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Is Kinosaki Onsen Worth It? Japanese Viewers on the Onsen Town That Said No to Tour Buses and Yes to Tattoos

城崎温泉は worth it か — 団体客を捨て、外湯を全部タトゥーOKにした温泉街を日本人はどう見ているか（1,105コメント）

Kinosaki OnsenKinosakiToyooka
Is Kinosaki Onsen Worth It? Japanese Viewers on the Onsen Town That Said No to Tour Buses and Yes to Tattoos

The most-liked comment under a Japanese TV report on Kinosaki Onsen — 1,154 likes — is a viewer itemizing what one small innkeeper did for guests who spoke no Japanese: handled English, walked them out for photos, found a restaurant when dinner was full, drove their bags to the station and had a crab bento made in the minutes before their train. Across 1,105 comments, Japanese viewers turn that into a verdict about the town itself: it works because it stayed small. They credit deliberate choices — one commenter's history (194 likes) says the town banned its red-light businesses to remake itself as a family destination, another calls not being able to host tour groups a smart advantage (374), and regulars point to every public bath going tattoo-friendly. They also argue about who can still afford a ryokan — and a couple of them tell you what kind of onsen town to book instead.

“This guy's a god. Even a Japanese guest would struggle to get service like this. He's thinking about the whole onsen town. So this is what having a wide view looks like.”

この人、神だな 日本人でも中々こんな対応できない 温泉街全体のことを考えてる 視野が広いとはこのことか

— @yohai9889
City guideWhat locals say about Kinosaki OnsenAll 1 local roundups for Kinosaki Onsen
（YouTube · ANNnewsCH）

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What locals said (excerpted from 1105)

  • This inn's owner is unbelievable. Handles English, goes along on photo shoots, finds a place for guests who got shut out of dinner, drives luggage to the station and gets a bento arranged at a friend's shop — maybe it's only possible because the inn is small, but that service instinct is something. I don't have money to travel abroad, or even inside Japan, so I'm glad foreign visitors are spending here.

    この宿のオーナーすごいわ。英語にも対応、写真撮影に同行、夕飯にあぶれた客に知り合いの店紹介、車で荷物を駅に持参して知り合いの店に弁当の手配、宿の規模が小さいからできるのかもしれないけどサービス精神すごい。 自分はお金なくて海外はもちろん国内ですら旅行できないので外国人がお金落としてくれるの助かるわ

    — @esda17481,154 likes

  • Smart of them, turning "we can't take tour groups" into an advantage.

    団体客が入れないというデメリットを活かしたの賢い

    — @yldfromhell7877374 likes

  • Kinosaki Onsen used to have red-light businesses, with the freelancers that come with them. The townspeople banned those shops and changed how they dealt with that trade. Business dipped for a while — the customers who came for that stopped coming — but they stuck at it, saying "we're going to make this a town built around families," and they've kept at it. That's why it's succeeding like this.

    城崎温泉は以前はピンクのお店があり、それに付随した自由業の方たちがいたのだけれど街の人々がピンクの店を禁止にし、自由業の方への対応を変えて、一時的には客足が落ちた（ピンク目当ての客がいなくなった）けど「家族連れをメインにした街にするんだ」と粘り強く頑張り続けて、それを続けているからこういう風に成功している。

    — @0214sinxq194 likes

  • The reason Kinosaki lands so well with foreign visitors, and keeps them coming back, is that it made its seven public baths tattoo-friendly and switched course completely. Individual service quality like the Morizuya owner's matters too, of course — but how well the onsen association itself reads current demand and turns it into strategy matters more.

    城崎温泉がこれだけ外国人観光客にウケてリピーターも増やせてるのは7つの外湯をタトゥーフレンドリーにして完全に舵を切り替えたことだと思う。森津屋のオーナーさんみたいに個人個人のサービスクオリティ向上ももちろん大事だけど、大元の温泉協会が昨今のニーズをどれくらい把握して戦略に落とし込めるかはもっと重要。

    — @koyankoyanky23 likes

  • Instead of processing tourists conveyor-belt style, by the manual… I'm amazed that the real charm of rural Japan has borne fruit in this form. Making every public bath tattoo-OK. Studying English conversation. You can really see the effort on the receiving side. I wish my own hometown of Beppu, and Yufuin too, would push harder.

