Unzen Kanko Hotel
雲仙観光ホテル
Does Unzen Kanko Hotel allow tattoos? In a private bath
The Kanko Hotel of 1935 keeps one family bath, a small tiled room rented by the hour on reservation, beside the sulfur hall that draws from the Koito Jigoku at 93.5 degrees.
The hotel’s FAQ refuses tattoos in its sulfur bath hall and open-air bath. It has one family bath, rented by the hour at ¥2,000 plus tax a group, on full advance reservation, and that is the one place here to bathe alone. Bathing is for staying guests only.
The bath
The hotel's water is an acid spring carrying iron and sulfur with aluminum sulfate, pH 2.0, piped from the Koito Jigoku, a self-flowing source at 93.5 degrees. The hotel lists chronic skin and women's complaints, digestion, diabetes, neuralgia, joint pain, bruises, cuts, motor paralysis and piles. The bathhouse has a sulfur bath hall, an open-air bath and a relaxation space, open 6 to 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to midnight; the photo of the hall shows a vaulted white ceiling, a mosaic of brown and cream tile and a row of brass taps under round lamps. Bathing is for staying guests only; there is no day use.
The family bath is the private option, and there is one of them. It rents to one group for an hour at ¥2,000 plus tax and must be reserved in advance; the hotel directs bookings to its FAQ page or the phone. The hotel's photo shows a small room tiled in black-and-white checks with a mosaic wall, two round wall lamps, a wide window onto a stone wall and a dark tiled tub along the right side, big enough for two. The guest rooms have no spring tub of their own.
The hotel
Kyushu's only classic hotel, built in 1935 in the style of a Swiss mountain lodge with heavy timber and a 200-tsubo antique dining room. Eight room types run from a standard twin to the special room, the Oriental and a universal room; sizes are not published. Standard plans are two meals with a choice of French or Japanese kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal) at dinner and a Western or Japanese breakfast; there is a bar, a lounge and a Japanese restaurant. Check-in 2 p.m. (last 9 p.m.), check-out 11 a.m. The hotel belongs to the Japan Classic Hotel association.
Good to know
- One family bath for the whole hotel: reserve it before you arrive, an hour at a time.
- The bathhouse closes 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and is for staying guests only.
- The Nagasaki route bus needs no reservation, three a day each way, by the hotel's own timetable.
- Two dinner styles under one roof, French in the antique dining room or Japanese kaiseki.
Getting there
From Isahaya Station take the Shimatetsu bus toward Unzen, about 86 minutes to the Unzen stop; the hotel's access pages give no Isahaya directions, stop name or walking time. The hotel's own timetable covers the Nagasaki route bus: it leaves the Nagasaki Station terminal at 9:10 a.m., 1:10 p.m. and 4:10 p.m. and reaches Kojigoku-iriguchi, via Obama, at 10:50 a.m., 2:50 p.m. and 5:50 p.m., no reservation needed. From Hakata, the Relay Kamome and the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen reach Isahaya in about 80 minutes.
Isahaya STN · JR Nagasaki Main Line and Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen (Kamome), then the Shimatetsu bus
Not walkable.
Shimatetsu bus about 86 minutes to Unzen; the hotel publishes only the Nagasaki route bus timetable.
Where it is
Unzen bus stop
- JR limited express 57 min
- Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen 20 min
- Shimatetsu bus 1 hr 26 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
Skip the shared baths and reserve a private bath.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (the inn’s own FAQ, opened from the questions button on its site, under the question on the large bath, for the refusal; its own bath and room pages for the private bathing)
誠に申し訳けございませんが、当館では入れ墨（刺青）・タトゥーのあるお客様のご入浴はご遠慮頂いております。
This is the rule for the shared baths. It doesn’t apply to the private baths.
Best for: a couple who want a 1935 mountain-lodge hotel and an hour in a tiled private bath
One family bath, ¥2,000 plus tax for one group per hour, fully reserved; the page points to the FAQ or the phone for booking. Shared baths: sulfur bath hall, open-air bath and a relaxation space, 6 to 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. to midnight. No day use. Spring: acid, iron and sulfur bearing aluminum sulfate spring, pH 2.0, from the Koito Jigoku at 93.5 degrees, self-flowing. Rooms have no spring tub.
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