Find the Best Tattoo Friendly Onsen in Noboribetsu Onsen, Japan

Noboribetsu is Hokkaido’s most famous onsen town — nine types of mineral water from a volcanic crater, over 10,000 tons daily, and a landscape that looks like it belongs on another planet. No other onsen town in Japan offers this variety from a single source area.

What is Jigokudani (Hell Valley)?

Jigokudani (地獄谷) is the volcanic crater that supplies Noboribetsu’s baths — formed 10,000 years ago, now a landscape of steaming vents, bubbling sulfur pools, and bleached rock stretching across 11 hectares. A 600-meter boardwalk trail runs through the valley floor (20-30 minutes). The air smells of sulfur. The ground hisses.

From the boardwalk, a trail extends to Oyunuma Pond (大湯沼) — a steaming turquoise lake of sulfuric water at 50°C. Below Oyunuma, a natural hot river runs through the forest to a free footbath where the water flows directly from the volcanic source. This footbath is the most visceral introduction to what makes Noboribetsu different — you sit on a bench, your feet in river water heated by the earth, surrounded by forest and steam.

Where should you bathe in Noboribetsu?

Dai-ichi Takimotokan is the flagship — a 19th-century ryokan sitting directly above Jigokudani’s springs with 35 baths drawing from five different water types. The bathing hall is multi-level with indoor and outdoor baths, each labeled by mineral composition. It is fully tattoo-friendly and accepts day visitors. This is the single most comprehensive bathing experience on our site — the variety of water in one facility is unmatched.

Hotel Mahoroba offers private bathing in a large resort hotel with its own source springs — a practical option when you want to soak without navigating a public bathing hall. The hotel sits in the center of the onsen town, walking distance to the Jigokudani trailhead.

For overnight stays, the ryokan experience in Noboribetsu includes kaiseki dinners with Hokkaido seafood, tatami rooms, and access to the baths at dawn when the steam is thickest and the other guests are still asleep.

How do you get to Noboribetsu?

From Sapporo, the Kousoku Onsen-go highway bus runs direct to Noboribetsu Onsen in about 1 hour 40 minutes from Sapporo Station. By train, the JR Limited Express Hokuto reaches Noboribetsu Station (登別駅) in about 1 hour 10 minutes, then a Donan Bus runs to the onsen town in 15 minutes (400 yen). From New Chitose Airport, direct bus connections take about 1 hour.

The onsen town itself is compact and walkable. The Jigokudani trailhead is a 2-minute walk from the central hotels. Demon statues (oni) line the streets — Noboribetsu’s mascots, inspired by the “hell” imagery of the volcanic crater. The Sengen Park geyser (大湯沼川天然足湯) erupts roughly every three hours, adding one more reason to wander between baths.

When should you visit Noboribetsu?

Winter is the most dramatic season. Heavy Hokkaido snowfall covers the town, the volcanic steam intensifies in cold air, and outdoor bathing at Dai-ichi Takimotokan becomes the contrast of freezing air on your face and mineral water at 42°C around the rest of you. Some upper Jigokudani trails close in winter, but the main boardwalk remains accessible.

Autumn foliage peaks in mid-October and turns the forest surrounding Jigokudani into a canopy of red and gold above the white volcanic rock. Summer brings the Noboribetsu Hell Festival (地獄まつり) in August — demon parades with drums, lanterns, and dancers through the streets at night. Spring is the quietest season, with comfortable hiking temperatures and new green growth along the valley trails.