Tattoos in Onsen/Public Bath

amenoshita,

When I wrote "Interesting generalization of the 'Japanese.'" I was responding to the comment "Japanese are not accepting and not welcoming for foreigner's tattoos. they know you are not in their side. they just ignore your existence."

Just because a lot of people think that tattoos are unpleasant, that doesn't mean that they are not accepting and not welcoming for foreigner's tattoos. And the children of the Japanese are not "foreigners" to them. But mostly, I personally don't think that 80-90% of people who answered an inquiry represent the general Japanese. I mean, they never asked me.

By the way, I do agree to the part where he says "Japanese judge others by their behaviors." but he also wrote "(I think it is common all over the world.)" so that's not a generalization of the Japanese. And I agree to the part "If I make tattoos on my body, it means that I will go out from the normal group, which I have been belonging to, and join the tattoo's group." but he was writing about himself and not the general Japanese. I also don't disagree to "Japanese society is much more strict and discriminating than you imagine." but he didn't write "than you might imagine" and I wasn't sure who "you" was.

Hope this clarifies my intention.

FWIW, over the New Year I was in a local onsen in rural Akita where there was a Japnese woman with a largish tat on her lower back. Apparently there was also a man in the men's side with tats at the same time (likely a couple). An onsen staff was in there doing a rubbish check and batted an eyelid, but only slightly and said nothing. They were back in the onsen when I was there two days later.

Also, in rural Tohoku, I'm not sure that I've ever seen a no tat sign.

Sorry to dig this thread up yet again, but two friends and I are looking to visit some onsens in the Japanese Alps in April this year. One of my friends is Caucasian, so it will be very obvious he is a foreigner. My other friend is Chinese and I am Filipino, so it's not as clear. We all have tattoos, but they're small enough to be covered with band-aids/plasters. Should we go that route? Any other suggestions as to how to handle? Thanks!

If you don't want to spend a lot for a in-room private, which has a hot tub size smallest bath, for peace of mind, you can always take a kashikiri time chartered private onsen w/o or just little extra. We, because my wife get lonely alone in a large gender separated onsen, have a roten outdoor kashikiri w/o extra.
Family onsen is also private(hang a tag or door locked) but least desirable.

i traveled around japan in the month of July last with my 19 y.o son.

he has a very thick tattoo running down his spine, another one on his forearm. we were very mindful that his tattoos may be possibly frowned upon in some places. not want to offend anyone and to be respectful, we came prepared with special tape to be used in onsens etc.

we found however that we never felt uncomfortable nor felt that others felt uncomfortable with his tattoos. we traveled a lot and saw many people. im not sure if many people were being polite but were indeed unsettled, but id like to think im intuitive and would have sensed so.

of course it was just our experience, is that a true indication of the japanese nation as a whole with regard to tattoo tolerance? no. we may have been lucky and im sure their are many people with not so good experiences. however, the hype did seem somewhat disproportionate to the reality.

at the age of 47, i actuallu got my first tattoo in japan with my son as a bonding thing. haha but thats a whole another story :D

Some may be confused.
First, Shinto religion is still under current in the Japanese society culturally. It believes the body is sacred and shuns any intentional damage to the body.
Second, the tattoo bans are not caused by the owner/management but by the customers.
They are afraid of complains by the (regular) users resulting less customers, if they don't take care of right away. People talk faster than Yelp.
Foreigners with tattoos may be given blind eyes because of their lack of language skill, one time customer, no yakuza, no complaints yet, etc.
They are never welcoming but persevering until posting total ban , i.e.,
Kamakura city imposed ban on some US Marines on the beach because of their tattoos scaring kids/women/family.

Kamakura city imposed ban on some US Marines on the beach because of their tattoos scaring kids/women/family.

That can be a little bit misleading. I'm not sure which incident this was, but some beaches in Kamakura and Zushi area were actually suffering from trouble and noize caused by the reckless youth, not only by foreign citizens but by many Japanese of course. So for example Zushi Beach banned tattoos, alcohol and music, which happened to present these trouble-makers there.

On the other hand, beaches in the neiboring Hayama are more sofisticated. Many users there may be tattooed, but since their manners are so good, people don't mind (and speaking of shinto, it's right next to the Imperial villa).

On a related note, however, having been banned from Zushi, the tattoo-wearers came to Hayama and last summer a boy caused a horrible accident there from drunk-driving.

Either way, it's up to the tattoo-wearers to show that wearing tattoos is not related to trouble-making.

Translation:
引用の部分はちょっと語弊があると思うんです。鎌倉や逗子では、実際に若者の風紀の乱れが問題になっていて、ゆえに刺青や飲酒を禁止したという経緯がありますよね。一方で、葉山などでは（神道といえば、御用邸の隣ではありますが）、刺青をしている人もマナーがいいので、いまだに問題になっていません。とはいえ、逗子から追い出された若者が葉山で大変な事故を起こしたのも事実。刺青をしている人には、くれぐれもマナーを守ってもらって「刺青＝乱れ」ではないことを立証し続けてほしいのは言うまでもありませんよね。

I'll be visiting Gala Yuzawa, Lake Kawaguchiko & Hakone. We are a family of four(two teenage children) & we planned to book a room with private onsen. Does the operator limit number of person? Is booking calculate on per hour usage? What's the price range for basic room? Many thks

I'll be visiting Gala Yuzawa, Lake Kawaguchiko & Hakone. We are a family of four(two teenage children) & we planned to book a room with private onsen. Does the operator limit number of person?

In the case that you book a hotel room with in-room onsen bath, then it is usually limited to the room occupants. If you book a private onsen bath (kashikiri) at a public onsen or hotel then there may be an upper limit of those who can use the bath at one time.

Is booking calculate on per hour usage?

Private onsen (kashikiri) are booked based on timeslots (typically 45 mins to 1 hr), however at some places they may be first come first serve.

Yes, What's the price range for basic room?

Hotel rooms with in-room baths are relatively expensive, say around 20,000 to 40,000 yen and beyond per person per night depending on the hotel.

If you're talking kashikiri, its more like 1000-2000 yen per hour, plus the regular cost of admission. Some places can be quite a bit more expensive.