Zao Onsen, across from the bus terminal at the entrance to Takayu-dori Ryokan

Gokan-no-yu Tsuruya

五感の湯つるや

Does Gokan-no-yu Tsuruya allow tattoos? In a private bath

Private bath only

The first building you see when the bus from Yamagata puts you down, with four private baths on its own well and a day rate that lets you use one without staying.

Tsuruya has four paid private baths and no published tattoo rule, so the shared baths remain unanswered and the private ones are the answer. The unusual part is that it sells them to day visitors as well: 3,000 yen for one bath for fifty minutes between noon and 17:00, which makes it the simplest private soak in Zao for someone staying elsewhere.

Where it is

Sendai is the door to all of these. Akiu is 43 minutes on one bus from the station, with no change. Nyuto is the Komachi, JR’s Shinkansen across to Akita, as far as Tazawako, then a bus of 47 minutes, about 2 h 20 in all. Naruko is twelve minutes on the Shinkansen to Furukawa and three quarters of an hour up the Rikuu East line. Zao is the Senzan line rapid over the mountains to Yamagata, then a bus of 37 minutes up to the ski village. Gokan-no-yu Tsuruya · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · open in Google Maps

What happens when you arrive

Skip the shared baths and reserve the private one the way this page describes. Once the door is closed, the bath is yours.

How we know

Confirmed from official site — bath structure, not a tattoo policy (the 貸切風呂 and 日帰り入浴 answers in the よくあるご質問 page); no tattoo rule anywhere on tsuruyahotel.co.jp

Read on: tsuruyahotel.co.jp/faq/

Best for: Buying fifty minutes in a private bath as a day visitor, without booking a room anywhere

Four private baths, all on the hotel’s own free-flowing source. House guests normally pay 2,300 yen for 50 minutes, but every internet stay plan includes one free turn and later turns are half price at 1,100 yen; booking is at check-in, with phone reservations from 08:00 on the day. Day visitors pay 1,000 yen for the shared bath or 3,000 yen for a private one, 12:00–17:00, and the desk may close day entry at 15:00 when the hotel is full. Some rooms have a non-spring indoor bath, which you have to ask for at booking. Meals are served in the room for two people or in a private dining room for three or more. The shared baths close for about two hours from 09:30 for cleaning.

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Booking through this button costs you nothing extra and sends a small commission our way — it’s what keeps this guide free for our tattoo community, and every policy on it checked. Thank you.

Others in the same group

More places in the zao with private bath only

WakamatsuyaZao Onsen, on the hot spring street a short walk from the bus terminal → Pension Boku no UchiZao Onsen, at the foot of the Uwanodai slopes next to a convenience store → Takamiya Hotel LucentZao Onsen, on the Uwanodai side with the slopes across the road → Meitoya SoZao Onsen, on the upper lane behind the hot spring street → Miyamaso TakamiyaZao Onsen, on Takayu-dori in the old part of the hot spring street → Mogami Takayu Zenshichi-no-yuZao Onsen, on the rise above the hot spring street in the middle of the ski area →

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