[Arima Onsen Travel Guide] Relax in a Hot Spring Town Rich in Nature and History

Kin no Yu is a day-use bathing facility where you can casually enjoy Kinsen, one of the two types of spring water found in Arima Onsen, alongside the reddish-brown Kinsen and the colorless, transparent Ginsen.
Inside the building are two bathing areas: Ichinoyu, used as the men’s bath, and Ninoyu, used as the women’s bath.
Ichinoyu is designed with an image of bamboo, an essential material in Arima Onsen’s traditional crafts. Ninoyu is themed around the maple leaves of Zuihoji Park, a famous autumn foliage spot in Arima.

This is a day-use bathing facility where you can casually enjoy Ginsen. The bath area is designed to evoke the rock bath said to have been used by Taiko Hideyoshi.
In addition to a spacious bath filled with Ginsen, the facility also has a vibra bath with bubbling water that stimulates the body, a waterfall bath, and a steam sauna.
Body soap, rinse-in shampoo, and hair dryers are provided, and towels are sold, so you can stop by empty-handed.

Here you can enjoy 26 types of baths and bedrock bathing, including Arima’s famous Kinsen, known for having the highest concentration of hot spring minerals in Japan.
There are six open-air baths, including rock baths, Goemon baths, artificial carbonated baths, and herbal baths. In the large public bath, you can enjoy both Kinsen and Ginsen.

The Arima Onsen town has many places associated with Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who loved Arima Onsen.
Among them, Nene Bridge is especially recommended.
Nene was Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s lawful wife and is also known by the nickname Kitano Mandokoro.
Highlights include the vermilion bridge railing and the statues of Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Nene facing each other across the bridge.
It is not only atmospheric, but also a great opportunity to connect with Japanese culture and history.

One of the charms of Arima Onsen is that you can enjoy a variety of local specialty foods while strolling through the atmospheric hot spring town.
One thing you definitely shouldn’t miss is dishes made with Kobe beef, a local specialty.
Steak and other preparations that let you enjoy the natural flavor of the meat are especially recommended.
Kamameshi made with local ingredients is also popular and offers flavors unique to Japan.
If you’re walking around the hot spring town, don’t forget to try some street food as well.
Kinsen-yaki, a fresh confection inspired by Kinsen, is especially popular and is known for its soft texture.
Sake manju is another great choice for street food.
Its smooth strained bean paste has a rich flavor, and the sake is only lightly fragrant, making it easy to enjoy even for those who are sensitive to alcohol.

In Arima, including Arima Onsen, geiko culture still remains today.
Geiko are women who entertain guests at banquets through dance and music, and are also called geisha.
At events such as the Sakura Festival held in early April in Arima Onsen, the geiko yukata gathering in mid-July, and Suzukaze Kawa Zashiki from late July to mid-August, geiko appear and perform dances that visitors can watch.
In Arima Onsen, the usual way to enjoy ozashiki entertainment with geiko is to ask the place where you booked your stay to arrange it.
Most accommodations can handle this, but to be safe, you should confirm when making your reservation whether ozashiki entertainment is available.

Tansan Sengen Park is located south of Arima Onsen Station, past the hot spring town and up the slope farther in. One of its major highlights is that you can drink the spring water and try the carbonated spring for yourself.
It is also the source of Japan’s first domestically produced original cider.
It may not taste good, but it’s a rare experience, so it’s worth giving it a try.
Tansan Sengen Park is also located on elevated ground overlooking the Arima Onsen town, which makes its beautiful views another part of its appeal.

Tsutsumigataki Park is located south of Arima Onsen Station and close to Arima Onsen Station on the Rokko Arima Ropeway.
Surrounded by beautiful nature that lets you feel the changing seasons, the highlight here is the waterfall cascading down from a height of 8 m. It offers a different kind of healing from the hot springs.

Atagoyama Park is located south of Arima Onsen Station and west of Tansan Sengen Park.
The small mountain Atagoyama has an elevation of 462 m and was formed by volcanic activity that occurred Approx. 20 million years ago.
This park makes use of the natural terrain, and its highlight is the spectacular view from the observation deck overlooking the Arima Onsen town.
Amid abundant nature, you can take in the charming townscape spread out below.
It is also recommended as a photo spot.

Arima Toys & Automata Museum is located about a 5-minute walk south of Arima Onsen Station on the Kobe Electric Railway.
Highlights include toys from around the world, especially Germany, and a variety of related exhibits.
Its appeal lies in letting you enjoy a humorous and mysterious world while also experiencing cultures from around the globe.
Families, especially those visiting with children, will likely enjoy it even more.