    ベルトコンベアー式に来る観光客をマニュアル通りに持て成すのではなく・・・。 本来の日本の田舎の良さがこんな形で実っているなんて驚きです。 外湯全てでタツゥーOKにするとか。英会話の勉強とか。受け入れる側もとても努力されているのが よくよく伺われます。 私の田舎の別府温泉とか、由布院もさらに頑張ってほしいものです。

    — @kanrineko35 likes

  • This plays like a consulting case study on how visitors went from 1,000 to 50,000. There should be more service like Morizuya's. The reason people from overseas come back: not the very Japanese "that would not be possible," but being good at handling the irregular.

    1000人から5万人へ観光客が増えた理由から学べるコンサルのような内容。森津屋みたいなサービスがもっと増えるべき。海外の人がリピートする理由、日本特有の「出来かねます」ではなく「イレギュラーに強い」対応。

    — @IKUTA_58 likes

  • I'm from Toyooka, and this moved me. Watching him work so hard to give visitors from abroad a wonderful experience — it got to me. I want to be like that.

    豊岡出身の者ですが、感動しました。海外の方に素晴らしい体験をしてもらうために頑張っていらっしゃる姿、見ていて感動しました。見習いたいです。

    — @かめ好き人間342 likes

  • I used to work with the owner of Morizuya. Brings back memories — he's as easygoing and as good at looking after people as ever. Makes me want to go play in Kinosaki again.

    森津屋の主人とは昔一緒に仕事してました。懐かしいし面倒見の良さは相変わらず変わらず気さくで良い人です。また城崎温泉に遊びに行きたいですね！

    — @ぐっちー3-d3y107 likes

  • Genuinely wonderful service. Kinosaki Onsen is the healing onsen for us Kansai people. Now it's not just the whole country but the world too — how amazing is that. It's a real onsen town, the way an onsen town should be. Please go. There aren't many places in Kansai where you can actually enjoy an onsen town.

    本当に素晴らしい対応。城崎温泉は関西人の癒やしの温泉。今は全国のみならず世界からも！なんて凄いことか…。本当に温泉♨地らしい温泉街。ぜひ行って頂きたい。関西で温泉街が楽しめる温泉地はそーないですよ。

    — @ソレイユ-h7n79 likes

  • I took a few European friends to Kinosaki in May when I was back in Japan. The people at Mikiya where we stayed, the shops we bought souvenirs in, the attendants at the public baths — everyone was kind and clearly used to looking after foreign guests. My friends were deeply moved by Kinosaki's hospitality and said it became a great memory. There's a service that carries your luggage to the tourist information office by the station in time for your train, so you can enjoy walking the town right up to the end. That was such a help. I'll definitely visit again next time I'm home.

    今年5月に日本帰国時、ヨーロッパの友人を数人連れて城崎へ行きました。お世話になった三木屋旅館の方も、お土産を買いに入ったお店の方も、外湯の案内の方も皆さんとても優しく親切で、外国人のゲストへの対応も慣れていらっしゃるようでした。友人も城崎のおもてなしに大変感動しており、とても良い思い出になったと喜んでくれていました。 帰る際の電車の時刻に合わせて駅前の観光案内所まで荷物を運んで下さるサービスがあり、帰り際まで街歩きを楽しめる工夫がされていてとても有り難かったです。またぜひ帰国の際には遊びに行きたいです🥰

    — @mikakokuwajima98089 likes

  • Crab season was the best. The public bath circuit is great too. And tattoos are fine.

    カニのシーズン最高でしたね。外湯めぐりも良いですね。Tattooでも良ですね。

    — @1019ha30 likes

  • That owner is something. And the number of tourists is just right — the atmosphere on the streets at night really is good. Looks like you could take it slow there.

    オーナーさん、すごいなぁ 程よい観光客の数だし、夜の道の雰囲気が確かに良いね。ゆったり過ごせそう

    — @memenma113 likes

  • More tourists is a good thing, but it's sad that Japan is cheap for people from abroad while a Japanese inn is by no means cheap for us Japanese.

    観光客が増えるのは良いことですが、外国人にとって日本は安いのに、肝心の日本人にとって、日本の旅館が決して安くないことが悲しいことです。

    — @chie908930 likes

  • The public baths get way too crowded to relax.

