OnsenQuest

Prefectures / Shiga

YAMATO THE SEASONS Sugatani Onsen

YAMATO THE SEASONS 須賀谷温泉

Tattoos not allowed (overnight)

Can you bathe here with a tattoo?

This is the question we built the site around, so we answer it per situation.

Staying overnight

No — tattooed guests are turned away

Tattoos are not permitted.

Source: official website · checked 2026-09-14

How it scores

Every onsen on this site is scored on the same five things.

ViewWaterComfortSettingAccess

Verified by the editor

View3
Water4.5
Comfort3.5
Setting4
Access3
△Somewhere to sit — A small rest area
△Anything else nearby — Nearby, but off to one side

A long-established inn under Mt. Odani with the most distinctive water in this part of Shiga: an iron-bearing spring from two sources, both poured into the baths without recirculation. It no longer takes day bathers, so it only counts if you stay. Mt. Odani and its castle ruins rise behind the inn, but little else is within walking distance. With a tattoo you are limited to the herbal-salt tub in your room.

Every onsen on this site is scored against the same written rubric, and every score has been reviewed by the editor. The ones marked Visited were also bathed in personally.

The baths

Indoor bath

Indoor bath on both the men's and women's side, fed by two free-flowing sources at different temperatures. The main source is an iron-bearing hydrogen-carbonate spring, and the inn describes itself as the first free-flowing hot spring in Shiga. Guest bathing 15:00-23:00 and 6:00-9:00.

Overnight guests only

Open-air bath

Open-air bath on both sides, surrounded by the woods of Mt. Odani. NOTE ON ROOM BATHS: some rooms have a covered semi-open-air tub, but the inn states it is filled with herbal bath salts, not hot spring water. It is deliberately not recorded as a bath here so it is not read as a way to bathe in the onsen with a tattoo.

Overnight guests only

Practical details

Day visits
No — overnight guests only.
Day visit price
Not confirmed
Day bathing has ended. Many Japanese travel sites still list a 1,000 yen day-bathing ticket - it is no longer sold, and the free station shuttle that served day visitors has stopped too.
Staying overnight
Yes
Getting there
At the foot of Mt. Odani, a Sengoku-era castle site, in northern Nagahama. About 8 minutes by car from JR Kawake Station on the Hokuriku Line; the inn collects overnight guests free if you phone the day before with your arrival time. By car 5 minutes from Odanijo Smart IC.
Official website
www.sugatani.co.jp

Visit the official website ↗

Book it

Check rates and availabilityBooking.com ↗

Getting in from the airport

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.

Fixed-price airport transfer to ShigaAirport Taxi (English) ↗

Why not the train: the last leg to an onsen is usually a local bus with nowhere to put a suitcase. A fixed-price car is booked in English and quoted before you travel, tolls and fuel included.