Kobe, Japan

Arimasansoh Goshobessho

Price per night from$487.86

Price information

If you haven’t entered any dates, the rate shown is provided directly by the hotel and represents the cheapest double room (inclusive of taxes and fees) available in the next 60 days.

Prices have been converted from the hotel’s local currency (JPY72,000.01), via openexchangerates.org, using today’s exchange rate.

Arimasansoh Goshobessho Photos

Style

Meiji-age melting pot

Setting

Hot spring haven

Explore

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Time travel becomes possible at centuries-old Arimasansoh Goshobessho, a temple turned ryokan with Japanese design and Western comforts. Its 10 traditional suites each flaunt a bath tub with the town’s hot-spring water and a just-right sauna; one also has a nest-like terrace. You’ll be encouraged to connect to your natural surroundings through hikes and seasonal dining, and culture through locally immersive experiences. This rural retreat may seem rooted in the past, but its sustainability is avant-garde.

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A welcome tea and cake on arrival

Facilities

Photos Arimasansoh Goshobessho facilities

Need to know

Rooms

10 suites.

Check–Out

Noon. Earliest check-in, 3pm.

More details

Rates at Arimasansoh Goshobessho usually exclude breakfast, which is available from JPY5,500 at the restaurant.

Also

Unfortunately, this traditional retreat is not suitable if you have reduced mobility.

At the hotel

Library and free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, air-conditioning, minibar, tea- and coffee-making kit, free bottled water, yukata kimonos, bathrobes and slippers.

Our favourite rooms

Each suite at Arimasansoh Goshobessho fuses Japanese tradition with Western frills, and has a hot-spring-style bath tub, private view-gazing terrace and low-temperature sauna — so there’s no excuses for not switching off. Individually designed by the hotel’s late artistic director, Hirosuke Watanuki, Villa Corvo de Ouro is a treehouse-like suite that’s inspired by the Kojiki legend that describes the three crows who discovered Arima Onsen. Symbolic of the sun, the golden crows are represented in the tawny-hued waters you’ll find in the alfresco, nest-like soaking tub.

Spa

There’s no formal spa, but the hotel takes cues from its Arima Onsen setting — the country’s centuries-old hot-spring town — at its Hanare no Daiyokujo, a traditional communal bathhouse. The water here (and in each suite’s bath tub) has been bubbling for millennia and is a deep golden colour thanks to its mineral-rich properties, which create a buoyant effect. Staff can also arrange treatments in their aromatherapy room, such as essential-oil facials and massages.

Packing tips

A yearning for stillness, which you’ll find in your bath tub, sauna room or on your foliage-facing terrace.

Also

No, your bath tub isn’t broken: its bronze-hued water is sourced from the longstanding Gosho and Uwanari springs and is said to have therapeutic qualities.

Children

Welcome, but this ryokan is better suited to older children. Takigawa and Sansou can take baby cots for under-fives or up to two futon-style beds for an extra charge. The restaurant has menus for all ages.

Sustainability efforts

Arimasansoh Goshobessho protects cultural traditions by preserving its Muhouan pottery kiln and heritage ceramic techniques, and contributing to the safeguarding of geiko communities. Staff are trained in educating guests on the town’s history, nature and art, and the hotel champions sustainable tourism through conscious partnerships and activities. The restaurant’s produce is sourced from environmentally-sensitive suppliers, local fishermen and nearby farms.

Food and Drink

Photos Arimasansoh Goshobessho food and drink

Top Table

At the restaurant’s counter, or on the private dining room’s terrace.

Dress Code

Casual country, perhaps with a hot-spring-induced glow.

Hotel restaurant

Dining is another source of cultural connection at the hotel, which sources all its ingredients as locally and sustainably as possible: Kobe and Tajima beef is reared on a nearby valley; organic rice and vegetables are cultivated in neighbouring towns using traditional farming methods, and the chef goes to the fishing port each morning to hand-select the seafood. The house cuisine is kaiseki (multi-course) with nods to the Meiji era — Matsuba crab or Awaji lobster dishes are standouts — but you’ll also find a Western-style breakfast and afternoon tea that cater to all palates.

