What Are the Seven Public Baths of Kinosaki Onsen? Day Pass, Tattoos and Manners
This guide is for visitors who want to soak in the public bathhouses of Kinosaki Onsen. It explains what the seven baths are, how the day pass works, what the town says about tattoos, and the bathing rules you are expected to follow.
We used the official tourism website of Toyooka City, which covers the town. All pages were read on 2026-10-04. Opening hours and closing days of each bathhouse change, so check the town's bath page on the day you go.
What the seven baths are
Kinosaki Onsen has seven public bathhouses, which the tourism website calls the Mystic Onsen. The site says very few hot spring towns have so many public baths of different styles so close together. All seven can be reached on foot from one another.
The baths are separated by gender and require guests to be naked. The tourism website lists their names as Kono-yu, Mandara-yu, Goshono-yu, Ichino-yu, Yanagi-yu, Jizo-yu and Satono-yu.
Tickets and the day pass
Entry to the baths requires a ticket. Guests who stay at an accommodation in Kinosaki are usually given a pass to all the public bathhouses on check-in. It is called a yumepa. Ask your accommodation whether it offers this.
The ryokan etiquette page says the pass has a barcode. You scan it at the entrance. The pass is valid only until 1:00 pm on the day of checkout.
Day trippers can buy a day pass at any of the bathhouses for 1,500 yen. Without a pass, you buy a ticket at the front desk or at a vending machine next to it.
Opening days and closures
The public baths have regular holidays. The tourism website lists closing days between Monday and Thursday for the bathhouses, and opening times of either 7:00 to 23:00 or 15:00 to 23:00.
The same page carries two closure notes. One bathhouse closed for renovations on 1 April 2024. Another is closed for renovations from 11 May 2026 to 30 October 2026. Check which baths are open before you plan a walk of all seven.
Tattoos
The town says all seven public bathhouses allow tattoos of all shapes and sizes. It calls this a rarity in Japan. The tattoo page adds that the baths inside accommodations may have different rules, so ask your accommodation.
How to bathe
The tourism website's bathing guide gives these steps:
- Shoes. Take off your shoes and put them in a locker at the front, or at the entrance if you have a pass.
- Sides. Red curtains are for women and blue, sometimes purple, curtains are for men.
- Changing room. Put all your clothes in a locker. Swimsuits and underwear are not allowed in the bath. Take only the small towel in with you.
- Cameras. Leave your camera in the locker. No pictures are allowed.
- Wash first. Sit at a shower and wash before you enter the bath. Rinse the stool and your area afterwards.
- In the bath. Tie up long hair and keep your towel out of the water. Do not swim, eat or drink in the bath.
- If you feel hot. If you feel hot or light-headed, get out slowly and cool down.
- Afterwards. Dry off with the small towel before you return to the changing room. Each bathhouse has a lounge area and vending machines.
Children should be escorted by an adult. The page says young children may go into the opposite gender's bath area if it is necessary.
Walking all seven
The town calls a walk through all seven baths onsen meguri. A map with a stamp section on the back costs 50 yen. It is sold at the Ryokan Information Center in front of Kinosaki Station. Each bathhouse has a special stamp. Some ryokan give or sell a keepsake to those who finish.
The tourism website also recommends walking the town in a yukata, a light cotton robe. Guests of the town's accommodations are given one for their stay. Visitors who do not stay overnight can rent a yukata for the day at a shop the site names.
What we could not verify, and therefore left out
- Which closing day belongs to which bathhouse. The page lists days and names in a layout we could not match with certainty.
- Which bathhouse is closed for renovations until 30 October 2026.
- Entry fees for a single bath.
- The tattoo rules in individual ryokan baths.
- How crowded each bath is at a given hour. The town runs a crowd status page that we did not read.
Related guides
- How do you get to Kinosaki Onsen from Osaka and Kyoto?
- How do you stay safe in Kinosaki? Disasters, snow and emergency numbers
Sources
All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.
- The Mystic Onsen - Visit Kinosaki — (seven bathhouses; yumepa; 1,500 yen day pass; tattoos; stamp map at 50 yen; opening times and closing days; renovation notes)
- Tattoo Friendly Onsen of Kinosaki - Visit Kinosaki — (all seven baths allow tattoos; accommodation baths may differ)
- Taking a Japanese Bath - Visit Kinosaki — (steps for shoes, curtains, lockers, washing, towels, photos and children)
- Ryokan Etiquette - Visit Kinosaki — (barcode pass; valid until 1:00 pm on checkout day; regular holidays)
- Strolling the Town in Yukata - Visit Kinosaki — (yukata for guests; day rental for others)