Arima Philatelic Culture Museum is located east of Arima Onsen Station.
Stamps, loved around the world, are sometimes described as a kind of artwork.
At Arima Philatelic Culture Museum, you can see many valuable stamp collections as well as various exhibits related to stamps.
It is an appealing spot where you can enjoy the familiar yet surprisingly deep world of stamps, along with new discoveries and surprises.

This long-established hot spring ryokan has been in business for over 700 years, and its name appears in the Muromachi-period document Inryoken Nichiroku in 1466.
You can enjoy the famous waters in three different large public baths, the oldest and largest of their kind in Arima Onsen.
The guest rooms are also diverse, including Japanese-style rooms, Japanese-Western rooms, and rooms with open-air baths. They offer a relaxing space with views of the hot spring town below and the Rokko mountain range, whose scenery changes with the seasons, creating a truly special atmosphere.

Founded in 1191, this is the oldest hot spring inn in Arima Onsen, and it has been loved throughout history by notable figures including the Heian-period poet Fujiwara no Teika, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Hirobumi Ito, Akiko Yosano, and Junichiro Tanizaki.
The hot spring uses free-flowing Kinsen straight from the source. Every guest room has a different layout and design, ranging from premium suites with private hot spring baths fed directly from the source to standard rooms overlooking a karesansui dry landscape garden, and some rooms were once used by famous writers for their creative work.

This hot spring ryokan is located on relatively elevated ground within Arima Onsen.
Inside the inn are eight private baths featuring Kinsen and Ginsen, all available free of charge. Surrounded by trees, they also let you enjoy the relaxing feel of a forest bath.
There are 30 guest rooms in total, all with different layouts and a wide variety of room types.
Meals are served at the restaurants inside the inn, all non-smoking, where you can enjoy kaiseki cuisine made with an abundant selection of seasonal ingredients from the sea and the mountains.

A café where you can casually experience geiko dance and ozashiki entertainment, one of Japan’s traditional performing arts.
In 2015, the first floor of Arima Kenban, the geiko office, was renovated into a café bar with a permanent stage.
In 2021, Arima Onsen’s geiko culture was recognized as a Kobe City Historical Heritage asset.
At the café, Arima geiko are always present and perform dances accompanied by shamisen and nagauta music.

A long-established specialty shop for domestic Japanese black beef and Kobe beef, located a 6-minute walk from Arima Onsen Station.
In addition to wholesale for ryokan and other businesses in Arima Onsen, it also offers retail sales for general customers, and eat-in service is available as well.
Inside the shop, you can enjoy beef croquettes, minced meat cutlets, beef skewers, and more.
The beef handled by Takenaka Meat Shop all comes with shipment certificates, production history certificates, and calf registration, ensuring clear traceability. Only delicious, safe beef selected under strict standards is purchased and served.

Cafe de Beau is a retro café near Kin no Yu, where Arima Onsen’s famous brown-colored Kinsen can be found.
Imagining, “What if a French person opened a café in Arima Onsen...?” and expanding the idea with, “What kind of French pastry shop would suit both yukata and Western clothes?”, the owner opened this shop by renovating a Western-style house where they once lived.
The space is filled with carefully selected antique furniture and cameras collected by the owner, creating a nostalgic atmosphere.

Ako Onsen sits on elevated ground at Ako Misaki facing Harima-nada, and is known for its scenic views overlooking the Seto Inland Sea.
It is relatively new, having opened in 1969, and in 2000 a new spring source was also drilled from 1,600 m underground.
The neutral salt spring, rich in minerals, has a smooth feel on the skin and excellent heat-retention effects, and is fondly known by the nickname “Yomigaeri no Yu.”

A traditional hot spring town loved by literary greats such as Naoya Shiga and Toson Shimazaki, with a history of more than 1,300 years.
Within a 20-minute walking area, there are seven sotoyu public bathhouses, and you can enjoy visiting them while walking through the charming townscape.
Each of the seven sotoyu was established at a different time, so the temperature of the water and the atmosphere of the buildings vary.
As you visit places such as Ichinoyu, praised as the best in Japan by a famous Edo-period doctor, Mandarayu, the birthplace of Kinosaki Onsen, and Gosho no Yu, popular as a bath for success in love, you’re sure to find your favorite.