Hirayama Onsen Yunokura
平山温泉 湯の蔵
Does Hirayama Onsen Yunokura allow tattoos? In a private bath
Yunokura gives each of its Kotobuki-tei and Fukutei cottages an open-air tub of undiluted Hirayama sulfur water, and its day-use Honkan rents three private rooms with their own open-air bath by the afternoon.
No tattoo rule is published. Every cottage in the Kotobuki-tei and Fukutei wings and the Bettei villa has its own open-air bath of undiluted spring water, and the day-use Honkan rents three private rooms with their own open-air bath, so a tattooed traveler can bathe here as a guest or as a visitor without the shared pools.
The bath
The spring is an alkaline simple sulfur water at 42.1°C, run through the baths without recirculation. The inn tells the old story that Kato Kiyomasa, lord of Kumamoto, came here to cure a heat rash, and lists chronic skin conditions, women's complaints, diabetes, neuralgia, stiff joints and muscle pain among its uses. The water is clear enough that flakes of mineral show in it, with a faint sulfur smell.
Staying guests have a large open-air bath on the high ground of the compound, split into men's and women's sides and open to the night sky; the Honkan's indoor bath, with a bubble bath and a sauna, and its big open-air bath ringed by trees are open to guests too. The Honkan takes day visitors 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., closed the second Tuesday of the month and irregularly in August, for ¥600 (children ¥300), or ¥800 and ¥400 with the tatami rest hall.
The private baths are the reason to come. Each of the ten Kotobuki-tei cottages has its own open-air bath, every one shaped differently in cypress, rock or Amakusa stone and filled with 100 percent source water. The six Fukutei cottages have Amakusa stone or rock open-air baths of their own, and the Bettei villa, for up to eight, has a large private rock bath. For visitors who are not staying, the Honkan rents three Japanese-style rooms with a garden and a private open-air bath as a 3.5-hour plan with a hand-made meal, ¥6,000 per pair, minimum two, in sessions of 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or 3 to 9 p.m., by reservation.
The hotel
The compound is four parts: the Honkan day-use hall by the parking lot, the ten Kotobuki-tei cottages and two modern Japanese rooms that eat at the Chikurin dining room, the six Fukutei cottages that eat at Yamaboshi under thick ceiling beams, and the Bettei villa with an 18-mat living room, a 10-mat Japanese room and a bedroom, where dinner is served at Waraji at 6 p.m. and breakfast at Chikurin at 8:30 a.m. Check-in is 3:30 p.m., check-out 11 a.m. A spa and a cafe stand on the grounds, with free parking for 80 cars.
Good to know
- Sixteen cottages with their own open-air tub, ten in Kotobuki-tei and six in Fukutei, each in a different stone or cypress.
- Day visitors can go private too: three Honkan rooms with an open-air bath and a meal, 3.5 hours, by reservation.
- A free shuttle runs to Yamaga bus center and the Kikusui interchange for two or more, booked ahead.
- Bath tax of ¥150 is added to every stay.
Getting there
The inn's own route is from Tamana or Kumamoto: bus to Yamaga bus center (60 minutes from Tamana, 75 from Kumamoto), then the Nankan-Kamimachi line via Hirayama Onsen for 10 minutes to the Hirajo-kami stop and a 5-minute walk. From Shin-Tamana the city's guide puts the bus to Yamaga bus center at about 50 minutes, and the inn's free shuttle will meet two or more guests there if booked. By car it is 50 minutes from Fukuoka on the Kyushu Expressway to Nankan, then 25 minutes on prefectural roads 4 and 195.
Shin-Tamana STN · Kyushu Shinkansen, then Kyushu Sanko buses via Yamaga bus center
About 5 minutes from the Hirajo-kami bus stop, by the inn's count.
Free shuttle from Yamaga bus center or the Kikusui interchange for two or more, booked ahead.
Where it is
Yamaga Onsen bus stop
- Kyushu Shinkansen 40 min
- Sanko bus 50 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 Yamaga is one stop in a longer Kyushu trip by train.
- Kyushu SunQ Pass Worth it if you’d rather ride buses. It covers the Sanko buses from Shin-Tamana and Kumamoto to Yamaga 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 cottage pages list the private open-air baths; the Honkan page lists the three private rooms)
Best for: travelers who want a cottage with its own open-air tub, or an afternoon in a private room with a bath and a meal without staying over
Kotobuki-tei has ten cottages, each with a different open-air bath in cypress, rock or Amakusa stone, named Sandake, Yurugi, Takatori, Nishidake, Banryo, Hakusan, Fuji, Hikodake, Hagi and Senryo. Fukutei has six cottages, three with tatami and three with beds, with Amakusa stone or rock open-air baths. The Bettei villa, for up to eight, has a large private rock bath. The two Kotobuki modern Japanese rooms are listed with the large open-air bath only. The guests-only large open-air bath stands on higher ground, with men’s and women’s sides. The Honkan day-use hall is open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., closed the second Tuesday (irregular in August), ¥600 adults and ¥300 children for the bath, ¥800 and ¥400 with the rest hall; its three private rooms with an open-air bath are sold as a 3.5-hour plan with a meal, ¥6,000 per pair, minimum two people, in sessions of 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. or 3 to 9 p.m., by reservation. Spring: alkaline simple sulfur, 42.1°C, kakenagashi. Check-in 3:30 p.m., check-out 11 a.m., bath tax ¥150.
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