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Kinosaki Onsen, located in northern Hyogo, is one of the Kansai region's leading hot spring towns. With a history of 1,300 years, Kinosaki Onsen has retained its old streetscape and is a hot spring town that is fun to stroll around, with plenty of cafes, food spots, and souvenir shops. In this article, we'll introduce an itinerary for spending a relaxing time in Kinosaki Onsen, just 2.5 hours from Osaka, away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
2 days/1 night
JR Osaka Station is the largest terminal station in western Japan, located in the heart of Umeda, Osaka's largest entertainment and business district.
If you leave Osaka Station at around 9am, you will arrive exactly at 12pm, so we recommend leaving in the morning.
As soon as you leave JR Kinosaki Onsen Station, the hot spring town spreads out before you.
The only restaurant in Kinosaki Onsen that specializes in Tajima beef.
Enjoy dishes made with the ultimate Tajima beef, "Tajimaguro," local salt, rice, and vegetables.
Tajima beef is the bloodline of 99.9% of all Japanese black cattle in Japan. Its meat is moderately marbled and tender, with a melt-in-the-mouth flavor.
Tajimaguro is a special Tajima beef that pursues the health of the cows and the flavor of the meat, and is fed food that is healthy for humans to eat.
The view from Mt. Daishi, at the top of the Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway, is so spectacular that it has been awarded one star in the Michelin Green Guide Japan.
At the midpoint of the ropeway is Onsenji Temple, the guardian temple of Kinosaki Onsen.
When Kinosaki Onsen first opened, it was customary to always climb the mountain to Onsenji Temple before entering the hot springs. Here I learned the correct way to enter a hot spring.
This ancient temple of the Koyasan Shingon sect is said to have been founded by the monk Dochi during the Nara period, and is also the guardian temple of Kinosaki Onsen. In the past, it was customary to make a prayer before bathing in the hot springs, and to give thanks for the water before bathing. The principal image of the temple, a standing eleven-faced Kannon statue, is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property and is open to the public once every 33 years.
At Yakushi Park, you can find the source of Kinosaki Onsen, Motoyu, and a foot bath that draws water directly from the source. It's the perfect place to soothe your tired feet after a walk. It is the largest of the five foot baths in the hot spring town.
At the hot spring egg bath, which uses the source water, you can make hot spring eggs using local eggs purchased at Kinosaki Onsen Gelato Cafe Chaya.
Nishimuraya Honkan is the leading traditional Japanese inn in Sanin region, carrying on a tradition that dates back 160 years since its founding.
Nishimuraya Honkan is located in the middle of this atmospheric hot spring town, with the Otani River that runs through the heart of Kinosaki, rows of willow trees, and stone bridges.
The guest rooms overlook a carefully maintained Japanese garden and are filled with the beauty of Japanese style.
Enjoy seasonal ingredients grown in the nature of Tajima throughout the year. Enjoy a moment of bliss with carefully selected bounty that is only available in that season.
From November to March, you can enjoy "Tsuiyama crab" caught near Kinosaki Onsen, which is one of the kings of winter delicacies, "Matsuba crab." You can enjoy dishes made with locally caught ingredients, including "Tajima beef," famous for being the base for branded beef such as Kobe beef and Matsusaka beef, "Tajima rice" raised in a safe and secure environment, and "fresh seafood" caught in the Sea of Japan.
After dinner at the ryokan, visit the outdoor baths (public baths) in Kinosaki Onsen town and enjoy local craft beer, gelato, and more.
*Mandara-yu is the closest public bath to Gosho-no-yu (closed on Wednesdays)
Mandara-Yu, is historically known as Kinosaki’s very first onsen and the town’s starting point as a well-renowned healing hot spring. Historical documents tell of a priest (Saint Douchi) that traveled the country to help the suffering and ill. His travels eventually brought him here, to Kinosaki Onsen. Here he was instructed by the local oracle to pray for 1,000 days to save the people from suffering. On the 1,000th day, hot spring water came forth. This hot spring water soon became famous throughout the region and the country for its incredible healing powers. Eventually, word reached the emperor of the time. After confirming the authenticity of Kinosaki’s onsen he gave the title of “Guardian Temple of Kinosaki Onsen” to the temple erected by St. Douchi for the protection of Kinosaki, its hot spring waters and its people.
One of the seven public baths in Kinosaki Onsen Town. It was named ``Gosho no Yu'' because Emperor Gohorikawa's sister Ankamonin bathed there in 1267 in the historical story ``Masukagami'' from the Nanbokucho period. The view of the mountain greenery and waterfall that can be seen from Kinosaki Onsen's only ``full open-air bath'' is attractive.
This is an artisan's studio for "straw crafts," a traditional craft of Kinosaki Onsen.
Made from barley straw, straw crafts take on a deeper flavor the more they are used, and their silky smooth texture and elegant luster create a timeless texture.
Kinosaki Straw Crafts, which has a history of 300 years, is designated as a traditional craft of Hyogo Prefecture and an intangible cultural asset of Toyooka City.
The crafts were included in the "Siebold Collection" brought back by the German doctor Philipp Franz von Siebold, who visited Japan in the late Edo period, and the skills of Kinosaki craftsmen became known across the sea. At the Kinosaki Straw Crafts Heritage Museum, you can view not only the works of modern craftsmen (about 40 pieces), but also about 200 pieces from the Meiji, Taisho, and early Showa periods.
This time, we introduced an example of a two-day, one-night trip starting from Osaka to Kinosaki Onsen.
The birthplace of hot spring tours in yukata and geta There are 7 public baths in Kinosaki Onsen town. Kinosaki Onsen can be compared to a large hot spring inn, with the station being the ``guiseki'', the roads being the ``corridors'', the inns being the ``guest rooms'', and the public baths being the ``public baths''. If you change into a yukata, relax, and go out on the town, you will become a character in this world.
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