Kurama Onsen: Price, Tattoos and Why It Has No Private Bath

Kurama Onsen is a public hot spring in the hills north of Kyoto, and it has no private bath: its own page says so in its Q&A (November 2026). The baths are separate for men and women, and guests with tattoos are welcome. At the door, the indoor and open-air baths cost JPY 2,600 on weekdays and JPY 2,700 at weekends and on holidays, towels and room wear included. Bought ahead, LINKTIVITY Inc.’s Kurama Onsen Entry Ticket with Set Meal is from US$31 a person (checked November 2026) and adds a set meal.

Free cancellation until 24 hours before; the ticket is valid for a month.

The fees at the door

Kurama Onsen’s own price table, tax included, checked November 2026. Children 2 and under bathe free.

The day baths are open 10:00 to 21:00. No booking is needed, but on some days the onsen is closed or hired out, so the Q&A asks you to check ahead (its own page, November 2026).

What the GetYourGuide ticket adds

The ticket covers the indoor baths (main bath, sauna, cold bath and jet bath), the open-air bath, a bath towel and a face towel, room wear, and one of three set meals. On 27 November 2026 the Yuba Shabu Yudofu meal came at US$30.92, Charcoal Grilled Beef Tongue at US$37.86 and Wild Boar Hot Pot at US$39.12 a person; 20 January and 27 March 2027 were not on sale when we read them (checked November 2026). So the ticket is the bath and lunch or dinner in one, bought ahead in dollars.

Of the 98 reviews we read, from April to November 2026, 15 give three stars or fewer. One, on 22 October 2026, could not use the baths or the meal because of an event; another, in April, was served a different set meal from the one booked; a third, in May, writes of mould on the walls of the indoor bath.

Check dates for the Kurama ticket

No private bath, and what to do instead

Kurama Onsen’s Q&A answers “Is there a private open-air bath?” with no: staying guests get a time after the day hours, but there is no private bath to book. The baths are not mixed, swimwear and clothes are not allowed, and towels stay out of the water (its own page, November 2026).

If a private bath is the point, stay where one comes with the room: rooms with a private onsen and how a private bath works list them.

Tattoos

Kurama Onsen’s own Q&A says guests with tattoos may use the baths; only members of organised crime groups are asked not to come (November 2026). Ontabi's guided bath at Kurama Onsen, 2 hours with a guide who explains the bathing steps, is from US$76 a person (checked November 2026). Tattoo-friendly private onsen covers the other properties.

Getting there

Kurama Onsen gives the walk from Kurama Station on the Eizan line as 10 minutes, and runs a free shuttle bus every day; Kyoto Bus routes 32, 50 and 52 stop at Kurama Onsen (its own page, November 2026). On foot it is 889 m, about 12 minutes. By road it is 16.8 km from Kyoto Station, with free parking for 30 cars.

Trip Designer Inc.'s private hike through Kurama and Kibune on Viator covers the hills around it, with hotel pickup in Kyoto; it does not include a bath.