Kinosaki Onsen, Hyogo · Things to do
Things to Do in Kinosaki Onsen: 9 Places with Hours, Prices and Access
9 things to do · checked October 23, 2026
9 things to do in Kinosaki Onsen, from the baths outward
Hours, prices and access checked against each place's own page on October 23, 2026. They change; check before you go.
1Kinosaki's public bathhouses (sotoyu)城崎温泉 外湯めぐり
Public hot spring baths · Along the Otani River and near the station
Seven public bathhouses along the Otani River and near the station, all within walking distance of one another. Satonoyu by the station has been closed since 31 March 2024 for rebuilding, and Kounoyu is closed for repair work until it reopens on 28 October 2026. Guests at a ryokan in town get a free pass; at Kawaguchiya, for example, it is the digital Yumepa card, held to the reader at each bath's reception.
Kounoyu reopens on 28 October 2026; Satonoyu stays closed for rebuilding.
- Access
- On foot around the town. Jizoyu is the first one from the station: walk Eki-dori and it is just across the river.
- Hours
- Ichinoyu, Goshonoyu, Jizoyu and Kounoyu 7:00–23:00; Mandarayu and Yanagiyu 15:00–23:00. Last entry 22:30 at every bath.
- Closed on
- One day a week each: Kounoyu Tuesday; Ichinoyu and Mandarayu Wednesday; Goshonoyu and Yanagiyu Thursday. Jizoyu's day is not given here (the operator's Japanese and English pages disagree). Further closure dates are posted month by month.
- Price
- ¥800 per bath (children ¥400). Day visitors: one-day ticket ¥1,500 (children ¥750), valid at every bath open that day.
2Otani River and the willow streets大谿川
Riverside walk · Town centre
The willow-lined river through the middle of town, with Kitayanagi-dori and Minamiyanagi-dori along its two banks and many small bridges. Shops, restaurants and snack bars along it open by day and at night.
- Access
- Walk Eki-dori straight from JR Kinosaki Onsen Station; it leads to the river.
- Price
- Free
3Public footbaths and drinking fountains足湯・飲泉場
Free footbaths · Around the town
The operator lists five public footbaths on Kinosaki's hot spring water: beside Ichinoyu, at Yanagiyu, at Satonoyu (whose bathhouse is closed), in Yakushi Park near the ropeway and at the Kinosaki Literary Museum. The footbath at the side of Yanagiyu can be used from a wheelchair. Drinking fountains stand in the station roundabout, in Yakushi Park and at Ohashi bridge in front of Ichinoyu.
- Access
- On foot; the first drinking fountain is in the roundabout in front of JR Kinosaki Onsen Station.
- Price
- Free
4Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway城崎温泉ロープウェイ
Ropeway · Foot of Mt. Taishi
Running since 1963, it climbs Mt. Taishi in about 7 minutes, stopping halfway at Onsenji Station (3 minutes up). Cars leave the foot and summit stations at the same time. A free museum about Otagaki Shiro, first president of Kansai Electric Power and the figure behind the Kurobe Dam, is at the foot station.
- Access
- About 20 minutes on foot from JR Kinosaki Onsen Station. From the street there are 97 steps up to the foot station.
- Hours
- Every 20 minutes at :10, :30 and :50; first 9:10, last up 16:30, last down 17:10. The 12:30 departure runs on Sundays and holidays only. May change in bad weather.
- Closed on
- 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month (open if a public holiday)
- Price
- Round trip to the summit: adults (junior high and over) ¥1,200, age 6 and over ¥600. Round trip to Onsenji Station: ¥750 / ¥370. One child aged 5 or under rides free with each adult.
5Mt. Taishi summit: viewing deck and kawarake throwing大師山山頂
Viewpoint · Top of the ropeway
The summit station has a viewing deck over the town, the Miharashi Terrace Cafe and kawarake throwing: three clay discs thrown at a ring with the Maruyama River behind. Onsen-ji's inner hall, Okunoin, is also at the top.
