Back in Japan: Kinosaki

Tattoo-friendly onsens, traditional ryokans and willow tree-lined canals.

Today I’m writing from Kinosaki, where seven hot springs converge on the northern coast touching the Sea of Japan, better known as the onsen town where everyone walks around in yukata, drinking sake and eating soft-serve ice cream between dips into scalding hot baths (they’re healing they say!). 

I traveled here by Shinkasen from Kyoto, but you can also come from Osaka, which is about 30 minutes farther away. This is a train you will need to reserve a seat for. You can do this at the train station before you board, or if you are like me and didn’t know ahead of time (uh, oops), you can reserve your seat with the conductor at the front of the train before boarding. It cost me 730 yen. Price varies throughout the year. 

Mornings in Kinosaki start late. Breakfast is served in ryokans from 7:30-8 a.m. This will include a dainty salad of tiny greens and paper thin, sliced onion and radish with sesame dressing, potato salad, miso soup, local rice (the best!), a variety of pickled vegetables, yogurt, tofu and egg – one morning I had an omelet, the next morning an onsen (poached) egg. Hot green tea is always available in your room. 

Most coffee shops don’t open until 10 a.m., but you can enjoy an espresso drink or pour over at Drip & Drop Coffee Supply, sitting at one of its outdoor tables looking out over the canal, or indulge in a specialty coffee served in a teacup with jazz playing in the background at Nova – a traditional jazz kissaten near the train station, both open at 8 a.m.  

In October, it is chilly in the morning until around 9 a.m., then it’s warm (it’s 73 degrees fahrenheit today) with a gentle breeze, until around 7 p.m. when it cools down again. 

The onsens are open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. There are seven public onsen and all of them allow tattoos. When you check into your ryokan, they will give you a pass, so you can make the onsen meguri, or pilgrimage, to all seven. Additionally, each ryokan has their own private onsen, which their guests can use. Before visiting an onsen you should familiarize yourself with the rules. 

At noon, a bell rings throughout town. People walk around in wooden geta, clicking and clocking from shop to shop, onsen to onsen, stopping at all the stone bridges along the canal to take photos in their yukata amongst the weeping willows. The willow trees remind me of the oak trees dripping with Spanish moss in Savannah, Georgia. I also made another connection when I smelled incense smoke crawling out from a few shops. It reminded me of walking the streets of Ubud, Bali. 

Near the Yakushi hot spring source there is an ice cream stand that sells onsen eggs still in their shells. I saw people huddled around a table cracking eggs and enjoying them with ice cream. There are also a couple of foot baths along the main road you can stop at to soak your tired feet. 

There was a two-foot-tall machine in the corner of my room that played a little song every evening at 5 p.m. I’m guessing that meant it was time for me to get ready for dinner. 

Dinner is served at most ryokans at 6 p.m. It includes a feast of sashimi, tofu, salad, pickles, soba, chawanmushi, tempura, soup, rice and a main course that changes each night. Kinosaki is known for fresh seafood, especially snow crab and Tajima beef – kobe (wagyu) beef raised in the Tajima region in Northern Hyogo. Since I am allergic to shellfish, my ryokan prepared beef dishes for me – shabu shabu, steak salad and teppanyaki steak. Around 7 p.m. the children in town start practicing taiko. There were two temples, a block away from each other, where this took place. Parents stand around and watch and younger siblings run around and play.  Everything in town shuts down during dinner and reopens at 8 p.m. Onsen hopping is especially nice in the evening when it’s cool outside. 

In the morning, you can reserve your seat for the train back to Kyoto (or wherever you came from) for free at Kinosakionsen station. They open at 8:45 a.m. My train departs at 10:34 a.m., about a half hour after check-out time at my ryokan. 

*Note: When you arrive at the train station to leave, make sure you are clear which platform you should be standing on for your train. It’s confusing by just looking at the signs, so make sure you ask an attendant when you walk through to give them your ticket. 

Recommendations 

*Important note: Many places are closed on Thursday. Try to plan your trip accordingly.  

Onsen

I created nicknames for the onsen I visited, so I’d remember one from another. 

Kouno-yu is the “mushroom onsen,” because when I was bathing in its outdoor bath I looked over and saw a perfect toadstool, four-inches tall with a caramel colored cap, sitting amongst the stones and moss and shrubs. 

Goshono-yu is the “waterfall onsen.” Its hot springs cascade down three rows of boulders into three pools below. Behind it, a canopy of maple trees (the ones with the super tiny leaves). The boulders at these onsen are very smooth. There aren’t any rough patches or sharp edges, so you can drape your naked body over any one of them to cool off from soaking in the hot spring water. 

Ichino-yu is “the cave onsen,” which has a bath outside in a cave. 

Yanagi-yu has the hottest, deepest and smallest bath. At 47 degrees, I nicknamed it “the hot pot onsen.” It took me a minute to even get my foot in. There were two girls next to me also gasping at the temperature. One kept saying, “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god. It hurts.” The other girl said you should only go in for a minute and counted to 60 before swiftly hopping out. The much older Japanese women hopped right in. 

Jizo-yu is the “family onsen.” Next to the super hot adult’s bath is a lukewarm children’s bath. 

Ryokan

I stayed at Sinonomesou. It has a private onsen and serves breakfast and dinner each day, including breakfast on your last day. The rooms are traditional Japanese – tatami mat floor, futon to sleep on and small table. You sit on the floor. 

Food & Drink

Burger & Cafe - Go here for the Tajima Beef Sandwich. It’s like a Philly cheesesteak with American cheese and French onion soup sauce on the side. Delicious!  

Gubigabu - Sample all four Kinosaki beer here with a flight. They also serve Neapolitan pizzas and focaccia sandwiches. 

Bar Seven- Named after Seagrams 7 and the seven generations that have owned the bar’s parent company: Sanpou. Arrive after 8 p.m. You can sample local sake, Kinosaki beer and any classic cocktail imaginable here, poured by the owner himself (he wears a tuxedo!). 

Drip & Drop Coffee Supply - Pour over specialty coffee and espresso drinks. Plenty of seating inside and outside, right on the canal. 

Nova - A traditional Japanese jazz kissaten decorated with wood-carved jazz figurines, owls, bears and bull dogs. Polished wood floors, tables and chairs. Brick trim. Not a speck of dust anywhere. Coffee served in teacups all made with good porcelain China. 

Soft Koubou - Shiawase wo Hakobu Kounotori Soft Cream, also known as “The stork which carries happiness” is a combination of vanilla and matcha soft serve ice cream with ponkashi (puffed organic Kounotori rice confection). Soft, creamy and chewy.