Destinations

Kinosaki Onsen

“Communal bathing in public hot springs is an essential part of Japanese culture.  No trip to Japan would be complete without this experience and Kinosaki Onsen honours this tradition in beautiful, rustic style.”

Ruth Hubbard - Travel Consultant

Kinosaki Onsen is the classic Japanese hot spring resort.  Nestling between mountains and sea, quaint little Kinosaki has escaped the ugly concrete and glaring pachinko parlours of other Japanese towns.  Traditional wooden houses sit along the willow-lined river which carries colourful koi carp through the town centre.

Hot springs were discovered in Kinosaki around the 8th century.  According to legend, storks would bathe in the marshes of Kinosaki to heal their wounds.  Later bath houses were built over these sites to take advantage of the healing waters.  Today the hot springs are believed to cure all manner of ailments from rheumatism to high blood pressure.

Visitors come to Kinosaki to stay in beautiful Japanese inns or ryokan where they enjoy a sumptuous banquet of delicious local cuisine including the famous crab.  But by 6pm everyone ventures outside again to visit the bath houses.  ‘Clip-clop, clip-clop’ goes the sound of wooden geta sandals as bathers dressed in summer kimono or yukata weave their way between the seven onsen over wooden bridges lit by atmospheric lanterns.  Each onsen hot spring has a different feel and in the course of the evening guests may take a therapeutic soak in all of them!

There has always been a certain sense of spirituality linked to onsen bathing; the notion of cleanliness and purity being linked to Shintoism. This air of holiness permeates Kinosaki and has inspired artists, authors and calligraphers for centuries.  A magical stay in Kinosaki Onsen may well be the highlight of your trip to Japan.

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