Ryokan Yunoka
旅館ゆのか
Does Ryokan Yunoka allow tattoos? In a private bath
Yunoka's roof holds two open-air private baths, a cypress barrel and a log tub, booked by the 50-minute slot at 1,000 yen with Tachibana Bay in front of you. Its three annex rooms each have a spring-fed tub on the terrace.
Yunoka publishes no tattoo rule for its indoor bath. A tattooed guest books one of three private baths, two of them open-air on the roof, in 50-minute slots at 1,000 yen, or takes a room with its own source-fed tub: all three annex rooms have a semi-open-air one on the terrace.
The bath
The water is a sodium chloride salt spring that rises on its own at 105°C and is cooled to a bathing temperature; the inn calls it a warming bath that keeps the heat in you afterward. The indoor large bath, men's and women's, is open until midnight and again 6 to 10 a.m.
The private baths are booked in 50-minute slots on the hour, 3 to 11:50 p.m. and 6 to 9:50 a.m., at 1,000 yen a slot. Two are on the roof, open to the sky. Taru-no-yu is a cypress barrel for two or three adults with no roof over it and Tachibana Bay straight ahead. Maruta-no-yu is built from whole logs, and the inn says the sunset and the fishing-boat lights from it are something else. The third, Take-no-yu, is indoors with a reclining bath for days when the weather or the exposure is not wanted. Day visitors are taken 3 to 9 p.m., 500 yen for the large bath and 1,000 yen for a private bath.
The annex has just three rooms, a twin and a double, and each has a semi-open-air bath on its terrace fed from the source and usable at any hour; children are not taken there. The main building also has rooms with a source-fed bath.
The hotel
Yunoka reopened on July 23, 2024 after a renovation. The main building has eight rooms in four kinds, from a 54-square-meter Japanese-Western twin for up to four to a Japanese-modern twin; the annex adds three rooms with terrace baths for two. Dinner is kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) around local seafood with the inn's specialty of food steamed in the spring's own vapor. Free parking for 25 cars, first come first served, and a convenience store a minute away.
Good to know
- Book the roof by the slot: 50 minutes on the hour, 1,000 yen, from 3 p.m. and again from 6 a.m.
- The annex is adults only, three rooms with a terrace tub each.
- One minute from the Nishi-Tozanguchi stop, by the inn's count.
- Day use 3 to 9 p.m. if you only want the barrel bath.
Getting there
From Isahaya Station take the Shimatetsu bus to the Nishi-Tozanguchi stop, about one hour, then walk about one minute to the inn. From Hakata, the JR Kamome reaches Isahaya in about 1 hour 40 minutes by the neighboring inn's count. The inn does not publish the bus fare.
Isahaya STN · JR Nagasaki Main Line and Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen (Kamome), then the Shimatetsu bus
Not walkable.
Shimatetsu bus about one hour to Nishi-Tozanguchi, then a one-minute walk.
Where it is
Obama bus stop
- JR limited express 57 min
- Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen 20 min
- Shimatetsu bus 58 min
- Shinkansen tickets Seats between any two stations, booked by date.
- JR Kyushu Rail Pass from ¥12,000 · 3, 5 or 7 consecutive days Worth it if you’re coming from Hakata by train.
- Kyushu SunQ Pass Worth it if you’d rather ride buses. It covers the Shimatetsu buses from Isahaya and the direct bus from Nagasaki Station to Unzen, and highway buses across the island.
- 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, or reserve a private bath.
How we know
Bath layout confirmed, tattoo policy not published Checked on the official site (the hot spring page sets out the three reserved private baths; the annex page describes the in-room baths)
Best for: a couple who want a rooftop barrel bath to themselves at sunset and a terrace tub in the room afterwards
Three private baths, each 50 minutes by reservation, 1,000 yen: Taru-no-yu, an open-air cypress barrel on the roof for two or three adults; Maruta-no-yu, an open-air log-built tub on the roof; and Take-no-yu, indoors with a reclining bath. Hours 3 to 11:50 p.m. and 6 to 9:50 a.m., on the hour. The indoor large bath runs to midnight and 6 to 10 a.m. Day use 3 to 9 p.m.: 500 yen for the large bath, 1,000 yen for a private bath. The three annex rooms each have a semi-open-air source-fed bath and a terrace and do not take children; the main building also has rooms with a source-fed bath. Reopened after renovation on July 23, 2024.
Book your stay
- BBooking.comCheck availability
- AAgodaCheck availability
- TTrip.comCheck availability
- EExpediaCheck availability
- HHotels.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.