Can you bathe here with a tattoo?
This is the question we built the site around, so we answer it per situation.
Visiting for the day
The tattoo policy is not stated publicly. Please contact the facility.
How it scores
Every onsen on this site is scored on the same five things.
The baths
Indoor bath
Indoor bath with a hot and a cooler tub. Source temperature is about 40C, which makes this the gentlest of Nozawa's 13 sotoyu and the easiest one for a first-timer who finds the others scalding. Named after a bear said to have found the spring.
Practical details
- Day visits
- Yes — you can bathe without staying overnight.5:00-23:00 (Apr-Nov); 6:00-23:00 (Dec-Mar)
- Day visit price
- FreeFree, with a donation box inside for the neighbourhood association that maintains it.
- Staying overnight
- No
- Getting there
- In Nozawa Onsen village, a few minutes' walk from the central O-yu bathhouse. Bus from JR Iiyama Station (Hokuriku Shinkansen) to the village; no car needed.
- Official website
- nozawakanko.jp/hotspring
Staying nearby
The links below are affiliate links — we may earn a commission if you book through them, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we list or how we score it.
About the day-pass link: Asoview is the main place day-use onsen in Japan sell entry tickets and discount coupons in advance. It is a Japanese-only site, so use your browser’s translation — you show the ticket on your phone at the door.
What we have not confirmed
We would rather show a gap than guess.
- The tattoo policy for day visits is not stated on the official website.
More onsen in and around Nozawa
Checked the same way: tattoo policy, private baths and day visits.