Kisara
懐古ロマンの宿 季さら
Does Kisara allow tattoos? In a private bath
Kisara has thirteen detached cottages in the woods of Anrakujima and no shared bath at all. Each one has two tubs of Shaguji spring water, one indoors on a tatami floor and one outdoors under the trees.
Kisara publishes no tattoo rule, and it does not need one: there is no large bath. Each of its 13 detached rooms has two hot spring baths of its own, a tatami-floored indoor tub and an open-air tub in the trees.
The bath
Kisara has no large bath; the baths come with the cottages. Each of the 13 detached rooms has two: an indoor bath with a tatami floor and an open-air bath where, the inn says, you can take in the forest by day and the stars at night. The photo shows a round, speckled ceramic tub with a pouring spout, set on a wooden deck beside a cedar-board wall. Both tubs carry Shaguji Onsen water. Its source is at Nanakuri, the place known for the old Nanakuri-no-yu, across the Ano River from the famous Sakakibara Onsen. The inn describes it as an alkaline water, almost clear and odorless, and lists it for chronic skin complaints, neuralgia and sore muscles. It states that the water is natural hot spring with water added, circulated and filtered. If the bath runs too hot or too cool, ask the staff and they will adjust it.
The Honkan Hanare cottages are 53 square meters, with a Western bedroom of 8 mats and a Japanese living room of 8 mats, for up to four guests; a few are for two.
The hotel
A small inn of 13 one-story cottages on a wooded site of about 4,000 tsubo (a unit of about 3.3 square meters) on the Anrakujima hill, built, the inn says, from real and local wood where it could be. Dinner is cooked over charcoal at Ryotei Ai-Oi in the center house, or served in the cottage on request; the IRORI cottages eat at an irori hearth table in the room. A mountain-side suite takes dogs. The same company runs Kisara Bettei TOKI and the villas of Kisara Oneness.
Good to know
- No shared bath anywhere on site: both tubs are inside your cottage.
- Spring water with water added, circulated and filtered, the inn says.
- Ask the staff to raise or lower the bath temperature.
Getting there
From Nagoya, the JR or Kintetsu trains reach Toba in about 1 hour 40 minutes, the inn says; from Osaka, the Kintetsu takes about 2 hours. The inn's access page shows where its station car waits at Toba but gives no ride time. By road the inn is in Anrakujima, across Anrakujima Bridge from Toba; the drive from Nagoya takes about 2 hours.
Toba STN · Kintetsu Toba Line (limited express from Kintetsu Nagoya) or JR Sangu Line
Not walkable.
The inn's car meets guests at Toba Station.
Where it is
Hotel bus stop
- Kintetsu limited express 1 hr 35 min
- hotel bus about 2 km
- 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
There's no shared bath here, so every bath you use is private.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site ()
Best for: a couple who want a detached cottage with its own spring-water tubs, in or out, and dinner brought to the room
The water is Shaguji Onsen, an alkaline spring with its source at Nanakuri near Sakakibara Onsen, used with added water, circulated and filtered, as the inn states. Staff will adjust the bath temperature on request. The Honkan Hanare cottages are 53 square meters, a Western bedroom and a Japanese living room, for up to four (some for two). Meals are at the inn's restaurant Ryotei Ai-Oi or in the room; the IRORI cottages serve dinner at an irori hearth table in the room. A dog-friendly mountain cottage suite is sold too.
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