Hey all, planning a first then Japan trip with some friends to hopefully make up for our planned trip that got cancelled last April.
Now that we’ve got extra time to plan, I’ve spent more time looking up tattoo friendly onsen to slot in to extra latent time we had in Tokyo.
I was able to find good information around Kinosaki, but there seem to be some contingencies around what the different onsen actually allow based on the FAQ on the visit kinosaki site.
Has anyone been there with tattoos and have first-hand experience with what the 7 different ones allow? I’d like to be able to actually be in an onsen with not just my group (I know it’s contingent with covid, and I don’t mind being with other foreigners), and enjoy the atmosphere. For context, I have a couple tattoos that wouldn’t be able to cover up easily, one being a Japanese half peice on my right arm, and don’t want to be “that American” without doing my homework ahead of time without having to call all 7 and get the down low. Any help is greatly appreciated!
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According to [tattoo-friendly.jp](https://tattoo-friendly.jp/advanced-search/?keyword=Kinosaki+Onsen&state=&location=&status=&type=&min-price=%C2%A50&max-price=%C2%A5100%2C000), all 7 Kinosaki Onsen allow tattoos without any restrictions.
I’m not sure about Kinosaki Onsen as I haven’t been there, but I do know that Kusatsu Onsen is tattoo friendly and very easy to access from the Tokyo area.
– [See my recent trip report on Kusatsu Onsen ](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/meafbh/trip_report_kusatsu_onsen_in_gunma/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
The FAQ is super clear. The 7 public onsen do accept tattoo. However, if you stop at a ryokan that have a onsen, the ryokan might refuse access to their onsen for people who have tattoo.
So you do not have to contact any of the public onsen, they are all ok.
If it is important to you to be able to use your ryokan’s onsen, then you will have to check with the ryokan. The onsen of the ryokan is open to all guest, so it is possible that other guest will bath at the same time as you. The only case when onsen is always ok at a ryokan is if they have a private bath that you can rent or if there is a onsen in your room.
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>**I have some tattoos, will I be allowed in the onsen?**
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>People with decorative body tattoos are allowed into the seven public onsen in Kinosaki.However, some accommodations have different rules regarding their own in-house onsen. Whether or not you can use the onsen at your ryokan or hotel is at their discretion, so please check with them beforehand.
[https://visitkinosaki.com/plan/visitor-info/faq/](https://visitkinosaki.com/plan/visitor-info/faq/)
You should be fine. I specifically chose Kinosaki for our trip back in 2019 because they said their 7 onsen are tattoo-friendly. My human has a medium size tattoo on their arm, and we went to the onsen with no troubles.
My ex had some tattooed on her back when we went and no trouble. There was a guy with a full back piece in one of the ones I was in nobody batted an eye.
Just a general fyi, I was surprised that not all 7 onsen are open each day it’s more like 4-5 and they rotate closed days (this was about a year and a half ago).
I loved kinosaki and had a great time.
Sorry for late response, but I gotta chime in! I lived in Kinosaki for a short while and I’m friends with the people making a lot of the tourism decisions for the town. Accepting tattoos was a purposeful choice and I was so happy when they made it an official policy for the big 7! And actually, this is the one area where being an American (or any clearly not Japanese human) will be to your advantage. Forgeiners with tattoos are far more accepted as just a difference in culture (nationwide), it’s native-Japanese that are more likely to have issues.
If you’re staying in one of the smaller Ryokan’s, just ask them if it’s okay for you to use their private onsen. Most will say yes, though they may ask that you try to use the bath during a time when no one else is using them. That’s what my family’s Ryokan does, at least. Usually night time is a safe time to go since everyone else wants to use the big public baths.
Highly recommend trying at least 1 small, private bath if you’re able! I’m obviously bias, but it’s a level of relaxation beyond what the big 7 can offer.