For tattooed tourists or foreigners living in Japan, it is truly a challenge to enjoy the public baths here. Most facilities do not accept guests with tattoos.
On 15th April, Hoshino Resort Co., a high-end resort chain, announced that they will accept guests with small tattoos, as long as the inked skin is covered with a sticker.
In Japan, the main reason that behind the ban on tattoos is that inked skin is usually considered a symbol of gang affiliation like Yakuza, which can disturb or scare other customers at a hot spring.
For several years now, this sentiment has somewhat diminished as more and more young people get tattoos as a fashion statement.
“We would like to make this an opportunity to think about existing rules at ryokan and among onsen fans,” explained Yoshiharu Hoshino, President of Hoshino Resort Co. They will start distributing 8cm x 10cm stickers from October 1st, intended to cover smaller tattoos.
