It started off scorching hot at around 9 AM as we headed towards Shin-Osaka station. It was our last day at Shin Osaka Washington Hotel, so we checked out and left our luggage at the hotel. Our destination for the day though was Kobe. The train ride was relatively short. Our first destination in Kobe was a Starbucks in the Kitano region. From what I read, Kitano is known for their traditional western-style buildings. The Starbucks was nestled by some hills, making it very American-like (despite not being to the US that often). We got a ourselves a drink and ventured upstairs to enjoy ourselves, surrounded by the vintage artifacts. After we were finished, we headed out and onto lunch.
I first went to Kobe back in 2015; the main purpose was to eat Kobe Beef. We found the same restaurant, and fortunately, like last time, we didn't need a reservation. It was quite busy, so we were sitting beside another couple. We got one A5 Kobe beef and one A5 Wagyu (which was about 30% cheaper than the Kobe). From what I recall, the Kobe beef was the same price as it was back in 2015! The meal was extremely similar in terms of the dishes served, which made me reminisce as I ate. Since they were quite busy, it didn't feel like we had a full hour with the chef, but it was as good as the first time I had it. Honestly, I enjoyed the A5 Wagyu more than the Kobe beef... probably because it was cheaper as well!
After our bellies were full, we headed off to a bus station nearby to purchase tickets to Arima Onsen. It was only a 30 minute bus ride, in which I was able to doze off a bit. Arima Onsen is said to be the oldest onsen town in Japan. From what I recall, it's hot spring water is carbonated, with two main types of water: Gold and Silver. The Gold hot spring water was brown in color, due to the iron present, while the silver hot spring was clear. As we got off the bus, we headed towards the windy narrow paths to explore the town. We made a brief stop at a foot onsen bath to soak our feet. Once relaxed, we headed to explore some more. We stopped at the top of the path at a park to enjoy some snacks we purchased. It was quiet, save for the cicadas buzzing around us. There was even a spot where you could drink the carbonated spring water. After spending some time, we headed back down towards the Gold Onsen to soak for a while. Before we made it down, we saw a Shiba Inu cafe (well more of a small cafe that had 3 Shibas). It was the perfect excuse to take a break from the heat. The drinks here were good and one of the waitresses spoke flawless English. If I were to guess, based on her using casual terms like "boba", she was probably raised in North America -- which is a first for me to experience since I rarely talked to strangers in Japan and most people that I talked to had basic English. Once we completed our drinks, we headed back down towards the Gold Onsen.
Due to it's touristy nature, there were a lot of people within this onsen (in comparison to the one in Yamanashi). After a quick soak, we got out, got some Arima Cider (more like carbonated water), and sat in their relaxation room for a while. Fully relaxed, we headed back out of the town to stop by the small river to soak in (no pun intended) the scenery.
Our next location was the premium outlet mall in Kobe. We took a train that led us to a quiet part of Kobe. The bus station was on top of a hill, it only took a few minutes for us to climb the stairs to wait for the bus. The bus ride was relatively short, and we were on our way to shop at Kobe Sanda Premium Outlets. It reminded me of the one in Vegas with all the outdoor shops. We ventured for a while, but seeing nothing of value, ended up purchasing nothing. We did get some Gindaco Takoyaki at the corner of the outdoor outlet mall before heading back to Kobe station to take a train back to Osaka.
We arrived back in Osaka to grab our luggage from the hotel. Our final destination for our long day was Hiroshima. The train ride was about two hours, meaning that we didn't arrive till around 10 PM at night. Not sure how long it would take for the bus to come, we waited to catch a taxi. There was a long line of people waiting for a taxi, but fortunately, it only took 5-10 minutes for us to finally get a ride. Our hotel in Hiroshima was relatively modern-looking, in comparison to our last two hotels.
An extremely long day with a bunch of travel, but as always, a fulfilling one. Off to another 2015 location tomorrow!
The river/stream in Arima Onsen!
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