Kinosaki Onsen Guides

Same water in all seven houses. What changes is the room, the story, and the blessing on the door.

The whole town is one ryokan. That is not a slogan about atmosphere. It is a description of the law.

One spring feeds all seven baths, five footbaths and three fountains you can drink from. Nothing else.

Wash before you get in, keep the small towel out of the water, and nobody will look at you twice.

All seven public baths admit tattoos, no cover-up required. Almost nowhere else in Japan does this.

Seven public bathhouses, one shared spring, and a law that keeps them the centre of town. Start here.

Two stories, both published by the town: a monk's thousand days in 717, and a stork that healed first.

Twenty-three stone monuments and one novelist's accident. This has been a town of writers for centuries.

Yukata are worn in the street here, not only inside your room. Here is how to tie one and walk in it.

Under the yukata, the honest answer is less than you think and more than nothing. Details inside.