Kinosaki, the Tattoo-Friendly Onsen Town!

As a tattooed foreigner obsessed with baths, who doesn't take nearly enough time to relax on vacation; Kinosaki Onsen Town was a magical haven for me. I truly did not want to leave. I say that about Japan in general, but Kinosaki Onsen really had a grip on my heart. Nestled in mountains blanketed with vivid greens, even in the transition from winter to spring, and dotted with pinks and whites of newly opened sakura flowers with the lazily winding Otani River flowing right through the middle of town. Gracefully arched stone bridges connect either side while lanterns and delicate willows line the path. On either side; shops, ryokans (traditional Japanese inns), restaurants and bath houses complete the cozy atmosphere. Located 5 hours from Tokyo or 2.5 hours from Kyoto, both by train, it is well worth the time it takes to make it there, and the view from the windows on the trip is exquisite. Changing from cityscapes to breathtaking, deep gullies with raging rivers carving through them with flat out stretching farmlands in between.

In Japan, more than likely if you have tattoos, you'll be turned away from the public onsen available all over the country. A total bummer for Bestie and I who have some pretty prominent tats, and some smaller one in the mix as well. Kinosaki Onsen has 7, yes, SEVEN public onsen that all allow tattoos! Plus the ryokan that we stayed at had one just for their guests as well. From what I understand, when you stay at any of the traditional Japanese inns (ryokan), you receive a pass to access the 7 public onsen in Kinosaki. Without that pass, you'll have to pay a fee at each one.

A short walk from the train station, although it always seems longer with luggage in tow...especially on the uneven streets, we found our ryokan, Kinosaki Onsen Sennen no Yu Koman (please note, I don't get any sort of compensation for clicking on any links in this post. I just want more people to stay here!). We kicked off our shoes and slipped into one to the pairs of slippers neatly lined up on the tatami mats while employees whisked away our luggage to our room as we checked in. The slippers were comedically too big, I found this to be true of all house slippers given to us at accommodations in all cities of Japan we visited, but we waddle-climbed our way up the beautifully polished wooden stairs to our room. Have you ever seen King of the Hill? Well I'm a big fan and the room we walked into reminded me of the room the Hill's stay at during their trip to Japan. If you didn't know any better, you'd be looking at one small area to exist in.

In the foyer we slid our slippers off and I could feel the cold wooden floor beneath my socked feet. After a day of travel it was lovely. Ahead of us was a small fridge that could hold nothing more than the bottles stocked by the inn, and on top were some pamphlets and a tea pot. Thankfully we knew to slide open the paper door to our right to reveal a low table sat square in the middle of a room with a beautiful tatami floor and a small TV off to one side. We pulled apart the two wooden doors on the other side of the room to reveal a sitting area and a bathroom. Literally a bath room. There was no toilet. I swear I had gotten a room with a toilet....it shouldn't be hard to find right? Turns out in was in the foyer, we just turned our backs to it so quickly that we never saw it! Tricky!

Pretty quickly our...caretaker? I'm not sure what to call him other than his name, which was Datto, dropped off our bags and informed us that he'd be back in a few hours (around 5:30pm) to set up our in-room dinner. I'm sorry what? I knew the price we paid came with breakfast and dinner...but I guess I didn't think about where we'd eat it? I felt fancy. Bestie decided to lounge, but I was antsy to explore so I went out to see what was around. On my way back Bestie texted me that dinner was ready earlier, so it was good that I was almost back! I walked in to a stunning array of foods placed upon the table in deliberate spots, both mine and Bestie's sides were the laid out the exact same way. A small glass of sweet sake, sashimi, raw Wagyu beef, some pickled veggies, regular veggies, a SNAIL (I really thought I'd be brave enough to try it but I couldn't), some fresh crab that Kinosaki Onsen is known for, and both a pot and some sort of iron stove looking thing. The latter of which he left alone while Datto lit a fire under the pot. Soup! He explained the order we should eat it in and left us to our own devices.

As we were eating, Datto showed back up to light the iron things and instructed us on how to cook our cuts of Wagyu beef on it and what we should dip it in. We were given a tray of salt and sauce to season the beef and then we worked on that. He later came back in with rice, tempura'd veggies and shrimp, and miso soup that had friends inside. There were surprise clams(?) in the bottom! There were a lot of food items I had never eaten before, including squid sashimi and the small surprise clams. Fully stuffed, I was still happy to see dessert, but I was thankful that it was a small cup of raspberry mousse and a slice of orange.

We ate, let our stomachs settle, and then went down to the ryokan's onsen. Which was perfect timing while Datto set up the room for sleeping. If you've never been to Japan or experienced another country that has similar public baths then this next section may be a surprise for you. For onsen, you get completely naked, bathe yourself at the showers in the steam-filled bathing area to make sure you're clean, and then hop in the the VERY toasty water of the bath to soak. This one was a bit weird since it was just Bestie and I, but was also a good introduction to the etiquette of the bath house without a lot of eyes on us. At every onsen in the area, there is a men and a women's bath and about halfway through the day, they'll switch which is which because each bath is a bit different. This one was the marble bath and had white marble walls with a small waterfall bringing in the fresh, hot water. It was nice and relaxing and I slept HARD once we crawled into our futons back in the room.

