Woop and Wob here! We’re continuing our adventures of day 4 of our trip to Japan! Last time, we were just finishing up our trip to Mt. Rokko. Join us today as we look back at our adventures going to Arima Onsen!
Now, we were currently on a mountain, and we wanted to climb down. Luckily for us, there is a ropeway that goes directly from Mt. Rokko to Arima Onsen, aptly named the Arima Rokko Ropeway. How convenient!
Going to Arima Onsen via the Arima Rokko Ropeway
The ropeway was a short walk away from the observatory. We purchased our one-way tickets down the mountain and got ready to board the car.
Instead of a car going up the mountain on tracks like with the Rokko Cable Car, the car for the ropeway moved in the air, with a rope on the top signaling the direction of the car. We were very lucky to be able to experience two different types of cable cars to move up and down Mt. Rokko.
After about a ten minute ride down the mountain, we arrived at Arima. Unfortunately, unlike in the past, the onsen area was not right in front of us. Instead, we had to walk a few minutes to get to our destination.
Kin no Yu Onsen
So what is so special about the Arima Onsen? Onsens! Hot springs! After such a long day up a mountain, relaxing in the onsen seems like such a refreshing way to end the day. We headed over to one of the special onsens in Arima: the Kin no Yu Onsen.
Due to privacy reasons, we were not allowed to take pictures inside the building. However, we can describe what it was like.
Kin no Yu, which translates to golden spring, has very special onsen waters. Inside the lobby is a shoe locker, where you have to take off your shoes and store them in a locker. After that, you will need to buy an onsen ticket for about 650 yen. Don’t forget to bring a towel! If you forget, you can buy a medium towel for 500 yen. The towel is needed to dry yourself after the onsen.
After you buy your tickets, you can go to the locker room to get undressed and enter the onsen room. Before entering an onsen, you must shower and wash your hair. The idea is to enter the onsen clean as to not pollute the onsen with sweat and dust.
In the onsen room there’s a clear onsen and a brown onsen. The onsens are filled with many minerals and you can stay as long as you like. Don’t stay too long in the onsen as you may get overheated and faint.
After the onsen, we went to the lobby and had some nice refreshing drinks, including orange juice and fruit flavored milk. Overall, it was an extremely relaxing visit to the onsen.
Side trip: Kobe Pudding!
As we headed back to our hotel, we decided to stop by the Shin Kobe Station (right outside of the ANA Crowne Plaza Kobe!) to shop for souvenirs to bring back home.
There was an Omiyage 7-Eleven store located within the station. It sells all kinds of goods and sweets that are made in Kobe.
The most popular sweets to buy would be the Kobe Pudding! We even saw lots of advertisements of the pudding in the trains!
They looked very delicious; even the samples inside the showcases were mouthwatering despite being fake! We decided to purchase a large set of the original Kobe Pudding plus a small set of the mango flavor to bring home. In addition, we purchased the individually wrapped ones to try out later in the day.
If you are in the Kobe area, we recommend buying Kobe Pudding for souvenirs. Not only is it very delicious, but it also stays good for 2 or more months, so you can take your time to savor its flavor.
Dinner: Katsu
After a long day at Mt. Rokko and relaxing at the Arima Onsen, it was now time for dinner. What did we have? Katsu in the food mall near our hotel.
We also got katsu-toji for dinner. Below is a video of it sizzling! Delicious!
For dessert: Kobe Pudding!
The pudding was very delicious. The texture, along with the flavor from the pudding and the caramel, mix together in perfect harmony, creating a taste like no other.
And with that, our day 4 had come to a close. A very long day, but very rewarding and exciting!
Next time: Goodbye, Kobe! Hello, Kumamoto!
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