Tattoo-friendly onsen in Hyogo
Public baths and day-use spas you can visit without staying overnight.
15 hot springs
Hyogo · Kobe (Kita Ward)
Arima Kaido Onsen Suzuran no Yu
A day-use hot spring on the Arima Kaido road between Kobe and Arima Onsen (about 15 min by car from Sannomiya), with one of Kobe's largest garden outdoor baths. Its official FAQ allows people with tattoos only if every tattoo is covered by up to five of the facility's own stickers (about 10 x 10 cm, ¥300 each, sold at the front desk); towels or your own stickers or tape are not accepted. English assistance is offered at 070-8924-9605 when staff are available.
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.5 / Wikimedia Commons
Hyogo · Kobe
Gin no Yu (Arima Onsen)
One of Arima's public baths, with the colourless "ginsen" water.
Photo: MaedaAkihiko / CC0 / Wikimedia Commons
Hyogo · Toyooka
Goshonoyu (Kinosaki Onsen)
A public bath in Kinosaki Onsen with an open-air bath that borrows the hillside behind it as scenery. Kinosaki's official tourism site says all of the town's public baths allow tattoos of any size without covering them.
Hyogo · Kobe
Hyoe Koyokaku (Arima Onsen)
A ryokan in Arima Onsen. There is no bath-only option — use of the large baths comes with a day-trip plan that includes a meal, booked in advance.
Photo: Miya.m / CC BY-SA 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Hyogo · Toyooka
Ichi no Yu (Kinosaki Onsen)
A public bath in Kinosaki Onsen, known for its cave bath.
Hyogo · Kobe (Tarumi Ward)
James-yama Natural Hot Spring Tsuki no Yufune
A day-use hot spring in Kobe's Tarumi Ward whose milky-white outdoor bath uses its own cold mineral spring, alongside a bath of natural seawater. The cheaper ¥500 ticket covers the indoor baths only. Its official price page firmly refuses entry to anyone with tattoos.
Hyogo · Toyooka
Jizoyu (Kinosaki Onsen)
A public bath in Kinosaki Onsen, named after a statue of Jizo found at its source. Kinosaki's official tourism site says all of the town's public baths allow tattoos of any size without covering them.
Photo: Wpcpey / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Hyogo · Kobe
Kin no Yu (Arima Onsen)
Kobe's best-known public bath, fed by the iron-rich reddish-brown spring that made Arima famous.
Hyogo · Kobe
Kobe Harborland Onsen Manyo Club
A 24-hour bathing complex in the Promena Kobe building at Harborland, using hot spring water trucked in daily from Miki. Its official rules refuse guests with tattoos or tattoo stickers, but say those who follow the facility's own rules may enter; ask the staff for details.
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.5 / Wikimedia Commons
Hyogo · Toyooka
Kounoyu (Kinosaki Onsen)
A public bath in Kinosaki Onsen, named after the legend of a stork (kounotori) that healed its injured leg in the spring. Kinosaki's official tourism site says all of the town's public baths allow tattoos of any size without covering them.
Photo: hashi photo / CC BY 3.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Hyogo · Toyooka
Mandarayu (Kinosaki Onsen)
A public bath in Kinosaki Onsen, linked to the town's founding legend, with an open-air bath looking onto the hillside. Kinosaki's official tourism site says all of the town's public baths allow tattoos of any size without covering them.
Hyogo · Takarazuka
Meito Takaranoyu
A day-use hot spring in Takarazuka whose Ogonsen source gushes naturally from 800 m down and is used free-flowing without added water or recirculation; the facility says it is almost the same spring type as Arima Onsen. Its official guide refuses entry to anyone with tattoos regardless of size, stickers and paint included.
Hyogo · Ashiya
Shioashiya Onsen SPA Suisyun
A large day spa by Ashiya Marina with 13 baths. The upper tier of the open-air rock bath is the "Shiosai no Yu" source, free-flowing and unheated. Free shuttle buses from JR/Hanshin Ashiya and Hankyu Shukugawa. Its official price page says that, on the guidance of the authorities, guests with tattoos (including tattoo stickers) are refused entry.
Hyogo · Kobe
Taiko no Yu (Arima Onsen)
A day-use bathing complex in Arima Onsen, with open-air baths.
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.5 / Wikimedia Commons
Hyogo · Toyooka
Yanagiyu (Kinosaki Onsen)
The smallest of the public baths in Kinosaki Onsen, named after a willow tree under which the spring was found. Kinosaki's official tourism site says all of the town's public baths allow tattoos of any size without covering them.
