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| (Arima Spar from the bridge) |
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| (Gold Hot Water) |
Arima Spa in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture is one of the oldest and best hot spring spars in Japan along with Dogo Onsen Spar in Ehime and Shirahama Onsen in Wakayama. Arima is not far away from Osaka but it's only one-hour bus-ride from Umeda, northern center of Osaka. It's known as an oasis of Osaka which is visited by 1.6 million people a year. People go around spars in yukata, a casual summer cotton kimono, eat big dinner and stay overnight at ryokan or traditional Japanese style inn.
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| (Souvenir shops) |
Arima Travel Bureau near the bus terminal, offers brochures written in English, Korean and Chinese. Arima has always been a popular resort since the seventh century but it was renovated as a resort not only for the Japanese but for foreigners several years ago. You can find many foreign visitors strolling around Arima while young Japanese people are seen walking around and eating Arima crackers and drinking carbonated soda especially in March when college students go on graduation trip.
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| (Arima Senbei cracker shop) |
This is one of the source of a hot spring which looks reddish brown because the water contains iron and sodium. You can drink water from Kinoyu Isen or Source of Gold Hot Water which has an effect on the digestive organs.
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| (reddish Gold Hot Water) |
You can have fun looking at souvenir shops, coffee shops with retro design, noodle shops, paintbrush shops, Tansan Senbei Cracker shops and hotels.
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| (Arima paintbrushes ) |
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| (Arima paintbrushes) |
You can soak your feet in warm water or 'footbath' for free at Kinnyu or Gold Hot Water.
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| (Ashiyu footbath) |
This is Toy and Automata Museum whre 4000 toys and automata collected around the world are displayed. Kids can play with wooden toys on the tird floor.
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| (Japanese automata at Automata Museum) |
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| (German wooden dolls at Automata Museum) |
Hideyoshi Toyotomi, a military ruler in the late 16th century is said to have visited Arima 15 times with his wife Nene to take the baths for medical purposes so you can find statues of Hideyoshi and Nene. Nene paid visits to Arima many times as it was believed Arima's water might help women get pregnant. She was not able to give birth to any child to him. Her statue faces to Hideyoashi's statue from the red bridge near the center of Arima.
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| (Nene's statue facing toward Hideyoshi's statue ) |
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| (Hideyoshi's statue) |
This is a statue of Kappa, a water spirit with a red cap and a white muffler. He looks so cold in winter that
local people put these on him. Various kinds of events are held in Arima all through the year. A costume play event and dressed-in-disguise event were held on 'Bean Throwing Ceremony on Feb.3.
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| (Kappa statue in red cap and white muffler) |
