Japanese government encouraging hot springs to ease tattoo restrictions soranews24.com

Likewise, more and more foreign travelers are showing an interest in dipping a toe in Japan’s hot spring, or onsen, traditions, even if communal bathing isn’t something that’s done in their own countries.
However, these restrictions also can also cut off visiting tourists’ access to hot springs.
Since the Japan Tourism Agency, part of the government’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism, is all about making it easier for people from abroad to travel to and in Japan, the organization recently released a statement encouraging hot spring operators to relax their no-tattoo policies.
If hot spring operators are reluctant to allow the open display of tattoos, the agency suggests giving bathers the choice of placing adhesive covers over their ink, or at least allowing them to use private bathing facilities.
The economic fortunes of an onsen are heavily dependent on the purity of its water, but the Japan Tourism Agency asserts that the ink from a tattoo poses no contamination threat.