Zao Kokusai Hotel
蔵王国際ホテル
Does Zao Kokusai Hotel allow tattoos? In a private bath
A wood-built hotel above the Sky Cable whose shared bath, Hachiemon-no-yu, has a ceiling the full height of the building, and whose three private baths run from a seven-person cypress tub to one built flat for a wheelchair.
The hotel answers the question twice on its own site and the answer for the shared baths is no. Its FAQ and the remarks line on its hot spring page both say tattooed guests are asked to stay out of the large bath and the open-air bath. What it does have is three reservable private baths, booked at the front desk after check-in and open 07:00 to 21:45, and those are the whole reason this house is listed. Book one, or two, and skip Hachiemon-no-yu.
Show this at the front desk
タトゥー・刺青がある方は、大浴場・露天風呂のご利用をご遠慮いただいております。
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 (the remarks row on the 温泉 page and the same answer in the よくある質問 FAQ) — a refusal for the shared baths, with the listing resting on the private baths instead
Read on: zao-kokusaihotel.jp/hotspring/
Best for: Three different private tubs in one building, including a barrier-free one you can reach by wheelchair
Private baths: Yama-no-megumi-yu, a cypress tub for up to 7 at 4,400 yen for 45 minutes; Mori-no-megumi-yu, granite, up to 3, 2,200 yen; Sato-no-megumi-yu, step-free from corridor to tub with the tub raised for wheelchair users, up to 6, 3,300 yen. Booking is first come, first served after check-in, and the hotel takes 1,100 yen off if you reserve through its own site. All three come with a toilet, a dryer and toiletries. Day visitors can book them too, from the day before by phone, but the hotel charges the private bath on top of the day bath entry of 1,320 yen for adults, taken between 12:00 and 15:00, so a tattooed day visitor pays for a shared bath the same page tells them not to use. The hotel is part of the Zao-no-Kaze group with Zao Shiki no Hotel and Omiya Ryokan, which publish the same refusal.
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