Arima Onsen 1 hour by bus from Osaka. 5 things to enjoy for a day trip!

Located about 1 hour by direct bus from Osaka, you can find Japan's three oldest hot springs, Arima Onsen. As for how to spend your time at a hot spring inn, we recommend that you soak in the hot springs, eat delicious food, and a relaxing stay, but this time we will introduce how to enjoy it on a day trip, for those who have a shorter stay for sightseeing in Japan. We will tell you the way to spend time soaking in the foot bath for free and hot springs that can be accessed with no need to bring anything, strolling around the old town, eating sweets made at hot springs, experiencing Arima crafts, and shopping.

Let's take a look at what you can enjoy on a day trip.
■A famous hot spring in Arima Onsen where you don`t need to bring anything and heal the fatigue of your trip and you can enjoy golden springs ・・・ "Kin no Yu"

A famous hot spring that has carved a history as a venerable hot spring since ancient times, and it is a rare hot spring with healing effects such as muscle pain and fatigue recovery, and its rare red colored water. Originally, the water is transparent, but it comes into contact with the iron chloride spring and the air and becomes red colored.

・In the facility there are Bath one (for gentlemen) and Bath two (for ladies).

▲Images from Kin no Yu　Kobe Tourist office

　There are 「Bath one」 with an image of bamboo, and 「Bath two」 with an image of maple, in each of them there are 2 kinds of baths with different temperatures: a little hot one and another lukewarm one. In addition, the hot water of the baths are emptied everyday to keep clean and hygienically safe. Bath fee is 800yen （650 yen weekdays, tax included, same as below）, so very affordable.

・You can heal your tired feet from traveling and enjoy it for free... Taikoh no Ashiyu (footbath of Taikoh)

Next to Kin no Yu and free of charge, you can just soak for 15 minutes to make your body warm and to feel good. Many locals come every day to soak in the baths. While soaking, you can meditate quietly and refresh yourself with pleasant memories of your travels in Japan.

・After getting warm, have a try a local drink of Arima・・・Arima Cider Teppoumizu

It is said Arima Onsen is the place of origin of Japanese cider, This beverage is made by adding flavoring and sugar to gas-filled mineral water. It has an elegant sweetness, but is highly carbonated and may cause you to "burp" when you drink it. 270 yen per bottle.

■Yumonzaka, a place with a nostalgic and emotional atmosphere and lined with stores selling Arima's specialty foods and crafts.
　After taking a bath in the hot spring and getting a little hungry, you will want to eat something and buy some souvenirs. Yumonzaka has a variety of stores that offer sweets and food made using Arima ingredients, from the famous confections of Arima Onsen to traditional crafts with a long history.
・The long-established shop with 120 years of history and place of origin for Tansan senbei, local speciality of Arima Hot Spring・・・「Mitsumori Honpo」

Tansan senbei is a healthy sweet made with carbonade spring that contains various componets such as carbonic acid and also flour and sugar, and it does not contain any butter, eggs or additives. Each senbei is baked individually, and the edges are carefully removed by hand. The crispy texture is very pleasant, and you will never get tired of the gentle sweetness. Seventeen bags of two senbei in a stylish round can are priced at 1,200 yen, making them ideal as souvenirs!

▲Inside the store, visitors can observe the process of making approximately 6,000 hand-baked Tansan Senbei per day.

▲Next to Mitsumori Honpo, there are also cafe and shops for dango or manju.

・Haifukiya Nishida Brush shop, the only shop that handles the Arima Doll-Brushes, traditional crafts that were devised 470 years ago.
　Doll brush is a brush with a trick, when you hold it to write, a small and pretty doll hidden in the brush stem appears from the other side of the brush tip, and when you put it on the brush holder after writing, it hides back.

▲On the top: Meoto Brush, husband and wife, with different brushes and dolls, set in a box of paulownia wood, 8000 yen, on the middle: Brush with Blue Sea and Waves, set in a box of paulownia wood, 8000 yen, on the bottom: Brush with seven colors, made with thought of warding off evils, set in a paper box, 3300 yen

　Doll brushes are made by hand by winding the silk threads in the spinning wheel, one by one, without any gaps, and by making infinite patterns of combinations and colors with four kinds of bases such as checkered pattern, blue sea and waves, scales and arrows and feathers. Because all the work is done by hand, the number of pieces produced per day is limited, making it a rare item.

・Arima Kago Honten Arima basket, the traditional craft which has a strong relationship with tea ceremony since ancient times
Arima basket is a traditional bamboo craft which is said to be used by the Japanese famous tea master Rikyu when he arranged flowers and used the basket as charcoal box to make hot water at tea ceremony. It is made by hand with good quality bamboo from Mt. Rokkosan as material.

▲Left: Arima basket square accessory case with back side patterns, cube with patterns, 16500 yen　right: basket with handles Omoteryu, 49500 yen

　The features of Arima baskets is that it does not have any gorgerous designs itself, it is made so that arranged flowers look better when being decorated at home, and that the buyer will think with free imaginations about how to use it. At the shop there are about more than 1500 kinds of items from spoons made with bamboo to basket, and among them, there are 150 kinds of Hanakago basket that made made with different kinds of bamboo.

▲Making use of good points of bamboo, they are making by using bamboo nodes, which is different from bamboo crafts of other countries.

■Places of facilities and shops
　・Kin no Yu　　 833 Arimacho Kita-ku Kobe City
　　 Hankyu Expressway Bus　1 minute from the bus stop Arima Onsen
・Mitsumori Honpo　　 809 Arima Kita-ku Kobe City
　　Hankyu Expressway Bus　3 minutes from the bus stop Arima Onsen
・Haifukiya Nishida Brush Shop　1160 Arimacho Kita-ku Kobe City
　　Hankyu Expressway Bus　5 minutes from the bus stop Arima Onsen
・Arima Kago Honten 　　1049 Arimacho Kita-ku Kobe City
　　Hankyu Expressway Bus　7 minutes from the bus stop Arima Onsen