Arima Onsen

Arima is named in the eighth-century chronicles and is generally counted among the three oldest hot springs in Japan; it lies behind Mount Rokko, half an hour from Kobe, in a compact town of steep narrow lanes. Its geology is unusual: the water is not heated by a nearby volcano but rises from very deep, carrying dissolved minerals from a subducting plate, and two distinct waters emerge within metres of each other. Kinsen, the gold water, is heavily loaded with iron and salt, colourless underground and turning opaque rust-brown on contact with air; ginsen, the silver water, is clear, carbonated and radium-bearing. Both are used in the public bathhouse, Kin no Yu and Gin no Yu, and by the inns. The town also makes carbonated senbei from the spring water and a sansho pepper preserve. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was a patron and a museum covers his tea gatherings here.

What you actually see

• Two waters in one town - iron-brown kinsen and clear carbonated ginsen, metres apart.
• Deep-sourced springs - minerals from a subducting plate rather than a volcano.
• Two public bathhouses - Kin no Yu and Gin no Yu, one for each water.
• Carbonated senbei - biscuits made with the spring water, sold along the lanes.

When to go

All year. Two days. The ropeway over Rokko makes a good approach.

Honest expectations

The town is small and the lanes are steep. Public bathhouses are busy and close on set days of the month. Inns are expensive for what they are. Day-trip crowds from Kobe and Osaka fill it at weekends.

Nearby

Mount Rokko is directly over the ridge; Kobe is beyond it.