Wakamatsuya
和歌の宿 わかまつや
Does Wakamatsuya allow tattoos? In a private bath
The open-air bath here is a single 18-ton block of Zao stone with the tub hollowed out of it, and the two family baths along the corridor cost nothing and are never booked, only locked from the inside.
Wakamatsuya publishes no tattoo rule, so its two shared baths stay an open question. It does publish something better: two family baths, Sanpo and Fubo, free and open around the clock with no reservation. You look for an empty one, go in and lock the door, which removes the question entirely for anyone staying the night.
Show this at the front desk
2つの貸切家族風呂「三宝」「不忘」は、24時間いつでも無料でご利用いただけます。空きがございましたら鍵をかけてご利用くださいませ。
The operator’s own wording, to show at the desk if you need to.
Where it is
Sendai STN
Yamagata STN change
JR Senzan line rapid 84 min
Morioka STN
Fukushima STN
Hotel locationZao Onsen bus terminal
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 貸切家族風呂 block on the 温泉 page); the inn’s FAQ says nothing about tattoos
Read on: wakamatuya.co.jp/onsen/
Best for: A free lockable family bath at any hour, with nothing to arrange at the desk
The two family baths hold four to five people each, cost nothing and need no booking. The shared baths are an 18-ton block of local Zao stone hollowed into a tub and a granite hall with an open-air section, all on the inn’s own source and free-flowing. There is a women-only powder room. The inn keeps a connection to the poet Mokichi Saito, who wrote about Zao.
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