Kusatsu Onsen Naraya
草津温泉 奈良屋 · Kusatsu Onsen
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
Tattoos are not allowed in the shared baths, but you can bathe in a private (kashikiri) bath.
Source: official website · checked 2026-08-29
Staying overnight
Tattoos are not allowed in the shared baths, but you can bathe in a private or in-room bath.
Source: official website · checked 2026-08-29
How it scores
Every onsen on this site is scored on the same five things.
The baths
Indoor bath
Two large baths, 'Okumiage-no-yu' and 'Hana-no-yu', fed 24 hours a day by the Shirahata source - the oldest spring in Kusatsu, said to have been found by Minamoto no Yoritomo in 1193. Two yumori (spring keepers) cool the 55-56C source overnight in tanks to 46-47C and then adjust flow tub by tub to hold 41-42C, and hand-stir the water to soften Kusatsu's harsh acidity. The men's and women's sides swap overnight, so staying guests can use both.
Open-air bath
Both large baths have a semi-open-air section, but the inn is in the middle of the village so there is no view from them.
Private (kashikiri) bath
Three private baths ('Hi', 'Fu', 'Mi') with ceramic tubs and free-flowing Shirahata water. 3,300 yen per 45-minute session per room. Staying guests can use them around the clock and book at check-in; day visitors can use them 12:30-14:00, but no advance booking is taken for either, so availability is luck of the draw on arrival. This is the route the inn itself points tattooed guests towards.
In-room bath
One room, 'Iwakagami' in the Sen-yu-tei wing, has its own semi-open-air bath fed directly by the source, and looks onto the Yubatake.
A private bath means nobody else is in the water with you — often the practical answer if the shared baths are closed to tattooed guests.
Practical details
- Day visits
- Yes — you can bathe without staying overnight.12:30-14:00 (you must leave by 14:00)
- Day visit price
- ¥1,500Adults 1,500 yen including a small towel. The inn closes to day visitors on some days when hot-spring mineral flowers are being harvested, so ring ahead. There is no car park. The private baths cost 3,300 yen per 45-minute session on top of admission and cannot be reserved in advance - they are allotted on arrival.
- Staying overnight
- Yes
- Getting there
- One minute from the Yubatake and about five minutes on foot from Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal; the inn will collect you from the terminal if you call on arrival. Reach Kusatsu by JR bus (about 25 minutes, 700 yen) from Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station on the JR Agatsuma Line - buses leave about seven minutes after the train arrives and the next one is an hour later. The inn has no car park of its own.
- Official website
- www.kusatsu-naraya.co.jp