Tattoo friendly onsen in Echigo-Yuzawa

NASPA New Otani

NASPAニューオータニ

NASPA’s own rules for its onsen bath allow a tattoo that is fully hidden under no more than two foundation-tape patches, 95 by 140 mm each. Its general facility rules name a hotel-designated cover seal of 145 by 100 mm for the same bath, and a rash guard or seal in the pool. Be aware that the hotel’s spa page still carries a flat refusal, so confirm with the front desk which rule it enforces. The two reservable private baths, Uonono-yu and Omine-no-yu, have their own terms and those terms say nothing about tattoos.

② 刺青又はタトゥーのある方 ※1 ／ ※1 但し、ファンデーションテープ（95ｍｍ×140ｍｍ）2枚までで隠れる場合はご利用いただけます

Best for: A traveler whose tattoo fits under two patches and who wants a resort with a pool, a ski hill and a 250-tsubo bath hall

Three statements on one site. The spa page (naspa.co.jp/poolspa/spa/) says: 刺青・タトゥーのあるお客さまのご入場はお断りしております。 The facility rules on the terms page allow a designated seal of 145×100 mm in the bath and a rash guard or seal in the pool. The bath terms dated 2025-09-01 allow up to two foundation tapes of 95×140 mm. The site does not say where the seals are sold. Private baths: Uonono-yu (Japanese style) and Omine-no-yu (Western style), both free-flowing onsen, one hour, 3,500 yen for staying guests on weekdays and 5,000 yen on weekends and set dates (5,500 and 7,000 yen for day visitors), booked online 14 days ahead with prepayment or by phone from noon the day before. No weekday morning slots. Day bathing in the large bath 9:00–18:00, adults 1,500 yen.

Echigo Yuzawa Onsen Sakura-tei

越後湯沢温泉 さくら亭

Sakura-tei lets tattooed guests into its shared baths if the tattoo is completely covered by a seal you bring yourself. If it cannot be fully hidden, the hotel asks you not to bathe. It does not sell seals, and it says plainly that it has no private bath, so there is no fallback on site.

タトゥーまたは刺青につきましては、お客さま自身でカバーシールなどを使用し、該当部分が完全に隠れた形であればご入浴いただけます。隠しきれない場合は、申し訳ございませんがご利用をご遠慮いただいております。あらかじめご了承ください。（館内でカバーシールは販売しておりません）

Best for: A traveler with a small tattoo who packs their own cover seals

Shared baths 15:00–10:00 for staying guests. The open-air tub is free-flowing; the indoor bath and half-open-air tub are recirculated and filtered, per the hotel. Day bathing 15:00–18:00 in winter and 15:00–20:00 the rest of the year, 1,320 yen with a face towel, shortened on busy days. The hotel states: 当館は貸切風呂のご用意はございません。 Pickup from the station’s west exit 8:00–17:30.

Yutorelo Echigo-Yuzawa

ゆとりろ越後湯沢

Yutorelo belongs to Relo Hotels & Resorts, whose own FAQ sets the rule for its hotels: a tattoo that two of the group’s cover seals can hide may go into the bath, the sauna and the open-air bath. The seals are 10 by 15 cm and cost 250 yen each at the front desk. Refuse the seal and you may be refused the bath. The hotel also has two private onsen baths for staying guests.

刺青 ・ タトゥーがある方につきましては、施設指定のカバーシール2 枚で覆うことができるサイズに限り、ご入浴・プール施設をご利用いただけます。 ・タトゥーカバーシール サイズ10cm×15cm 1枚￥250（フロントにて販売）

Best for: Someone with a mid-sized tattoo who would rather buy the seal at the desk than bring one

Opened November 2025. Its own spring, Yutorelo Yuzawa Onsen, alkaline simple spring at pH 9.0, with water added and heated per the hotel. Large bath 15:00–24:00 and 6:00–9:00; no day bathing. Two private onsen baths, 16:00–22:00, 45 minutes, first come, reserved at the hotel. The group FAQ adds: ※シールのご使用を拒否される場合は、ご入浴・プール施設のご利用をお断りする場合がございます。

Yukemuri no Yado Yukinohana

湯けむりの宿 雪の花

Yukinohana’s FAQ answers the question directly: guests with tattoos are asked not to use the large bath, and are pointed to the three free private baths or the bath in their room instead. The private baths need no booking. Check the lamp at the door, and if it reads empty, go in and lock it behind you, at any hour.

