Hotel group policy · checked Oct 2026

Hoshino Resorts tattoo policy

Hoshino Resorts publishes one group rule: it does not restrict guests because of tattoos, but staff may refuse the bath if they judge other guests could feel afraid. Baths also open to non-staying guests ask you to cover tattoos.

By the Tattoo Onsen Japan editors, from Hoshino Resorts' own published pages · Checked · How we verify

Autumn colours in the Akiu gorge · Photo: Raita Futo from Tokyo, Japan (photo page on Wikimedia Commons, opens in a new tab) · CC BY 2.0 (licence, opens in a new tab) · resized and recompressed from the original
The short answer

Allowed, staff may refuse. Hoshino Resorts publishes one group rule: it does not restrict guests because of tattoos, but staff may refuse the bath if they judge other guests could feel afraid. Baths also open to non-staying guests ask you to cover tattoos.

HOSHINOYA, KAI and RISONARE hot-spring and large baths (staying guests only)
Tattoos are not restricted. Staff may refuse the hot-spring / large bath if they judge that other guests could feel afraid.
OMO, BEB and the group's other hotels
The same group rule. We found no separate tattoo wording for these brands on the group's pages.
Baths also used by people who are not staying (day-use baths)
Only if the tattoo can be fully covered by eight 8 × 10 cm cover stickers, and you wear the stickers or a covering.
Pools
You may be asked to wear a rash guard or similar swimwear. The English version adds that this is when staff think tattoos may cause other guests discomfort, and that rash guards are not provided — bring your own.

What Hoshino Resorts says

What the group's policy says

“We respect the cultural backgrounds and values of all our guests, and therefore do not restrict the use of our facilities based on tattoos.”

The group's own English version

Original Japanese: 私たちは、お客様の文化背景や価値観を尊重し、刺青・タトゥーをされているお客様の利用を制限しておりません。

“However, to ensure a comfortable environment for everyone, we may refuse access to the public bath if we believe that the presence of tattoos could cause discomfort or concern among other guests.”

The group's own English version

Original Japanese: しかし、すべてのお客様に快適にお過ごしいただけるよう、他のお客様が恐怖心を抱く可能性があると私たちが判断した場合に、大浴場のご利用をお断りすることがあります。

Group tattoo page · hoshinoresorts.com (opens in a new tab) (Japanese) · hoshinoresorts.com (opens in a new tab) (English version) · checked 22 Oct 2026

“For facilities open to non-hotel guests, guests with tattoos that can be fully covered by eight 8cm x 10cm cover-up stickers are allowed to enter, provided that they wear the cover-up stickers or appropriate coverings.”

The group's own English version

Original Japanese: 宿泊者以外の方も利用する施設は、タトゥーが8cm×10cmのカバーシール8枚で完全に覆える大きさで、カバーシールやカバーをご着用いただくことを条件に、ご利用いただけます。

“Regarding pool usage, we may ask guests with tattoos to wear a rash guard or similar swimwear to cover their tattoos if we believe it may cause discomfort to other guests.”

The group's own English version

Original Japanese: また、プールにおいては、ラッシュガードなどのご着用をお願いする場合がございます。

Group FAQ · hoshinoresorts.com (opens in a new tab) (Japanese) · hoshinoresorts.com (opens in a new tab) (English version) · checked 22 Oct 2026

“The hot-spring and large baths at HOSHINOYA, KAI and RISONARE are for staying guests only.”

Our translation

Original Japanese: 星のや、界、リゾナーレの温泉・大浴場は宿泊者専用です。

Group FAQ (Japanese) · hoshinoresorts.com (opens in a new tab) (Japanese) · checked 22 Oct 2026

The group publishes this rule in Japanese and in English; the English above is the group's own, except where marked as our translation.

The two versions differ slightly: the Japanese refuses the bath when other guests could feel “fear” (恐怖心), the English says “discomfort or concern”; the Japanese pool sentence does not say rash guards are not provided.

What it covers — and what it doesn't

Covers

  • Every Hoshino Resorts brand: the rule is on the group's own tattoo page and in its group FAQ, not on one hotel's page.
  • The hot-spring and large shared baths (the Japanese tattoo page says 大浴場, “large bath”; the Japanese FAQ 温泉・大浴場, “hot spring / large bath”; the English versions “public bath”).
  • Pools (rash guard) and baths also open to day visitors (eight 8 × 10 cm stickers).

Does not settle

  • It is not a promise: staff may still refuse the bath. The rule does not say how they decide beyond “other guests could feel afraid”.
  • It does not give a sticker size or number for the guest-only baths, because tattoos are not restricted there.
  • Some of the group's hotels have no hot-spring bath on site; for them the rule decides little. Each stay below keeps its own status.

Hoshino Resorts stays in our register · 12

Each stay keeps its own status and source: a group rule says what the group allows, but a property may have no shared hot-spring bath, or publish its own wording. Go by the stay's page.

  • Shared OK 12

“Check prices” links may earn us a commission. We add no fee, and it never changes a status. Disclosure

Card photos: each inn's own official website (credited and linked on its page) · About these photos

Checked stays

Not part of Hoshino Resorts

  • Covered OKNikko Hoshinoyado Nikko Hoshinoyado (日光 星の宿) is a different operator; this rule does not apply.
  • Private onlyNasu Bettei Kai Nasu Bettei Kai (那須別邸 回) is not KAI (界) by Hoshino Resorts; this rule does not apply.

If you're refused

Staff on the day have the last word, even under a group rule. Before you book, ask the hotel directly and keep the reply. If you are turned away on the day, ask whether a private or in-room bath is available instead.

Onsen towns with these stays

Other hotel groups

We read Hoshino Resorts' own pages on 22 Oct 2026 and quote them exactly; nothing here comes from booking sites or reviews. Group rules change, and a property can apply its own: check the stay's page and ask before you book.

Never read a group rule as “every hotel is tattoo-friendly”: it says only what is quoted above. How we verify · About