- Access
- Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway to the summit station, about 7 minutes. The path from Onsen-ji to the summit is a steep mountain trail, about 25 minutes up.
- Price
- Ropeway round trip ¥1,200 (age 6 and over ¥600)
6Onsen-ji Temple末代山温泉寺
Buddhist temple · Halfway up Mt. Taishi
The temple tied to the start of Kinosaki Onsen: the ropeway company's history puts the priest Dochi's thousand days of practice, from which the hot water rose, in 717. It enshrines a Kannon statue designated a national Important Cultural Property, and the Onsen-ji Treasure Hall shows the temple's Buddhist statues and paintings.
- Access
- Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway to Onsenji Station, about 3 minutes; cars stop there in both directions. The stepped approach from the foot has about 500 steps, and the ropeway operator does not recommend walking it at present because bears may be about.
- Price
- Treasure Hall tickets are sold at the ropeway ticket window. Temple entry fee not checked here.
7Kinosaki Literary Museum (KINOBUN)城崎文芸館
Literature museum · Onsen town
Exhibits on the writers linked with Kinosaki Onsen, among them Shiga Naoya, author of 'At Kinosaki'; renewed in 2016. A public footbath is at the museum. Toyooka City plans to move the museum's functions into the rebuilt Satonoyu.
- Access
- 357-1 Yushima, Kinosaki-cho, in the onsen town
- Hours
- 9:00–17:00
- Closed on
- Wednesdays and the year-end holidays
- Price
- Adults ¥500
8Kinosaki Marine World城崎マリンワールド
Aquarium · Hiyoriyama, by bus
An aquarium reached by a short bus ride from Kinosaki Onsen Station. Hours and closing days are set day by day on its own calendar.
- Access
- Zentan Bus from JR Kinosaki Onsen Station, about 10 minutes, to the Hiyoriyama (Marine World) stop.
- Hours
- 9:30–16:30 on 23 October 2026; last entry 30 minutes before closing
- Closed on
- Irregular; the next closure is 11 November 2026
- Price
- Adults ¥2,800; elementary and junior high ¥1,400; age 3 and over ¥700
9Genbudo Park and Genbudo Museum玄武洞公園・玄武洞ミュージアム
Basalt caves and museum · Akaishi, by the Maruyama River
Genbudo Museum shows minerals, gems and fossils from around the world and Toyooka's willow basketry, in a building modelled on the hexagons of basalt and the row of five caves. Genbudo Park is up the stone steps, about 5 minutes on foot from the shared car park.
- Access
- Zentan Bus Kinosaki–Toyooka–Genbudo line from JR Kinosaki Onsen Station, about 15 minutes; about 10 minutes by car. From JR Genbudo Station, the museum's ferry crosses the Maruyama River in about 7 minutes; phone before you set off.
- Hours
- Museum 9:00–17:00 (opens at 10:00 on 10 November 2026)
- Price
- Museum: junior high and over ¥800; elementary ¥500
Good to know
The public bathhouses come first. Each costs ¥800, day visitors can buy a one-day ticket for ¥1,500, and guests at a ryokan in town get a free pass. Every bath closes one day a week (see the table below). Satonoyu by the station has been closed since 31 March 2024 for rebuilding, and Kounoyu reopens on 28 October 2026 after repair work.
The baths, the Otani River and the footbaths are all on foot from JR Kinosaki Onsen Station. The ropeway foot station is about 20 minutes' walk; from there it is 3 minutes to Onsen-ji and 7 to the summit. Kinosaki Marine World (about 10 minutes) and Genbudo (about 15 minutes) are a Zentan Bus ride away.
Getting there: the Limited Express Kinosaki runs to and from Kyoto (the 10:34 from Kinosaki Onsen reaches Kyoto at 13:06) and the Konotori to and from Osaka and Shin-Osaka (the 9:33 reaches Osaka at 12:23), all seats reserved; times are for 23 October 2026. The national season for male snow crab runs 6 November to 20 March.
