Onsen tattoo card and Japanese manners cards
Two jobs, one tool. Ask staff a question — may I bathe with a tattoo, may I cover it, is there a private bath — or print a procedure card for yourself: the seven steps of a public bath, a night at a ryokan, or a visit to a shrine, in Japanese with the English beside it.
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The tattoo question, asked properly
Tattoo rules are set by each bathhouse, not by law, and they have been loosening since the 2010s in towns that see foreign guests. The card asks タトゥーがありますが、入浴できますか and offers the follow-ups that actually get somewhere: covering it with a skin-coloured patch, saying honestly whether it is smaller than a palm or too large to cover, asking about a private or family bath, and asking whether a quieter hour would be acceptable. It closes with 規則であれば従います — if it is the rule, I will respect it — which is the sentence that keeps the exchange friendly.
The seven steps of a Japanese bath
Shoes into the shoe locker. Undress completely, because swimwear is not worn. Kakeyu: rinse with hot water before you go near the bath. Sit at a washing station — sitting, not standing, which is the mistake foreign bathers are best known for. Rinse off every trace of soap before getting in. Keep the towel out of the water. Dry off before stepping back into the changing room. Five more rules can be added: hair tied up, voices down, no swimming, no photography, and water before and after.
A night at a ryokan, in order
Shoes off at the entrance, slippers off again on tatami, tea and a sweet on arrival, yukata wrapped left over right — the other way is how the dead are dressed — dinner at a fixed hour in your yukata, futon laid out while you eat, toilet slippers that never leave the toilet, and check-out around 10:00. None of this is written down anywhere, because every Japanese guest already knows it.
Shrine manners, and the one temple difference
Bow at the torii, walk to the side of the path, purify at the temizuya in the order left hand, right hand, mouth, left hand, offer a coin quietly, then two bows, two claps, one bow. At a Buddhist temple you press your palms together silently instead — no clapping. That distinction is printed on a single line because getting it backwards is the most common visitor mistake.
Printing and the phone version
The default card is 91 by 55 millimetres and ten fit on one A4 or US Letter sheet with cut lines, printed at 100 percent scaling. A procedure card with eight steps is easier to read at A6, which gives four per sheet. The PNG is 1080 pixels on the long edge, which is what you want on a phone at a bathhouse counter or in front of a temizuya.
Nothing is uploaded
There is no server and no account. The Japanese sentences are a static file bundled with the page, and the card is assembled by JavaScript inside your own browser tab, so nothing you tick leaves your device.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use an onsen if I have a tattoo?
It depends on the bathhouse — there is no law, only house rules. Private-bath ryokan, family baths, many hotel baths and a growing number of tattoo-friendly onsen say yes; large traditional sento and older resort baths often still say no. Asking at the desk in written Japanese is the quickest way to find out, and the answer is frequently "yes with a cover patch" or "please use the private bath".
Do I wear a swimsuit in a Japanese bath?
No. Japanese baths are bathed in naked, and the areas are separated by gender. Only the small towel comes into the bathing area with you, and it never goes into the water — most people rest it on their head or on the edge of the bath.
Which way does a yukata wrap?
Left side over right. The opposite is used only when dressing the dead, and Japanese guests notice immediately but are far too polite to say anything. The belt ties at the waist, and the yukata is normal dress for dinner, the corridors, the bath and a walk through a hot-spring town.
Do I clap at a temple as well as a shrine?
Only at a shrine: two bows, two claps, one bow. At a Buddhist temple you press your hands together silently and bow. A torii gate means a shrine; a large incense burner usually means a temple.
Is anything I tick sent to a server?
No. The card is generated in your browser, there is no account and no analytics on what you select, and the PDF exists only on your own device.