Breakfast was elaborate and large, but thankfully only one course. Consisting of egg, rice, a full fish, pickled veggies, tofu, ham, sashimi, and dessert; we certainly didn't have any room in our tummies when we were done! I don't think we ever managed to finish a whole pot of rice between the two of us for any of our meals...sorry! The ryokan provided us with yukata, sort of like a robe and looks like a much less fancy kimono, and geta (wooden sandals) to walk around the town in, to make hopping from one bath to the next easier. I got dressed in mine and looked out the window to discover it was snowing. What in the world?! It had been in the 70s the whole rest of the trip up 'til now, but I guess we were in the mountains. Bestie wanted nothing to do with the cold but I simply cannot sit around, so I bundled up in the warm jacket provided to go over the yukata, balanced on the geta, snagged an umbrella, and tottered out the door to find my first onsen. Datto recommended Gosho No Yu, so I started there. Oh my god this place was my absolute favorite.

I walked in, figured out that I had to put my shoes in a locker at the main entrance, undressed in a locker room that was MUCH busier than the previous one (cue the anxiety!), and went to find where the shower was. After scrubbing I got into the hot water as quick as I could, because this bath was outside! It was incredible. Most people were sitting and lounging under the area that was covered, but I found myself drawn to the open area where I could enjoy the snow on my face as I soaked. It kept me from getting too hot, so it was perfect. As I was lounging, I noticed that the bath was broken up into 4 sections. The covered area, the uncovered area, the pool by the waterfall, and another interesting pool that had handles. I waded over to the pool at the base of the waterfall and found handles here as well. I sat down against the rock and held onto the handle, only to discover jets! Lower back jets that brought me untold amounts of joy, goodness my back was more sore than I thought.

Photo of the outdoor baths from Gosho no Yu's Website since you couldn't take photos in the baths

Here I sat, lower back massage happening under the water, big magical snowflakes falling out of the water, while I listened to water pour over the rocks and into the pool. When I was done here I went to the mysterious pool area with the handles. It was deep, deep enough to stand in and the water was up to nearly my chin, which is where the water sat everywhere else...when I was sitting. Here, MORE JETS! This time down the length of your back, starting at your shoulders. I hung onto the handles to keep myself in place and to keep my head above water. Because when I tell you I could have just melted into the water, I mean it. I literally think that I was in here for like an hour or more. I didn't want to leave this one.

The Cave Bath from Ichinoyu's Website, since you can't take photos in the baths

But eventually I was too hot and thirsty and I needed to get out. I walked around a bit to explore and find another bath house, Ichinoyu. Here there was an indoor bath and an outdoor bath, the indoor one was small and extremely hot, but there were some jets on the far end that I would check out once I was more accustomed to the temperature. So, outside I went into the "cave bath" which was literally in a little cave. It was nice and I really liked the atmosphere of this one. It felt refreshing to be in the hot water with your back and neck (and arms when needed) rested against the cool surface of the cave walls and its rocks.

Photo from Kouno Yu's Website, since photos are not allowed in the baths

After here I cooled off for a bit by walking around and grabbing a little snack on my way to the next onsen, Kounoyu, another bath house with an inside and an outside bath. The inside bath was small and piping hot again. I managed to get myself in, but had to get out pretty quickly. I think my big issue with the indoor baths was that the whole room is hot and steamy and I felt like I couldn't breathe or cool down at all. Outside the brisk air made the water relaxing and kept my temperature more regulated so I could stay in and soak for longer. The outside bath here was a small circle surrounded by stones and greenery, it was also covered from the elements so my hair didn't get frozen and it wasn't very busy so it was actually pretty cozy and nice.

Dinner time was fast approaching, so I high-tailed it back to Sennen No Yu Koman where another feast awaited us. This time Datto couldn't even give us info on some of the sashimi we were eating because it wasn't part of a set menu. He said it was a special menu just for us that was based on whatever the chef wanted to prepare for us. I don't really know why though. Maybe most people only stay one night whereas we stayed 2 nights? Maybe we're just cool? I don't know. But there was some fish on there that I really enjoyed, and I'm not big into fish. We also got some tasty ham that we cooked in a shabu-shabu style and more wagyu beef. Bestie gave me all of hers in return for my salmon. It was delightful. I could have eaten the beef all day. I wanted to go do one more onsen before crawling into bed, so I headed to the closest one to us, pretty much right behind the ryokan, and it was tiny. Which Datto did mention, but I really wanted to try and hit as many onsen as possible!

Just two little tubs out on the porch! Photo from the Mandara-yu part of the Visit Kinosaki Website since photos are not allowed in the baths

The indoor bath at Mandara-yu was scorching hot. I dipped my tootsies in and that's about all I could do. I couldn't believe how hot it was. Outside were 2 one-person tubs that I actually really ended up liking. The water was perfect temp and I could just sort of zone out on my own, even if I had to fold myself up like origami to fit in. Okay, I'm being a bit dramatic, but I definitely couldn't stretch out.

Look at them! They're just personal size! You do get a lovely rocky backdrop with greenery tucked in all the way to the top.

With a full belly and a hot bath, I slept like a damn rock that night. Seriously the best night sleep on the whole trip. Something about the duvets or comforters or whatever they are in Japan were SO cozy. I also expected my skin to be so dry from cleaning myself before each bath and then from the very hot water, but actually it was ridiculously soft. I felt luxurious and fancy and rejuvenated. I was so sad the next morning, after another feast of a breakfast, when I had to slip back into my restricting shoes (I could go barefoot or sandal-laden forever) and tote our luggage back to the train station. Datto offered to drive us to the station, but we wanted to collect the stamps at the onsen in our stamp book along the way and take a last minute look at some souvenirs. What a bad decision. Ah well, live and learn.

My heart broke more than a little when boarding our train. I think I could have easily spent 5 days here. Its definitely going on the itinerary for next time. We didn't even get to all the onsen, the ropeway up the mountain, all of the temples, the art museum, or the straw craft museum! Ridiculous. If you're debating coming up this way for a little R&R, I cannot recommend staying here enough. Just do yourself a favor and do it!