Hottarakashi Onsen - A Tattoo-Friendly Hot Spring in Yamanashi City, Yamanashi

The sky is still dark when you step into the water. Mt. Fuji is a silhouette on the horizon, the Kofu basin a scatter of city lights far below. Then the sun clears the ridgeline, the snow on the summit shifts from purple to pink to blazing white, and you're standing in a stone bath at 700 meters watching it happen.

Hottarakashi Onsen sits on a mountainside above Yamanashi City, open-air and unapologetically simple. The name means "left alone" — no luxury finishes, no elaborate services, just two massive bathing areas pointed at the best view in the prefecture. You pick one — Acchi-no-yu for the wide Mt. Fuji panorama, Kocchi-no-yu for the rustic wooden tubs — pay at the door, and soak. The facility opens an hour before dawn specifically so you can watch the sunrise from the water. Regulars come back for the night sky too — in winter, the stars above the basin are reason enough.

If you want a mountain onsen where the view does all the talking and tattooed guests bathe openly without a second glance, Hottarakashi is the most straightforward answer within day-trip range of Tokyo.

• Sunrise Over Mt. Fuji From the Bath: The facility opens an hour before dawn — soak in the rotenburo and watch the snow on Fuji shift from purple to pink as the sun clears the ridgeline.
• Tattoos Accepted, No Restrictions: Dozens of recent reviews in both Japanese and English confirm tattooed guests bathe in all communal areas without covers, patches, or any signage prohibiting entry.
• Two Distinct Bathing Areas: Acchi-no-yu offers a wide stone panorama facing Mt. Fuji; Kocchi-no-yu has rustic wooden tubs at a lower temperature for longer soaks — each a separate facility with its own character.
• Night Sky at Elevation: At 700 meters above the Kofu basin, winter nights deliver clear stargazing from the outdoor baths — a completely different experience from the sunrise crowd.

The hot water meets cold mountain air the moment you step outside, and then Fuji appears — enormous, filling the horizon beyond the Kofu basin. Acchi-no-yu is the draw for first-timers: stone-lined outdoor pools with an unbroken sightline to the summit and the valley spread below. The alkaline spring water runs pale gold with a high pH that leaves your skin noticeably slick and smooth after soaking.

Kocchi-no-yu is the quieter original bath, built in wood with a scent that carries. The outdoor pools sit on two tiers — the upper one warmer, the lower one lukewarm enough for the kind of extended soak that stops feeling like bathing and starts feeling like sitting in a warm river. Both areas have indoor baths, though the rotenburo is the reason you drove up the mountain. In spring, peach blossoms blanket the basin below. In winter, the stars take over.