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Cherry Blossoms Spots in Arima and Kobe
Autumn Tints Spots in Arima and Kobe
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Sightseeing Guide
"We introduce here the major sightseeing spots in the town of Arima Onsen and surrounding areas. Click below for interesting sightseeing spots near Arima Onsen in Kobe and major cities between Osaka and Kobe."
Season Place Sightseeing Guide
Whole year Arima Annual Events in Arima
Arima Hideyoshi and Arima Onsen
Kobe Sightseeing Spots in Kobe and Airport
Nishinomiya Seaside Sightseeing Spots in Nishinomiya
Nishinomiya Hillside Sightseeing Spots in Nishinomiya
Himeji Guide to World Cultural Heritage Site "Himeji Castle"
Himeji Guide to Himeji Central Park
Arima, Kobe, etc. Night View Spots in Kobe
Winter Kobe Shunsetsu: Spring Festival 2015 in Kobe's Chinatown
Spring Arima, Kobe, etc. Guide to Cherry Blossoms Spots
Spring to
Autumn
Kobe Guide to Mt. Rokko Full of Flowers and Leaves
Kobe Guide for Families to Kobe Oji Zoo
Kobe Guide for Families to Suma Aqualife Park
June Arima The Fireflies of Arimagawa River
November Arima, Kobe, etc. Guide to Autumn Tints Spots
December Kobe Kobe Luminarie and Sightseeing Spots for Xmas Season

The Cherry Blossoms of Zenpukuji Temple
Founded in the 8th century by a monk whose name is venerated in Buddhism even today, Zenpukuji Temple is a temple steeped in history and lineage.Majestically standing in the temple's compound are four cherry blossom trees exceeding 270 years in age.
Every year in the beginning of April, visitors come in large numbers to enjoy the beautiful sight of these trees in bloom. These cherry blossom trees are called the "trees of the Kobe people" as well as "Kobe's prized trees."

Mt. Arima Fuji - "Sea of Clouds"
To the north of the Arima hot springs stands Mt. Arima Fuji with an elevation of 374 meters. From late autumn to early spring, the Ryokan guests are often treated from the outdoor mineral bath to the spectacle of a "sea of clouds" among the distant Hokusetsu mountain ranges including Mt. Arima Fuji.

The beautiful sight of the Mt. Arima Fuji has been known since the Edo period as one of "Arima's Six Splendid Scenic Areas."

The Sal Tree Flower of Nenbutsuji Temple
Nenbutsuji Temple has been called the imprint of the villa from Toyotomi Hideyoshi's wife "Nene" and has a spectacular view of the entire area. The main hall was built in 1712 and is the oldest building in the Arima Onsen area. Its garden, called the Sal Tree Garden, features a sal tree whose age is over 300 years.
Each year in late June when summer is just beginning in Japan, the tree displays its beautiful flowers, and there is an appreciation festival held at the temple for the Sal flower and the ichigen-kin, a one-stringed instrument.

The Autumn Leaves of Zuihoji Park
Referring to tranquility of this beautiful Japanese garden of the former Zuihoji Temple, Toyotomi Hideyoshi once said of the garden, "No matter how much you see of it, you never grow tired of it." With places for resting scattered all throughout, the Zuihoji Park is meant to enjoy slowly.
In autumn, visitors can enjoy the beautiful leaves with their autumn hues while having a bowl of udon noodles, warm oden, or sweet Japanese sake. The park has also been chosen by Kobe City as one of its 50 designated places to see beautiful cherry blossoms.

New Year Ceremony of Tosen Shrine
As the place of worship and protectorate of Arima hot springs, Tosen Shrine holds a first bath of the year ceremony on January 2nd featuring Buddhist and Shinto priests along with the people of Arima including a group of geisha girls in traditional bathhouse costumes as they all gather to pray for the safety of the area. A mikoshi, or portable wooden shrine, contains the wooden statues of two venerated Buddhist monks and is carried in a procession.

Kin-no-yu (Golden Bath) / Gin-no-yu (Silver Bath)
In addition to the hot spring bath facilities at the Japanese inns located in Arima Onsen area, there are two bathhouses for use by the general public called "Kin- no-yu" and "Gin-no-yu" respectively. Directly in front of the "Kin-no-yu," or "Golden Bath," is a stone inscribed with the words "Foremost hot spring among the gods."

Steeped in history, Arima Onsen got its start according to Japanese legend when the two gods that created Japan discovered it at the Arima gorge in the Mt. Rokko mountain range. It is considered one of the three ancient springs of Japan along with Dogo Onsen and Shirahama Onsen and ranks in the top three hot springs together with Kusatsu Onsen and Gero Onsen.

Taiko no Yudonokan (Hideyoshi's Bath Museum)
When the Gokurakuji Temple's kitchen was being rebuilt from its collapse during the Kobe Earthquake in 1993, workers discovered ruins dating back more than 400 years before. Upon examination, it became clear that these ruins were the bath and garden of Yunoyama Goten built by Taiko Hideyoshi. To commemorate the site, the city of Kobe opened a museum in April 1999 exhibiting the mushiburo (steam bath) and iwaburo (bath in stone) and preserved these baths in their original condition along with tea ceremony items and Japanese tile discovered at the ruins indicating the relationship of Hideyoshi and Arima Onsen.

