OnsenQuest

Prefectures / Nara

Tosenji Onsen Izumi-yu

湯泉地温泉 泉湯 · Tosenji Onsen

Policy not published (day visit)

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

They have not said

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.

ViewWaterComfortSettingAccess

Verified by the editor

View4
Water4.5
Comfort3
Setting4.5
Access2
—Somewhere to sit — not checked
×Anything else nearby — Nothing else around

Totsukawa declared in 2004 that every bath in the village runs on undiluted, unheated, unchlorinated, non-recirculated spring water - the first village in Japan to do so - and Izumi-yu is the plainest and oldest expression of it: a 60C simple sulphur spring in a bare riverside bathhouse with an open-air tub over the gorge. Nothing here but the water and the river.

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

A plain village bathhouse - the oldest bath in Totsukawa - on the bank of the Totsukawa river. Body soap and 2-in-1 shampoo are provided; bring your own towel.

Open to day visitors

Open-air bath

Nara Prefecture's tourism board describes the open-air tub as looking out over the Totsukawa mountain stream and the green of the far bank.

Open to day visitors

Practical details

Day visits
Yes — you can bathe without staying overnight.
10:00-20:00, closed Tuesdays.
Day visit price
¥600
Adults 600 yen, children 300 yen. Cash only. Each of the village bathhouses also sells a 1,000 yen pass good for any three of Totsukawa's four public baths.
Staying overnight
No
Getting there
Deep in the mountains of southern Nara, in a village with no railway of any kind. The Nara Kotsu Yagi-Shingu bus - at roughly 169 km the longest local bus route in Japan - runs three times a day each way and takes about four hours from Kintetsu Yamato-Yagi Station to the Tosenji Onsen area by the village office. Most visitors drive.
Official website
www.vill.totsukawa.lg.jp/traveling_guide/onsen_gou

Visit the official website ↗

Staying nearby

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Where to stay in Tosenji OnsenBooking.com ↗Day-pass tickets and coupons for NaraAsoview (Japanese-language site) ↗

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.