Yokikan is a Japanese-style inn on the hillside of Ito Onsen, on the Izu coast of Shizuoka, with its own hot spring and a view over the town and the sea. Its signature is a small in-house cable car that carries guests up a steep slope to the open-air bath. Before you book, three things matter: the inn is closed every Tuesday from noon and every Wednesday; English help is not always on hand; and every room is a tatami room, with meals served in your room or a private dining room rather than a restaurant.
Yokikan at a glance
| Item | Official information |
|---|---|
| Address | 2-24 Suehiro-cho, Ito, Shizuoka |
| Closed | Every Tuesday from noon and every Wednesday |
| Rooms | Japanese tatami rooms, no two alike; whole inn non-smoking |
| Check-in / out | 15:00–18:00 with dinner (15:00–23:00 room only or breakfast only) / 10:00 |
| Front door locked | 23:00 |
| Baths | One open-air bath and two indoor baths, own source, free-flowing; men’s and women’s times rotate |
| Bathing tax | 300 yen per person per night (Ito City) |
| Wi-Fi | Free in rooms and lobby |
From the official site and Ito City, read October 20, 2026.
When is Yokikan closed, and how do I reach the inn?
Which days can I not stay?
The Japanese home page says the inn sets Tuesday from noon and Wednesday as closing days each week, with the whole building shut and reopening on Thursday morning. During those days, the inn cannot answer the phone, voicemail or email, though online booking stays open around the clock. If you plan a trip midweek, pick dates around this before anything else.
Is there English-speaking staff?
The English contact page is honest about it: there is an English speaker at the inn, but he is not always available. The phone line is staffed from 7:30 to 22:00. For questions in English, the published email address on the contact page lets you ask in writing; send it so it arrives on a day the inn is open.
The baths and the cable car at Yokikan
How does the cable car to the open-air bath work?
The open-air bath sits above the inn. You ride an in-house cable car that climbs a 45-degree slope for about 30 meters, rattling up to a bath that looks over Ito and the sea. Under the terms of stay, it runs from 15:00 to 22:30 and from 6:00 to 10:30. Outside those hours, the way up is a staircase of about 80 steps.
What are the baths like?
The water is from the inn’s own sources, two springs with two water types, and it flows straight into the baths. The open-air bath is a chloride spring that leaves the ground at 52°C and sits at about 43°C in the tub; the spring water also feeds the waterfall you can see from the lobby. There is one open-air bath and two indoor baths, and men and women take turns on a timetable shown on the bath page. The open-air bath has no washing area, so soap and shampoo cannot be used there; wash in an indoor bath first. Swimsuits and towels in the water are not allowed.
Is there a private bath, and what about tattoos?
The English FAQ says there is no private-use bath. Rooms in the hillside annex, and some in the main building, have their own hot-spring bath instead. On tattoos, the English FAQ says small ones are fine, but a tattoo covering the whole body or the entire back is not; the Japanese pages say nothing about it. Our tattoo and onsen guide explains what to ask.
Rooms at Yokikan
All rooms are Japanese tatami rooms in the sukiya style, and the inn says no two have the same layout. Most have a small second room. They fall into two groups:
| Area | Bath | View |
|---|---|---|
| Main building, lower floors (called Standard on the English booking page) | No bath in most rooms; some have one; heated-seat toilets | Garden trees or the town |
| Annex on the hillside (called Special) | Hot-spring bath in every room | Sea and town |
From the official room and plan pages, read October 20, 2026.
Room types take 2 to 5 guests. The whole inn is non-smoking, with a smoking spot outside the front entrance. The Japanese home page welcomes solo travelers, and there are solo plans.
Meals at Yokikan
What are dinner and breakfast like?
There is no restaurant. Dinner and breakfast come to your room or to a private dining room; groups of five or more eat in a private dining room, which cannot be chosen. The standard dinner is 10 dishes including sashimi and simmered golden-eye snapper. Breakfast is Japanese, and you grill your own dried horse mackerel at the table.
Can the inn handle allergies or a special diet?
The Japanese plan page says the kitchen can handle a single-food allergy if you tell it in advance, but cannot remove wheat or soy, which are in the seasonings, and that meals come from a shared kitchen. Allergy requests are not taken on May 3–6, August 10–16 and December 28–January 5. The English FAQ adds that the inn cannot serve meals without dashi stock and cannot do a gluten-free diet. Ask the inn for its deadline when you book.
Prices, children, cancellation and payment at Yokikan
How much does a stay cost?
Prices are per person and change with the room area and the meal plan. The English and Japanese booking pages show them on different bases, so read the price on the plan you pick. On top, Ito City charges a bathing tax of 300 yen per person per day for stays, from October 1, 2025, according to the Ito City bathing tax page. Children up to the end of elementary school are exempt. Ask the inn how it appears on your bill, and see our onsen bathing tax guide.
What do children cost?
The official pages list child rates by meal and bedding option, but the figures differ between pages. Confirm the rate with the inn before you book.
What is the cancellation policy?
For individual bookings of up to 14 guests, the Japanese plan page lists 30 percent from 3 days before, 50 percent the day before and 100 percent on the day. Groups have their own table. If you have not called and have not arrived by 20:00, or one hour after the arrival time you gave, the booking can be treated as canceled. See our hotel cancellation guide.
How do I pay?
You pay at checkout. Both the English and Japanese pages list JCB, Visa, Mastercard and American Express. Some plans cannot be paid by card, and geisha, massage and day-visit bathing are cash only.
Getting to Yokikan from Ito Station
From JR Ito Station, the Japanese site lists about 10 minutes on foot or 3 minutes by taxi. There is no shuttle bus. Parking is free, with 20 indoor and outdoor spaces and a covered spot for motorbikes. If you drive, the inn suggests setting your navigation to 1-21 Suehiro-cho, the parking address, since some systems lead to the hill behind the inn.
What foreign guests should know before staying at Yokikan
- Check the calendar: the inn is closed Tuesday from noon and all Wednesday, and does not read email on those days.
- English help is not always on hand; put questions in writing by email.
- Plan for the cable car’s hours. After 22:30, the open-air bath means about 80 steps.
- Wash before the open-air bath; it has no washing area.
- Arrive by 20:00 or tell the inn your arrival time, or the booking may be treated as canceled.
Frequently asked questions
Which days is Yokikan closed?
How do you reach the open-air bath at Yokikan?
Can I bathe at Yokikan with a tattoo?
Does Yokikan have English-speaking staff?
How do I get to Yokikan?
Bottom line (2026): Yokikan is a tatami-room inn in Ito Onsen with its own hot spring and a cable car up to an open-air bath over the sea. Avoid Tuesday afternoons and Wednesdays, ask questions by email, and confirm prices, meal times and child rates on the official booking page.
Sources
Every fact on this page is from Yokikan’s official pages: home (Japanese), basic information, rooms, meals, baths, terms of stay, plan page, services, English home, English FAQ, English contact and the official English booking page, plus the Ito City bathing tax page. All were read on October 20, 2026. Prices and rules change; check the official site before you book.
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