Tsuzumigataki Park
As with Zuihoji Park, Tsuzumigataki Park is a park famous for its beauty scenery. The park got its name from the waterfall where a drum-like sound can be heard from the water striking the ground and reverberating in the rock formation. Named for Japanese drum used in kabuki, Tsuzumi reveals a special characteristic with each season.
In spring the thoughts of the visitor are washed pure by the water reflecting the new green foliage while in the summer visitors are greeted with the fluttering of fireflies and the singing of Kajika frogs. In the autumn, many people enjoy strolling through the forest and gazing at the beautiful autumn leaves.

EThe Fireflies of Arimagawa River

Plums of Rinkeiji Temple
Rinkeiji is an old, historical temple founded in 1601. The compound has a red blossom plum tree named Mikaiko that is more than 200 years old. Every year at the end of March, the beautiful crimson flowers blossom in multiple layers.
From ancient times, it is said that those that eat the fruit of the plums will be blessed with a child. For this reason, the plums are called the "plums of the nymphs".

Onsenji Temple (Yakushido)
Gyoki, the name of a famous Buddhist monk who founded Arima Onsen, built this old venerable temple in the 8th century.
Another monk who deeply respected Gyoki followed in Gyoki's footsteps by restoring Arima Onsen in the 12th century. The current buildings were rebuilt and consolidated in 1782 to form the temple that local people fondly call Yakushi-san.

Arima Toys & Automata Museum
Not only children but adults too enjoy this special museum that specializes in toys. Around 4,000 items have been collected from five other countries around the world and are on display including toys from Germany and the Czech Republic.

Of those exhibited about 1300 are specialty dolls. A doll studio at the museum gives visitors an opportunity to watch dolls being constructed.

Old Style Atmosphere of Arima Onsen
With a history spanning 1300 years, Arima Onsen retains the time-honored ways of the past. Shops with traditional crafts such as those selling Arima doll pens and traditional baskets stand next to shops with storefronts baking soda crackers. Aligned together with these shops are various essential shops for daily living such as meat and flower shops.

Kirakuya
To the immediate left of Arima Onsen Station, there is a shop called Kirakuya that utilizes the restored 1st floor of a ryokan building built in the 1930's. The shop sells Japanese knick-knacks along with cloth items dyed using the mineral water from Arima's golden bath. Visitors can enjoy an old-time atmosphere at the Kirakuya tearoom.

Kobe Harbor Cruises
Cruises originating from Kobe Harbor offer spectacular views of Kobe with the towering mountain range of Mt. Rokko overlooking the Seto Inland Sea and extending along the coast like a folding screen. With its beautiful scenery, Kobe, a prosperous port city that served as a gateway to Kyushu and Mainland China almost 1000 years before, developed as a harbor for international trade after the Meiji Restoration and was a site for foreign settlements. Today, Kobe maintains its international atmosphere with many exotic sightseeing places teeming with multi-cultures from other countries. A variety of cruises are available from Kobe Harbor ranging in length from 30 minutes to more than 2 hours. Those taking the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge dinner cruise will be impressed with the incredible night view that appears like a glittering white pearl necklace floating on the dark sea.

Nankinmachi(Chinatown)
The birth of Nankinmachi is said to have begun with the opening of the Kobe port in 1867. At that time there were already a number of overseas living in the south area of Motomachi, and this caused businesses such as tailor shops, pork shops, Chinese medicine shops and restaurants to appear nearby.

In the beginning of the 20th century, customers from all over Japan began coming to Nankinmachi for the wide range of products causing people to say, "you can find anything at Nankinmachi." Conditions suffered afterward with the bombing of Kobe during World War II and the subsequent destruction; however, in the 1980's, there was a Nankinmachi revival with the area being given a Chinese motif that can be seen today. The prosperity in the area has recovered due to the Chinese New Year's and Spring Welcoming festivals that have been increasingly gaining popularity nationwide.

[ Shunsetsu: Spring Festival 2015 in Kobe's Chinatown ]

Kobe Luminarie
The Kobe Luminarie is held every winter from early December for two weeks.
"Luminarie is the plural form of Italian word gluminariah that stands for Illumination with miniature bulbs.
It began eleven months after the Kobe Earthquake in 1995 with the hope to give courage and greatly inspire the people of Kobe. Because there was a strong desire for continuation after its conclusion, it became an annual event symbolizing the hope of Kobe citizens.


Address:
"Motoyu Ryuusenkaku - Arima Onsen"
1663, Utsugidani, Arima-cho, Kita-ku,
Kobe City, Hyogo, 651-1401 Japan
Tel: 078-904-0901 Fax: 078-903-0099
E-mail address: ryuusen@skyblue.ocn.ne.jp
Experience the finest in Japanese hospitality complete with relaxing outdoor mineral baths and exquisite Japanese cuisine at Ryuusenkaku.
The Management
Motoyu Ryuusenkaku