当館では「刺青」が入った方の大浴場のご利用はご遠慮頂いております。他にも、館内に【無料貸切風呂】を3か所ご用意しておりますので、温泉のご利用は貸切風呂または客室のお風呂をご利用くださいませ。

Best for: Walking off the Shinkansen and into a locked onsen bath with nothing booked and nothing to pay

Three private baths, free, 24 hours, no reservation: Iwa-no-yu (open-air rock), Hinoki-no-yu (indoor cypress) and Tou-no-yu (ceramic tub). There are no washing spots in them, only a changing room and the tub, so wash in your room first; the FAQ says the room’s bath is the other option. The hotel describes the building as 畳敷きの館内, tatami-floored throughout. Large bath Kazan-no-yu on the top floor.

Yuzawa Grand Hotel

湯沢グランドホテル

The shared baths are closed to tattooed guests, and the house rules go further than most: tattoos, even a small fashion tattoo, should not be visible anywhere in the building, and jackets are requested in the lobby and restaurants. What works is the room: several room types come with an open-air bath on free-flowing onsen water, and the two private baths can be booked by phone.

館内の全施設内におきまして、ワンポイントのファッションタトゥーを含む全ての入れ墨の露出をご遠慮いただいております。ロビー内・レストラン等のパブリックスペースでは上着等の着用をお願い致します。入れ墨やファッションタトゥーが露出した状態で、大浴場・サウナをご利用されることはご遠慮下さい。

Best for: A couple booking an open-air-bath room and planning to stay in it

Rooms with a 源泉掛け流し露天風呂 include the special room Hanamizuki. Private baths Takara-no-yu and Hana-no-yu, 45 minutes for 3,300 yen, 4–5 people, hourly slots from 15:00 to about 21:00, booked by phone 9:00–19:00. The Japanese rule forbids exposed tattoos in the bath, which might suggest a seal would do; the English FAQ reads as a straight no, so plan on the private baths. Large baths Iwa-no-yu and Wakakusa-no-yu reopened after renovation on 20 July 2024; the detached Kiri-no-yu is open 5:00–25:00.

Onyuyado Nakaya

越後湯沢温泉 御湯宿 中屋

Nakaya refuses tattoos in its shared baths, and it closes the seal route too: the ban covers stickers that look like tattoos. The answer is the Yunosaka wing, whose Yusui rooms have a private open-air bath fed from a different spring from the one in the large bath.

刺青・タトゥー（酷似シールも含みます）・泥酔の方のご利用はお断りをいたします

Best for: Watching Shinkansen pull out of Echigo-Yuzawa from your own open-air tub

Yusui rooms: 17.5 tatami with a private open-air bath on the Suwa spring (sodium and calcium chloride and sulfate), which the inn says looks down on the town and the Shinkansen. The large bath runs on the Yumoto spring, a simple sulfur spring, and is heated on cold days. Meals in the room for up to four people. Large bath 0:00–10:00 and 13:00–24:00.

Echigo no Oyado Inamoto

越後のお宿 いなもと

Inamoto’s shared baths are closed to anyone with a tattoo. Four of its rooms have their own bath on free-flowing spring water, and a barrier-free private bath on the same water can be booked ahead, so a stay here still gets you into the onsen.

刺青・タトゥーのあるお客さまのご入場はお断りしております。

Best for: Stepping from the Shinkansen into a room with its own spring-fed tub, two minutes away

Rooms with a 源泉かけ流し bath: special room Yukitsubaki (551) with a view bath, and three rooms with a half-open-air bath (462, 465, and a barrier-free room). The barrier-free room’s tub has three steps; guests who cannot manage them are offered the barrier-free private bath, handrails, 15:00–22:00, booked in advance. Free foot bath Karakasa-tei at the front door, open to anyone. Same bath wording as NASPA New Otani’s spa page.

Hotel Futaba

水が織りなす越後の宿 ホテル双葉

Futaba publishes no tattoo rule. It does have 29 rooms with a ceramic open-air bath filled with onsen water around the clock, and a private bath rented by the 45 minutes at check-in, so a tattooed guest can stay without touching the shared baths.

Note: In the rooms with an open-air bath, the outdoor tub is hot spring water and the indoor tub is not. The hotel says so.

