Kinosaki is a small onsen town with 7 public onsens and lots of ryokans. There is only 1 main street where all the ryokans, public baths and shops are located. This is one of the few onsen towns in Japan where you can walk in the street wearing your Ryokan’s yukata. Probably the most charming thing about this town is that it has maintained alot of its old architecture with no tall buildings, giving you a small town feeling. It was very relaxing and cosy. It was also not crowded and there were actually few foreigner tourists. Most people we encountered were Japanese tourists.
We would definitely visit again.

Very picturesque onsen town especially at night. Folks were walking in yukata’s to enjoy the 7 public onsens. There are also very good sushi and sashimi restaurants in town.

One of Japan's best onsen towns!
The willow-lined river view is breathtaking especially when snow piles up in winter.

A definitely must-see-and-visit place for anyone seeking a genuine Japanese experience.

Plus there are a lot of restaurants and cafes and shops around.
And it's not just the hot spring you can visit there but you have plenty more to do in your itinerary.

Very cute small onsen town which has 7 public baths to choose from. The scenery at night is magical.
Lots of cafes, restaurants and shops in the daytime.

Kinosaki Onsen is a beautiful town with multiple hot springs to visit, along with beautiful scenery. If you stay at a local ryokan, you can wear yukata around town and enter all the hot springs for free with a pass from the ryokan. I recommend trying Tajima beef for dinner too! Its produced from the same cattle as Kobe beef.

I personally enjoy the relaxed atmosphere of Kinosaki Onsen much over more crowded places like Arima Onsen. If you have the ability to come up and visit, you should! The most direct access if of course by car, but you can come by public transportation. The latter just takes a little longer.

Especially beautiful during cherry blossom season!

A beautiful spa resort town, the perfect place the experience local ryokan and traditional onsen, and a scenic train ride from Kyoto by train.

Your accommodation typically includes a pass to the local onsen, together with a traditional robe and footwear to explore the town in. The onsen of the town are closed on rotating days, so allow more than 1 day to visit them all.

The food choices are a bit limited, but still do the job.

It also includes a funicular/cable car to the local mountain top for nice views of the surrounding countryside. The walk/hike back down is recommended.