A Little Trip to Arima Onsen

Money has been tight lately, so traveling during my summer vacation was not an option, but a little day trip to Arima Onsen in Hyogo Prefecture was doable. It’s a famous little onsen (hot spring) town. People who go there usually stay the night at a Japanese style hotel with its own private hot spring, but for those on a budget, it’s perfectly fine day trip in my opinion.

It was my first time going here despite there often being group trips there put on by the Osaka JET council. I just prefer to go to onsen on my own because I can relax more and do things at my own pace. I also prefer not to be naked if front of people I know lol.

From where I live, it only took about two hours to get to despite being secluded up in the mountains. When I arrived, I noticed the slight temperature difference which I appreciated. In all honestly, going to an onsen in winter is nicer, but going in the summer can be nice too in its own way.

The train ride up the mountain was pretty and so was the town itself. I stopped by the tourist center to get a walking/attractions map. I walked around the town a little and stopped in a café for a parfait which included Arima Onsen’s famous soda crackers. It’s weird to say, but Arima Onsen’s famous food is…carbonation? Lol! The springs themselves are naturally carbonated. I also tried their original cider which was like a clear, sweet soda. I can 100% for sure say, it was THE most carbonated thing I’ve ever drank in my life! It was almost painful to drink…but in a fun way. I had to burp after every sip.

Parfait.

Most carbonated soda EVER.

So I’m gona be honest, the town itself was super small. I walked the main course around the whole town that the tourist info center recommended, and it took about only 30 minutes. There are some temples to look at, but they are quite small, and since I’ve lived in Japan for so long, temples aren’t something that excite me as much anymore. The thing I liked seeing the most was something I don’t even know the name of. I guess it was like a structure in the ground where steam spews out of and perhaps pumps water to all of the hot springs? Idk, but it was cool. I was intrigued by how the iron in the natural spring water turned the streets and gutters a red color.

I don't even know, but it was cool.

Rusty gutters,

There are two main public bath houses you can go to if you are just coming for the day: Kin no Yu and Gin no Yu (Gold Water and Silver Water). The Gold Water bathhouse gets its name for the iron-rich, carbonated water I previously mentioned. It’s supposed to be good for your skin. The other place, Silver Water, is just regular colored water. You can get a discount if you plan on going to both, but I thought it would be a pain and take too long to take a bath, get cleaned up and redressed, walk over to a different place and do it all over again. So, I just got the one ticket for Kin no Yu, the red water place.

Kin no Yu,

Gin no Yu.

When I go to an onsen, I usually take my sweet time and spend around two hours there. When I went into the changing room, I was really surprised at first at how small it was. After I got naked, I walked into the bath room and was surprised again to see only two baths! However, the red water was really awesome looking, and I was excited to get in. After soaking about 10 minutes, I got out and was excited to see if the outdoor baths would be big and nice. I looked around for the door, and after about 10 seconds, I realized there was no door… There were no outdoor baths. Then I felt really disappointed. Outdoor baths are my favorite. I mean, the town is famous for its onsen, so I thought it’d be better. The onsen 5 minutes from my apartment is nicer and more spacious with about 10 styles of baths! I did realize, though, that this water at Arima Onsen was special, so I went back into the same bath for about 10 more minutes and enjoyed it as much as I could. I was out of the onsen within an hour. Walking around beforehand and eating my parfait only took about an hour. I was finished with everything wayyyy earlier than I expected. It was like 3pm. I spent about 20 minutes after my bath in a coin operated massage chair lol.

Since the only thing I had eaten the whole day was just that parfait, I decided an early dinner would be fine. The only thing is that dinner places didn’t open till around 4 or 5. I walked around the whole town again checking out the kinds of restaurant there were, and I also spent time just sitting and staring at the nature.

At about 4pm I went into a kamameshi restaurant. Kamameshi is rice cooked in a metal pot over an open flame that can include different ingredients like vegetables or seafood. Since I was on a budget, I stuck to one of the cheap ones, and got a mixed mushroom and vegetable kamameshi set. There were all sorts of food served on the side, and it was incredibly delicious. Since it was so early, there were hardly any people there, and at one point, I had the whole Japanese-style, tamtami room to myself. It was so beautiful and relaxing inside. I sat on a cushion facing a window that looked out to trees and mountains. While eating all the little delicacies, I had a fleeting moment I hadn’t had in a long time…that feeling of wow, I’m in Japan, and it’s amazing. I felt like a tourist again. I love that feeling. Of course after leaving the restaurant, reality hit me again.

Some of the side dishes...sooo delicious. The little piece of
salmon had this somewhat familiar flavor I can't even describe,
and it was perhaps my favorite part of the meal.

Mushroom kamameshi.

Such a peaceful place to eat.

With a full belly, I began the train journey home. I guess I would say that if you want to go to Arima Onsen, either stay the night in a nice ryokan or at least go to both of the public baths. It was a nice change of pace and seeing somewhere new in itself gave me a clear head and made the trip worth it. I don’t think I will feel the urge to go back though. Once is enough. This was the start of my month and a half month long vacation.