Arima Onsen
有馬温泉
One of Japan’s three ancient hot springs, with the iron-rich reddish-brown Gold Spring and the clear Silver Spring. Carbonated senbei crackers and inns offering full board along a winding slope-side spa street make it Kansai’s most famous hot spring town.
Arima Onsen lies on the northern foot of Mount Rokko. It is one of the oldest hot springs in Japan, recorded in the Nihon Shoki chronicle, and together with Dogo and Shirahama is known as the “Three Ancient Springs of Japan.” Toyotomi Hideyoshi visited several times to recuperate, and in the Edo period it was ranked as the top spa in the hot spring rankings. Its spring waters are highly distinctive. The “Gold Spring” is a strongly salty spring containing iron. It runs clear when it emerges but turns reddish-brown on contact with air. It is said to be good for keeping warm and for the skin, and bath towels get stained. The “Silver Spring” is a clear spring containing carbonic acid and radium. Both can be enjoyed at the town’s public baths: the Gold Bath (650 yen, with a free foot bath at the entrance) and the Silver Bath (550 yen), with a combined ticket for 850 yen. The spa town winds along a hillside. Along both sides of Yunomoto-zaka are carbonated senbei crackers (thin, crispy crackers baked with the spring’s carbonated water, and you can watch them freshly baked at Mitsumori Honpo), tsukudani, bamboo crafts and souvenir shops. Taikonoyu is a large spa theme hall. Zenfuku-ji Temple, Onsen-ji Temple and Yusen Shrine record the history of the hot springs. In autumn, the maple leaves at Zuiho-ji Park were praised by Hideyoshi as a sight that never tires even after a thousand years. The town also has a carbonated spring source park where you can drink natural carbonated water. For accommodation, long-established inns such as Hyoe Koyokaku, Nakanobo Zuien, Goshobo and Togyo Goshobo offer full board, including a kaiseki dinner and breakfast, at about 25,000 to 60,000 yen per person. This is the best way to experience both the gold and silver baths. Day-trippers can also buy day-visit bathing access at an inn. Getting there: from Sannomiya, take the Kobe City Subway to Tanigami, then transfer to the Kobe Electric Railway to Arima Onsen Station, about 30 minutes in total. You can also take a direct bus from Sannomiya or Osaka, about 40 to 60 minutes, or ride the Rokko Arima Ropeway from the top of Mount Rokko, which takes 12 minutes. Sightseeing: a day trip takes 3 to 4 hours, but staying one night is best. Notes: the Gold Spring contains iron, so light-colored clothing and towels will be stained. The spa street has many slopes. Public baths have closing days on certain Tuesdays or Thursdays (the Gold Bath closes on the second and fourth Tuesdays, and the Silver Bath on the first and third Tuesdays). Some facilities may restrict bathing for people with tattoos.
Opening hours
Golden Bath 08:00–22:00; Silver Bath 09:00–21:00 (each has its own closing day)
Nearby sights
- Mount Rokko
- Nada Sake Breweries (Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum)
- Kobe Oji Zoo
- Mount Maya Kikuseidai
- Takarazuka Grand Theater
- Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens & Ropeway
- Osamu Tezuka Manga Museum
- Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art