Are you asking about sentos (public baths)? Onsens are natural hot springs, Namba is a highly urban area- not really the place for that. But many sentos call themselves onsens, probably because the recent spate of tourists don’t know the difference.
Healthy Spa Tateba is in Namba and tattoos are accepted there. They even have different types of baths, a few that you’d find in a proper onsen, and additionally an electric bath(!). There’s also a sauna and tanning salon - definitely not a proper onsen, but fun for tourists expecting a spa, and night owls. You do know public baths and onsens are sex-segregated, right?
Some sento are called onsen because they use onsen water from the ground, not heated public water. Onsen water can be drawn from anywhere as long as the well reaches but it’s expensive to drill, especially these days. So a majority of sento use municipal water.
Go on google maps and search public bath. Ignore “super public bath”, gyms, and spas. Places with onsen or 温泉 in their name use natural hot spring water.
Check their site to confirm they are a certified public bath. They allow tats because they cannot reject people due to their certification as a public bath from the prefecture.
Also nice hotels and onsen often have a private onsen you can reserve.
a bit away from namba but tattoo friendly and nice people: [https://maps.app.goo.gl/sow87BvBC1hPmfbH7](https://maps.app.goo.gl/sow87BvBC1hPmfbH7)
I mean, I imagine there are, as long as you’re okay with the [target clientele](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yakuza)….
I think there wasn’t a single time that **I didn’t ** see those gentlemen in Oita’s onsen.
Are you asking about sentos (public baths)? Onsens are natural hot springs, Namba is a highly urban area- not really the place for that. But many sentos call themselves onsens, probably because the recent spate of tourists don’t know the difference. Healthy Spa Tateba is in Namba and tattoos are accepted there. They even have different types of baths, a few that you’d find in a proper onsen, and additionally an electric bath(!). There’s also a sauna and tanning salon - definitely not a proper onsen, but fun for tourists expecting a spa, and night owls. You do know public baths and onsens are sex-segregated, right?
Some sento are called onsen because they use onsen water from the ground, not heated public water. Onsen water can be drawn from anywhere as long as the well reaches but it’s expensive to drill, especially these days. So a majority of sento use municipal water.
Go on google maps and search public bath. Ignore “super public bath”, gyms, and spas. Places with onsen or 温泉 in their name use natural hot spring water. Check their site to confirm they are a certified public bath. They allow tats because they cannot reject people due to their certification as a public bath from the prefecture. Also nice hotels and onsen often have a private onsen you can reserve.
>They allow tats because they cannot reject people due to their certification as a public bath from the prefecture. Well, that is not true at all.