Golden Week is almost here!

Arima Onsen feels both close and somehow far away. From Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi, it’s about 1 hour by bus. For a family of four(2 elementary school kids), round-trip transportation costs 4,280 yen. That’s not exactly cheap. Even for a little trip, transportation adds up when you’re going as a family, doesn’t it?

At Carnori Rent-a-Car, familiar to Nishitsu readers, you can rent a car for a whole week from just 8,000 yen〜(tax not included, A class)! By car, Arima Onsen is about 40 minutes from Nishinomiya.

So, since there’s “this kind of” hidden gem you can reach from Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi in under an hour, Shachomi went to check it out〜.
目次
Wait… this is within 40 minutes!? My first time in Arima Onsen town
I had actually never been to Arima Onsen before.

This atmosphere with wooden shops lining the street. Honestly, I was surprised! Maybe it’s because I haven’t traveled much, but it felt fresh and was fun just to walk around.

Oh! People are gathering!!

No way, it’s a foot bath!! And it’s free〜

A stern-looking “jumping-out boy” sign unlike any I’ve seen before. Definitely a photo spot.

Oh, it’s Dosanjin!! This soba restaurant is seriously delicious and highly recommended! I had no idea there was one in Arima Onsen

You don’t see this kind of post box much anymore. Kids might get excited about it too.

Since we were here, we stopped by a shop selling Arima’s famous carbonated senbei crackers〜

I also tried Arima Cider for the first time! The level of carbonation? was just right. This is something I’d love everyone to try at least once! The pizza was thin and light〜

A bright red bridge. This is the famous “Nene Bridge,” named after the wife of Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Memo: if you use your phone’s “portrait mode,” focus on Shachomi in the back, and bring the phone as close as possible to the statue of Nene, the statue blurs nicely

Something down there looks fun!

It’s a small waterfall〜〜! Zaaaaa〜〜〜〜〜〜〜. This is the kind of sound you could listen to forever! It’s the Arima River〜

Arima Onsen had plenty to enjoy even without going into a hot spring〜. There are coin parking lots here and there, too. If you haven’t been, definitely give it a try〜
Here it is on the map↓
The map shows the foot bath. Everything we visited this time was within about a 500-meter radius of here.
550 yen?! A super satisfying lunch in Yamaguchi-cho
It’s 10 minutes by car from Arima Onsen. This place is in Yamaguchi-cho in northern Nishinomiya.

The udon shop on the left, “Iwasiya,” is super famous, and Nishitsu has visited it before, but what caught my eye was this.

Donburi Stadium. Doesn’t it have some serious energy?

Wait! They have over 100 kinds of seafood rice bowls. And they’re only 550 yen!

Seriously〜〜〜?

It really is actually 550 yen!

You might think the rice portion would be small, but the regular size really was a proper regular portion. It definitely wasn’t tiny, and it was filling.

Even for a family of four, the total is 2,200 yen. Besides the 100 seafood options, they also have curry and roast beef bowls. Recommended!
Here it is on the map↓
Closed on Tuesdays. Hours are 10:00〜21:00 (information as of the time of our visit)










