Kansai · Toyooka, Hyogo

♨ Kinosaki Onsen

Stroll in yukata between seven public bathhouses.

Day trip from Kyoto/Osaka

About Kinosaki Onsen

A riverside town of willow trees where people stroll in yukata and geta sandals between seven public bathhouses. All seven officially welcome tattoos of any size, with no covering needed (ryokan baths may have their own rules). Guests at local inns usually get a free bath pass, and day visitors can buy a ¥1,500 pass covering all of them. The JR Limited Express Kinosaki runs from Kyoto, and the Konotori from Osaka, taking about 2.5 hours to Kinosaki Onsen Station, and the baths are a short walk away. One bathhouse is closed for renovation until Oct 30, 2026, so check before you go.

The water

A sodium-calcium chloride spring: clear, neutral (about pH 7.3) and faintly salty. Several sources are blended and piped around town. Chloride springs are traditionally said to keep you warm long after your soak.

History

In 720, the priest Dochi Shonin is said to have prayed for 1,000 days until healing water sprang up where Mandara-yu stands today. Another legend tells of a white stork that healed its injured leg in a pool, which became Kono-yu. The Onsen Festival every April 23–24 honours Dochi Shonin.

Getting there

Famous for (meibutsu)

• Matsuba crab (food): winter snow crab landed on the San'in coast
• Tajima beef (food): the local wagyu cattle line
• Mugiwara-zaiku (craft): barley-straw marquetry, a Kinosaki craft

See it on the onsen mapAll 50 onsenOnsen how-to

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