Unzen Miyazaki Ryokan
雲仙宮崎旅館
Does Unzen Miyazaki Ryokan allow tattoos? In a private bath
Miyazaki says in print that its large bath is not for tattooed guests, and in the same breath sells three private baths at ¥3,300 for 50 minutes, each with a window that opens the whole wall to the garden.
Miyazaki asks guests with a tattoo not to use its large bath, Kirin-no-yu, and says so on its hot spring page. The same page sells three private baths, Ichi-no-yu, Ni-no-yu and San-no-yu, at ¥3,300 for 50 minutes, booked at check-in, and the premium design rooms have a semi-open-air tub of source water. The written refusal names the large bath only.
Show this at the front desk
当館の大浴場のご利用につきまして、刺青・タトゥーのあるお客様はご利用をお控えください。
The operator’s own wording, to show at the desk if you need to.
The bath
The water is piped from the Daikyokan Jigoku and runs free-flowing: a simple acid spring with hydrogen sulfide, white and cloudy, with 103.8 mg of metasilicic acid that the inn credits for soft skin. It lists acne, heat rash, athlete's foot, neuralgia, joint pain, bruises, digestion, cold sensitivity and recovery after illness, and warns that the sulfur blackens metal, so even the taps are black and towels may turn yellow. The large bath Kirin-no-yu, named after a feng shui master's remark that a kirin comes to the source to heal its wounds, is open 3 p.m. to midnight and 5 to 9 a.m., with a sauna (to 10 p.m.) and a cold bath on both sides. The open-air baths, one of rock and one of laid stone, swap between men and women at midday, and the inn says the water turns lapis blue when the weather is right. Tattooed guests are asked to keep out of all of this.
The three private baths are the way in. Ichi-no-yu, Ni-no-yu and San-no-yu each have a generous tub and a window wall that opens fully, so the bath becomes semi-open-air onto planted greenery. They cost ¥3,300 for 50 minutes, run the same hours as the large bath, and are booked when you check in; the inn suggests one or two people. The photos show cedar-paneled rooms with a tub of pale stone and steam drifting in from the garden. The Premium Design Room and Premium Design Corner have a free-flowing semi-open-air tub of their own.
The hotel
A 93-year-old inn rebuilt from the ground up in 2022 on three principles: the view first, the region first, the water's effect first. Three room types: a 42-square-meter deluxe twin with a terrace, and the Premium Design Room and Premium Design Corner with their own semi-open-air bath. The restaurant looks onto the Japanese garden and the national park and serves creative kaiseki (a multi-course Japanese meal); there is a cafe. Check-in 3 to 6 p.m., check-out 11 a.m. Lockers in the changing rooms, a free safe in each room, and parking at ¥500 a night.
Good to know
- Book the private bath at the desk when you arrive; there is no advance list.
- Open the window and the private bath is half outdoors, with the planting right there.
- Nothing silver in the water: the inn says the sulfur blackens metal and yellows towels.
- No day bathing at all, since the baths are cleaned at midday.
Getting there
From Isahaya Station take the Shimatetsu bus toward Unzen, about 80 minutes by the inn's count; it names no stop and no walking time. From Nagasaki Station, ride the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen Kamome about 10 minutes to Isahaya and change to the bus, or take the Kenei bus direct in about 100 minutes. From Hakata, the Relay Kamome limited express to Takeo-Onsen (about 60 minutes), the Kamome to Isahaya (about 20 minutes), then the bus.
Isahaya STN · JR Nagasaki Main Line and Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen (Kamome), then the Shimatetsu bus
Not walkable.
Shimatetsu bus about 80 minutes to Unzen; the inn names no stop.
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 use one of the private baths. No reservation needed.
How we know
Confirmed from official site (the hot spring page carries the refusal for the large bath and the terms of the three private baths; the rooms page names the semi-open-air bath in the premium design rooms)
Best for: a tattooed guest who wants a 2022-built inn and will pay for a 50-minute private bath or a room with its own tub
Three private baths, Ichi-no-yu, Ni-no-yu and San-no-yu, ¥3,300 for 50 minutes, 3 p.m. to midnight and 5 to 9 a.m., reserved on arrival; the inn suggests one or two people. Their windows open fully to make a semi-open-air bath. Premium Design Room and Premium Design Corner have a free-flowing semi-open-air bath. No bathing-only day use, because the baths are cleaned at midday. Parking ¥500 a night, not reservable.
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