Onsen GuideSourced Directory
Directly verified with each facility — never scraped
Find onsen you can enjoy with peace of mind — whether you have tattoos, are traveling with young kids, or simply want a bath to yourselves. Verified directly with each facility, in Japanese.
Facilities that welcome tattoos of any size, no questions asked.
View onsen →An onsen is a natural hot spring bath, usually shared, that's been part of Japanese daily life for centuries — equal parts hygiene, relaxation, and social ritual. If this is your first time, here's what actually happens.
Rinse and wash your body at the shower stalls before stepping into the bath. The water is shared, so this step isn't optional.
Communal baths are bathed in nude, by design. A private bath (see above) is the way around this if that feels like too much for a first visit.
It's a place to soak and relax, not swim or chat loudly. Small hand towels stay out of the water, usually folded on your head or the side.
Ryokan and hotel onsen supply a robe for moving between your room and the bath — you don't need to bring anything.
By email or phone, in Japanese — always with the facility itself, never a scraped review or a traveler's secondhand account.
Tattoo policy, private bath availability, whether large groups can be accommodated, permission to use their official photos — and what makes the place itself worth choosing.
Each listing shows the date it was last confirmed directly with the facility.
Run by a Japan-based, Japanese-speaking manager who handles every inquiry personally — not an overseas call center, not scraped listings, and not secondhand traveler reports.