    外湯が激混み過ぎてゆっくりできない

    — @asahi_Z9002 likes

Where locals go instead

  • Onsen towns built so that giant hotels fence their group guests in are struggling, even the ones with famous water. Onsen towns with enough atmosphere that even women can enjoy walking the public baths in yukata or a padded robe — those are the good ones.

    巨大ホテルが団体客を囲い込みするような形態の温泉街は名湯であっても苦戦していますね。女性でも浴衣やどてらで外湯巡りを楽しめるような風情ある温泉街はいいですね。

    — @空-j6y15 likes

  • We Japanese want to slow down in a town with this kind of atmosphere too. The inns lined along the canal near Amanohashidate nearby still have their old wooden buildings, and the mood from early evening is lovely. Japanese tourism looks like it's about to change a lot, and that's something to look forward to.

    日本人もこのような風情ある温泉街でゆっくりしたいです。 近くの天橋立の運河沿いに立ち並ぶ旅館も古い木造の建物が残っていて、夕方からの雰囲気が良いです。 日本観光のあり方が大きく変わりそうで期待が持てますね。

    — @二杯目のぶぶ漬け135 likes

Places named in this article

  • Morizuya森津屋Kinosaki Onsen, Toyooka

    The 12-room inn in the report, whose owner drew the thread's top comment (1,154 likes) for the English, the photo walks and the crab bento run to the station. A former colleague of the owner turns up in the comments to vouch for him (107 likes).

  • Mikiya三木屋Kinosaki Onsen, Toyooka

    Named by a commenter who brought European friends and found everyone — inn, souvenir shops, bath attendants — used to foreign guests (9 likes). The same commenter praises the service that carries your luggage to the tourist office by the station so you can keep walking the town until your train.

  • Kinosaki's sotoyu (public bath circuit)城崎温泉の外湯Kinosaki Onsen, Toyooka

    The seven public baths commenters credit for the town's comeback — all tattoo-friendly, walked between in yukata. Satono-yu is closed for rebuilding as of mid-2026, so six are open; one commenter says they can get too crowded to relax.

  • Hyogo Park of the Oriental Storkコウノトリの郷公園Toyooka

    The side trip a commenter pairs with Kinosaki, along with matsuba crab and Tajima beef, if you want more than the baths (7 likes).

  • Amanohashidate天橋立Miyazu, Kyoto Prefecture

    The nearby alternative in the thread's instead comment (135 likes): old wooden inns lined along the canal, best in the evening — same walkable-onsen-town appeal, different coast.

Named in the source comments — hours, prices, and openings change, so check each map listing before you go.

FAQ

Is Kinosaki Onsen worth visiting?
Japanese viewers say yes, and they are specific about why: it's a small walkable onsen town rather than a resort strip of big hotels. One Kansai commenter calls it "the healing onsen for Kansai people" and notes there simply aren't many places in Kansai where you can enjoy a proper onsen town (79 likes). The report they were watching said foreign visitors rose roughly 45-fold in eight years — from about 1,000 to 50,000 (58 likes).
Are tattoos allowed in Kinosaki Onsen?
This is exactly what commenters credit for the town's turnaround: it made its public baths (sotoyu) tattoo-friendly and "switched course completely" (23 likes), a decision the tourism association states publicly. One commenter's trip note is simply "crab season was the best, the bath circuit is great, tattoos are fine too" (30 likes). Ryokan-owned baths set their own rules, so ask your inn.
How many public baths does Kinosaki have, and are they all open?
Seven were built, and commenters in 2023 talk about "the seven sotoyu." One of them, Satono-yu by the station, has been closed since 2024 for a rebuild that local reporting says slipped to around 2030, so six are open as of mid-2026. Guests soak in yukata between them; one commenter warns the baths can get too packed to relax.
How much does a night in Kinosaki cost?
The ryokan in the report was quoted at about ¥22,000 per person with meals, and commenters read that as good value: "crab included at ¥22,000 is fine even for a Japanese guest" (14 likes), "they charge properly, and guests still feel they got more than they paid for" (36 likes). The dissent (30 likes): Japan is cheap for overseas visitors while ryokan are not cheap for Japanese. Rates change — check the inn.

This is one of 1 local roundups for Kinosaki Onsen. See them all →

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