Momijiya Honkan Takao Sansou - A Tattoo-Friendly Hot Spring in Kyoto City, Kyoto

The road narrows past the last temple, and then you hear the river. Kiyotaki — a mountain stream cutting through a gorge thick with maple and cedar — is the first thing you notice at Momijiya Honkan, before the wooden gate, before the staff bow you inside. This is Takao, the forested edge of northwest Kyoto that most visitors never find.

Momijiya is a small traditional ryokan perched above the gorge where the river bends. The pace here is set by the kaiseki dinner, which in warmer months moves to a riverside terrace where you eat under lanterns while the forest darkens around you. Maiko performances appear by the water on select evenings. The night ends in the bath. The morning starts there too.

For tattooed guests, the private open-air baths are the move — two reservable tubs on a hilltop reached by climbing 45 stone steps above the main building, with the full sweep of Takao's mountain forest below. If you want a ryokan night in Kyoto that feels genuinely remote without leaving the city, this is one of the few that delivers.

• Private Hilltop Baths for Tattooed Guests: Two reservable open-air baths sit atop 45 stone steps above the main building — tattooed guests can bathe in privacy with panoramic mountain and forest views.
• Riverside Kaiseki Under Lanterns: In warmer months, dinner moves to a terrace along the Kiyotaki River — seasonal Kyoto cuisine with occasional maiko performances as the gorge goes dark.
• Kyoto's First Autumn Color: The name means "maple leaf house," and Takao's maples turn before most of the city — soak on the hilltop while the canopy below shifts from green to red.
• Intimate Scale, Attentive Staff: Only a handful of rooms means you share the property with very few other guests — visitors consistently describe feeling like they had the place to themselves, with staff who remember details and go out of their way.

Forty-five stone steps up from the main building, the trees open and the ridgeline appears. The two private baths — "Star" and "Moon" — sit on this hilltop clearing, open to the sky and facing the forested mountains of Takao. The water is heated mountain spring water, clear and soft. Book a session at check-in and the hilltop is yours alone.

Below, the communal baths are compact — an indoor pool and a small outdoor section, gender-separated. Functional, not the draw. The private hilltop baths are what guests remember, especially in autumn when the maple canopy below turns while you soak above it, or in early morning when mist settles into the valley and the only sound is birds.

✈️ From Kansai International Airport → 🚄 Haruka Express to Kyoto Station (75 min) → 🚆 JR Sagano Line to Hanazono Station (12 min) → 🚌 Momijiya shuttle (reservation required, 15 min)

🚆 From Kyoto Station → 🚆 JR Sagano Line to Hanazono Station (12 min) → 🚌 Momijiya shuttle (reservation required, 15 min)

🚌 Alternative: Kyoto City Bus #8 from Kyoto Station → 🚏 Takao stop → 🚶‍♀️ 10 min walk or short taxi ride

Reservations are strongly recommended, especially during autumn foliage season when the ryokan frequently books months in advance. The staff can accommodate English-speaking guests, and private bath reservations can be made directly at check-in or pre-arrival.

🌐 Website: https://www.momijiya.jp/en/

📞 Phone: +81 75-871-1005

📍 Address: Umegahata Takaocho, Ukyo Ward, Kyoto 616-8289, Japan