and Nagoya; the limited express seat is extra, about ¥1,340 from Nagoya or ¥1,640 from Osaka. From Nagoya and back, ordinary tickets cost less.
- Ise Grand Shrine and Toba Aquarium day tour Ise Grand Shrine, the Wedded Rocks at Futami, and Toba Aquarium or Mikimoto Pearl Island, from Nagoya.
- 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
Skip the shared baths and use one of the private baths. No reservation needed.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site ()
Best for: a sea-view private tub or a NABURA room with its own spring bath, at the far end of the Pearl Road
Private baths: Kanata-no-haku, Ao-no-kirameki, Kizuna-no-yu (with a jacuzzi) and Nagomi-no-yu, 3,300 yen per group for 40 minutes, from 4:30 to 10:30 p.m. starting on the half hour. Booking is on the day, first come first served; two groups each can reserve the 3:10 and 4 p.m. starts by phone. Two family baths opened in March 2023. Every NABURA room has an open-air bath of the Shin-Misato Onsen spring. The shared open-air baths and the view bath are separate rooms: dress in between.
Book your stay
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