Best for: Families who want a big onsen hotel but an open-air tub of their own

Open-air-bath rooms: a ceramic outdoor tub plus a Japanese-style indoor bath. The hotel says the outdoor tub is onsen and the indoor one is not: 露天風呂は温泉をひいておりますので、いつでもお部屋で温泉をお楽しみいただけます。和風内風呂は温泉ではございません。 Private bath 45 minutes, 2,000 yen, 7:00–22:45, booked only at check-in. The VIP room adds an open-air bath and indoor bath for up to seven. Large baths: Sora-no-yu on the top floor, and Yama-no-yu and Sato-no-yu with ten and eleven tubs.

Shosenkaku Kagetsu

松泉閣 花月

Kagetsu says nothing about tattoos. Its open-air-bath rooms carry free-flowing source water, and the Danran private bath, with an indoor and an outdoor tub, can be booked for 45 minutes. Either keeps you out of the shared baths.

Best for: A private 100 percent free-flowing bath in a small inn close to the station

Open-air-bath rooms named Tatsu, I, Ne, Fusu and Sara (立, 居, 寝, 臥, 更), 47–94 m², each marked ※露天風呂は源泉かけ流し. Private bath Danran: 2,000 yen plus tax for 45 minutes, starts 14:00–23:00, book at the desk by 23:00 or in advance; the inn says the private bath is 100 percent free-flowing while the large baths add a filter. Large baths open 24 hours and swap at midnight.

Echigo-Yuzawa HATAGO Isen

越後湯澤 HATAGO井仙

Isen publishes no tattoo rule. Its Roten-no-ma rooms, and one tatami room with a cypress tub, have an open-air bath outside the window running on free-flowing source water all day and night, which settles the question for anyone who books one.

Best for: A room with its own spring-water tub a few steps from the Shinkansen gates

Room types with an open-air bath: Miyabi and Hibiki (Roten-no-ma, 32 m², up to three) and Washitsu Roten-no-ma, with a hinoki tub, up to three, bath open 24 hours. The large bath is free-flowing and open 14:00–10:00. Sister inn of ryugon in Minamiuonuma.

Yukiguni no Yado Takahan

雪国の宿 高半

Takahan has no published tattoo rule. Two rooms, Ginrei 317 and 318, come with their own onsen bath with a view, so a tattooed guest can use the inn’s Tamago-no-yu water in private. Its other rooms have no onsen tub, and the Showa-style kotatsu rooms have no bath at all.

Best for: Staying in the inn where Kawabata wrote Snow Country, with a spring-fed bath in the room

Ginrei 317 (up to three, about 80 m²) and 318 (up to two, about 70 m²), set apart from other rooms. The inn calls its free-flowing water Tamago-no-yu. The Showa kotatsu floor rooms have no bath: この客室にはお風呂はありません。大浴場をご利用ください。 The Kasumi-no-ma, where Kawabata wrote, is preserved as an exhibit.

Nagomi no Oyado Takinoyu

和みのお宿 滝乃湯

Takinoyu does not mention tattoos. For staying guests it has a reservable hinoki half-open-air bath on free-flowing water, and one special room, Kikyo, with an open-air bath, which together give a tattooed guest a way into the spring without the shared baths.

Best for: A seventeen-room family inn where the private cypress bath is booked on arrival

Private bath Wa-no-yu (listed as 和みの湯 in the facts table): hinoki, half open-air, free-flowing, staying guests only, 14:00–21:45 and 6:00–9:45, 45 minutes for 2,500 yen, booked at the front desk at check-in. Special room Kikyo-no-ma has an open-air bath. The open-air shared bath is neither heated nor diluted, per the inn. Seventeen rooms; takes day bathers.

Otowaya Ryokan

音羽屋旅館

Otowaya has no published tattoo rule. It rents two private baths by the 50 minutes, one of them a hinoki tub on free-flowing spring water, which is where a tattooed guest should plan to bathe.

Best for: A private hinoki bath on nothing but free-flowing spring water

Private baths: Iyashi-no-yu, hinoki, free-flowing onsen only; Gagaku-no-yu, a Shigaraki ceramic tub the inn describes in terms of radium and Bad Gastein ore rather than spring water. 50 minutes, 2,200 yen, reservations until 22:00. Also a private stone-bed sauna (ganbanyoku). Shared baths open 24 hours except cleaning; day bathing 1,200 yen.