Friday, May 24, 2019
With our train pass expired, we kept things local today with a short day trip to the famous hot springs of Arima Onsen and a visit to Kobe's beautiful herb garden on top of amazing hills overlooking the city.
We had to take a couple of trains to get to Arima Onsen.
Once we arrived, we walked a short distance to one of the largest resorts in town, passing the main public hot springs on our way. Japanese locals love their onsens, and I can see why. They're so luxurious and invigorating. We walked past the large public Arima Onsen to the large Taikou-no-yu Onsen we'd learned about on YouTube.
We entered the facility as early arrivals. The place wasn't busy at all, even though it was set up for hundreds of guests. We were given garments for the day and slippers.
We spent two hours enjoying the mineral rich natural hot springs of Taikou-no-yu. The male facilities had several outdoor and indoor tubs with gold and silver hot spring water, along with barrels, various shower heads, and stations to bathe. It was all set up so nicely and for dozens of people, even though only a few folks were there by 10 a.m. I felt as if I had the entire place to myself. I loved it!
By 11:30 it was time for lunch.
We had bento boxes we ordered were great! So tasty.
We made our way back to Shin-Kobe station by 1:30 and took the ropeway up the side of the mountain to the Kobe Nunubiki Her Gardens.
This place on top of the hill overlooking Kobe is so beautiful.
We stopped for afternoon tea at The Veranda, a really nice spot inside one of the greenhouses. We ordered tea and mango cake.
After tea, we headed back down...
...and went into a department store for dinner. Japan's department stores are amazing. They're filled with people and on the basement floor are food stalls with all sorts of delicious things to buy.
We headed home with all kinds of yummy things for dinner, including a wonderful lemon cheesecake that was so light and scrumptious.
We loved hanging out in our deluxe room eating great food items from our shopping adventure. So much fun.
With our train pass expired, we kept things local today with a short day trip to the famous hot springs of Arima Onsen and a visit to Kobe's beautiful herb garden on top of amazing hills overlooking the city.
We had to take a couple of trains to get to Arima Onsen.
Once we arrived, we walked a short distance to one of the largest resorts in town, passing the main public hot springs on our way. Japanese locals love their onsens, and I can see why. They're so luxurious and invigorating. We walked past the large public Arima Onsen to the large Taikou-no-yu Onsen we'd learned about on YouTube.
We entered the facility as early arrivals. The place wasn't busy at all, even though it was set up for hundreds of guests. We were given garments for the day and slippers.
We spent two hours enjoying the mineral rich natural hot springs of Taikou-no-yu. The male facilities had several outdoor and indoor tubs with gold and silver hot spring water, along with barrels, various shower heads, and stations to bathe. It was all set up so nicely and for dozens of people, even though only a few folks were there by 10 a.m. I felt as if I had the entire place to myself. I loved it!
By 11:30 it was time for lunch.
We had bento boxes we ordered were great! So tasty.
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| Alice outside the Taikou-no-yu Onsen |
We made our way back to Shin-Kobe station by 1:30 and took the ropeway up the side of the mountain to the Kobe Nunubiki Her Gardens.
This place on top of the hill overlooking Kobe is so beautiful.
We stopped for afternoon tea at The Veranda, a really nice spot inside one of the greenhouses. We ordered tea and mango cake.
After tea, we headed back down...
...and went into a department store for dinner. Japan's department stores are amazing. They're filled with people and on the basement floor are food stalls with all sorts of delicious things to buy.
We headed home with all kinds of yummy things for dinner, including a wonderful lemon cheesecake that was so light and scrumptious.
We loved hanging out in our deluxe room eating great food items from our shopping adventure. So much fun.
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