The 'dō' in judo, kendo, bushido. A road and a discipline at once.

What a Japanese person actually thinks
Respected. It reads as someone who trains at something. The martial-arts association is strong and positive.

Literally: road; way
Actually: A road — and the *way* of a practice you devote yourself to. 柔道, 剣道, 華道, 書道 all end in this character.

Naturalness●●●●●

Extremely common, in both the literal and the philosophical sense.

Coolness●●●●●

Good structure, the 辶 radical sweeping under the whole character. Common but never cheap.

lowIn everyday use it's mostly just 'road' — street signs, directions. The philosophical reading needs the context a tattoo happens to provide.

道

Orientation: either

Brush. The sweeping bottom stroke is the character — give it room to run.