Morioka Tsunagi Onsen Shikitei
盛岡つなぎ温泉 四季亭
Does Morioka Tsunagi Onsen Shikitei allow tattoos? Yes, covered
Shikitei is a 22-room sukiya-style inn whose open-air bath of alkaline sulfur water sits beneath the wooded hill behind it, and its FAQ lets tattooed guests in once the tattoos are sealed over.
The inn’s FAQ turns tattooed guests away from the large bath unless the tattoos can be hidden under cover seals, in which case they may bathe. It names no seal size and doesn’t say it sells seals, so bring your own. Four room types have an open-air tub of their own, fed straight from the source, where no cover is needed.
Show this at the front desk
申し訳ございませんが、刺青・タトゥーのある方の大浴場のご利用はお断りいたしております。ただし、タトゥー隠しシール等を貼って隠せる場合はご入浴いただけます。
The operator’s own wording, to show at the desk if you need to.
The bath
The inn draws Tsunagi's mixed spring, a blend of the Shiko-no-yu and Shin-Zuiko-no-yu sources, at 65.3°C. It is a simple sulfur spring, alkaline at pH 9.1. The inn says the sulfur helps the metabolism and the alkali lifts old skin, and it calls the water a beauty bath; the listed indications run from neuralgia and stiff shoulders to fatigue and slow recovery after illness. Every shared bath runs on hot spring water, and the water is not for drinking.
The men's large bath is on the second floor and the women's on the third, and they do not swap. The indoor bath looks onto the courtyard, and the open-air bath faces the wooded hill behind the inn. There is no sauna and no day bathing, and the baths are closed to guests before check-in and after check-out. Bath towels are in the changing room, face towels are in the room, and the lockers at the entrance are free.
There is no family bath. Four room types have their own open-air tub fed straight from the source instead: the special room (a 12.5-mat room with a twin bedroom, for up to eight), the 10-mat and 8-mat open-air bath rooms, and a connecting room for up to seven. The 8-mat room and the connecting room were added in 2022.
The hotel
A 22-room inn built in the sukiya style, with a courtyard behind a glass-walled lobby. Dinner is a monthly kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) of Sanriku seafood and Iwate beef in the second-floor dining room, last seating 7 p.m.; breakfast starts between 7:30 and 8:30 a.m. Rooms run from compact 8-mat rooms to a 12-mat room, and three 10-mat rooms have two Simmons beds. The inn is certified as a Welcome Baby inn and is a member of the Pink Ribbon inn network. Massage can be booked at the front desk for the room, 4 p.m. to midnight. Parking is free for 30 cars.
Good to know
- Pickup from the bus stop, if you call the inn before boarding the bus at Morioka Station.
- Bring your own seal. The FAQ allows sealed tattoos but says nothing about selling seals.
- Free lockers at the bath entrance, with bath towels inside and face towels in the room.
- Staying guests only, since the inn takes no day bathers.
Getting there
From the east exit of Morioka Station, take the Iwate Kenkotsu bus for Tsunagi Onsen from stop 10; the inn gives the ride as about 35 minutes. Get off at the Tsunagi Onsen stop and walk about 8 minutes, or call the inn before you board and it will collect you from the stop. There is no shuttle from Morioka Station, and none from Hanamaki Airport, which is about 45 minutes away by car. Drivers leave the Tohoku Expressway at Morioka IC, about 20 minutes away.
Morioka STN · Iwate Kenkotsu bus for Tsunagi Onsen, stop 10 at the east exit
Not walkable.
About 35 minutes by bus, then 8 minutes on foot, or a pickup from the stop if you call ahead.
Where it is
Tsunagi Onsen bus stop
- Tohoku Shinkansen 2 hr 13 min from Tokyo
- Iwate Kenkotsu bus 32 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR East Pass from ¥35,000 · 5 or 10 consecutive days Covers the Hayabusa from Tokyo to Morioka, seat fee included.
- 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
Bring your own seals and cover the tattoo completely before you go in. The hotel doesn't specify a size, so cover everything.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (the inn’s FAQ, hotel facilities section)
Best for: covering up for a sulfur spring open-air bath under a wooded slope, or skipping the seal with a room tub
The men’s bath is on the second floor and the women’s on the third, and they don’t swap. No sauna and no day bathing. Rooms with their own source-fed open-air tub: the special room, the 10-mat and 8-mat open-air bath rooms, and the connecting room. Check-in 3 to 7 p.m., check-out 10 a.m.
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