The public baths: hours and the day each one closes
From Toyooka City's Kinosaki Onsen Division, which runs the baths. ¥800 each (children ¥400) or ¥1,500 for the one-day ticket. Last entry is 22:30 everywhere.
| Bath | Open | Closed | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ichinoyu | 7:00–23:00 | Wednesday | Half open-air cave bath; a footbath beside it and a drinking fountain in front |
| Goshonoyu | 7:00–23:00 | Thursday | Building modelled on the Kyoto Imperial Palace; glass ceiling over the indoor bath |
| Mandarayu | 15:00–23:00 | Wednesday | On the mountainside; pottery bath |
| Yanagiyu | 15:00–23:00 | Thursday | Water a little hotter and the bath a little deeper than the others; footbath |
| Jizoyu | 7:00–23:00 | Not given here: the operator's pages disagree | Just across the river at the end of Eki-dori from the station |
| Kounoyu | 7:00–23:00 | Tuesday | Garden open-air bath; closed for repair work until it reopens on 28 October 2026 |
| Satonoyu | — | Closed since 31 March 2024 | To be rebuilt by the station; no reopening date given |
By kind of trip
First evening in town
The baths open until 23:00 (last entry 22:30), and the river streets have shops, restaurants and snack bars open after dark. The footbaths are free.
Kinosaki's public bathhouses (sotoyu) · Otani River and the willow streets · Public footbaths and drinking fountains
Up the mountain
One summit round trip on the ropeway (¥1,200) lets you get off at Onsenji Station on the way down. The last car up leaves at 16:30, and the ropeway is closed on the 2nd and 4th Thursday.
Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway · Mt. Taishi summit: viewing deck and kawarake throwing · Onsen-ji Temple
Rain, or a break between baths
KINOBUN (9:00–17:00, closed Wednesdays), Kinosaki Marine World and Genbudo Museum are indoors.
Kinosaki Literary Museum (KINOBUN) · Kinosaki Marine World · Genbudo Park and Genbudo Museum
With children
Marine World is ¥700 from age 3 and ¥1,400 for elementary and junior high; Genbudo Museum is ¥500 for elementary age; on the ropeway children 6 and over pay half and one child aged 5 or under rides free with each adult.
Kinosaki Marine World · Genbudo Park and Genbudo Museum · Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway · Public footbaths and drinking fountains
Free
The river walk, the five footbaths and the three drinking fountains cost nothing.
Otani River and the willow streets · Public footbaths and drinking fountains
Questions
How much are Kinosaki's public baths, and is there a day pass?
Each bath is ¥800 for adults and ¥400 for children. Day visitors can buy a one-day ticket for ¥1,500 (children ¥750) that covers every bath open that day. Guests staying at a ryokan in town get a free pass; Nishimuraya Honkan and Shinzan say theirs is valid from 14:00 on the check-in day.
Which bath is closed on which day?
Kounoyu on Tuesdays; Ichinoyu and Mandarayu on Wednesdays; Goshonoyu and Yanagiyu on Thursdays. The operator also posts extra closure dates month by month. Mandarayu and Yanagiyu open at 15:00; the others at 7:00.
Are all seven baths open?
Not in October 2026. Satonoyu by the station has been closed since 31 March 2024, and Toyooka City plans to rebuild it. Kounoyu has been closed for repair work and reopens on 28 October 2026. The family baths at Ichinoyu and Jizoyu are out of use.
How do I get to Kinosaki Onsen from Kyoto or Osaka?
From Kyoto, the Limited Express Kinosaki; from Shin-Osaka and Osaka, the Limited Express Konotori via the Fukuchiyama Line. Both are all reserved seats. On 23 October 2026 the 10:34 Kinosaki 12 reached Kyoto at 13:06, and the 9:33 Konotori 12 reached Osaka at 12:23.
When is crab season in Kinosaki?
The national fishing season for male snow crab (matsuba-gani) in the Sea of Japan runs from 6 November to 20 March.