Last orders

Breakfast is from 8am to 10am (last sitting at 9am); dinner is from 6pm to 9pm (last sitting at 6.30pm).

Location

Photos Arimasansoh Goshobessho location
Address
Arimasansoh Goshobessho
958 Arimacho Kita Ward
Kobe
651-1401
Japan

You’ll find peaceful Arimasansoh Goshobessho in hot spring-dotted Arima Onsen, a petite rural town just outside of Kobe and close to Osaka.

Planes

Kansai International Airport is over an hour away by road; Kobe Airport and Osaka International Airport are each a 30-minute drive from the hotel. Staff can book you a taxi from the airport.

Trains

Bullet trains and local rail routes from Kobe and Osaka require a couple of connections but call at Arima Onsen station, which is a 10-minute walk or under-five-minute drive from the hotel; staff can pick you up from the station for a charge.

Automobiles

Put someone else in the driving seat and opt for transfers, taxis or hotel-organised excursions. Should you choose to drive, there's free parking with valet services at the hotel.

Worth getting out of bed for

Arimasansoh Goshobessho is dedicated to protecting the past — its own heritage is 300 years old, after all. Staff can arrange afternoon tea with an Arima geiko, take you to see performances of local songs and dances by yuna entertainers, or walk you through the history-steeped town and its storied hot springs, where you can immerse yourself in toji (the ritual of soaking).

Practise mindfulness-stirring shakyo or shabutsu (copying or tracing Buddhist sutras or images) at Nenbutsuji Temple; you’ll find further gratitude at Onsen-ji Temple in a plant-based meal prepared by their head monk or a meditation masterclass. Your hosts can pack picnics for alfresco lunches by waterfalls, take you on all-seasons ancient hiking trails across Rokko Mountain or organise private pottery classes in Hirosuke Watanuki’s ceramic workshop.

Local restaurants

Kutsurogiya is the picture of Japanese dining with its tatami mats and paper doors, and seafood set menus are delicately laid out in bamboo baskets and ceramic bowls. Woodland-set La Fontine delivers refined French plates in a cosy chalet setting.

Local cafés

You’ll find post-hike refuelling at Mitsumori Cafe with its decadent desserts and house brews, and Douka-Tei, a Portuguese café with sandwiches and sweet treats.

Local bars

Make a pitstop at Cinq, a sake bar with craft beers and fruity cocktails.

Reviews

Photos Arimasansoh Goshobessho reviews

Anonymous review

By Mr & Mrs Smith

Every hotel featured is visited personally by members of our team, given the Smith seal of approval, and then anonymously reviewed. As soon as our reviewers have returned from this hot-spring-loving hotel in Japan and unpacked their handcrafted ceramics and colourful kimonos, a full account of their culturally immersive break will be with you. In the meantime, to whet your wanderlust, here's a quick peek inside Arimasansoh Goshobessho in Kobe…

Arima Onsen, the quaint town where Arimasansoh Goshobessho resides, has some serious toji credentials: its hot springs have been flowing for millennia and remain the go-to site in Japan for soothing au naturel soaks. And this intimate ryokan is a core part of the community’s bathing culture, as from the 14th century until recently, this temple-turned-hotel had exclusive access to the town’s Ichi-no-Yu and Ni-no-Yu baths. 

Today, each suite totes a bath tub with the town’s golden spring water, or you could dip your toe into a more convivial tradition at the hotel’s communal bathhouse. The water is rich in minerals and said to have therapeutic properties, but you’ll find further soothing in mountain views, hyper-local fusion-dining and calming cultural experiences, such as a monk-led meal and meditation, or afternoon tea with a geiko. You’ll soak up nature and culture in equal measures.

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Price per night from $487.86