was a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Kinosaki District,

Hyōgo Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Hyōgo Prefecture has a population of 5,469,762 () and a geographic area of . Hyōgo Prefecture borders Kyoto Prefecture to the east, Osaka Prefecture to th ...

, Japan.

Merger

On April 1, 2005, Kinosaki, along with the towns of Hidaka and Takeno (all from Kinosaki District), and the towns of Izushi and

Tantō A is a traditionally made Japanese knife () that was worn by the samurai class of feudal Japan. The dates to the Heian period, when it was mainly used as a weapon but evolved in design over the years to become more ornate. were used in tradit ...

(both from Izushi District), were merged into the expanded city of Toyooka and they no longer exist as independent

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

. , the Kinosaki district of Toyooka had an estimated population of 3,778.

Tourism

Kinosaki is a resort area, with ''

onsen In Japan, are hot springs and the bathing facilities and Ryokan (inn), traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 ''onsen'' establishments use naturally hot water ...

'' (Japanese hot springs). The Onsen town has a history of 1,300 years. In 1913, the writer Shiga Naoya came to Kinosaki and stayed there for three weeks. Kinosaki provided the inspiration for his short story, "Kinosaki ni te" or "In Kinosaki". Kinosaki Aruki

Onsen Resort

There are seven public onsen bath houses in Kinosaki Onsen: * Kouno-yu * Mandara-yu * Goshono-yu * Ichino-yu * Yanagi-yu * Jizou-yu * Satono-yu Tourists staying in many of the ryokans (Japanese traditional inns) in Kinosaki can receive a free pass to all seven. It is common for tourists staying in Kinosaki Onsen to walk around in

yukata A is an unlined cotton summer kimono, worn in casual settings such as summer festivals and to nearby bathhouses. The name is translated literally as "bathing cloth" and originally were worn as bathrobes; their modern use is much broader, and ar ...

, this saves them having to change into their own clothes every time they use an onsen. A

ropeway Ropeway may refer to: Cable transport * Cableway, or cable transport, a broad class of transport modes that have cables * Aerial lift, a means of cable transport in which cabins, cars, gondolas, or open chairs are hauled above the ground by mea ...

at the far end of the street transports visitors to the top of Mt. Taishi, which has views of the town and coastline, as well as a temple appropriately named Onsenji.

Museums

In addition to the onsens, tourists can visit the where they can participate in a straw craft-making workshop, the to learn about the writers of Kinosaki Onsen, as well as many shops and cafes. Some of the area's specialties in these shops and restaurants include

snow crab ''Chionoecetes'' is a genus of crabs that live in the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Common names for crabs in this genus include "queen crab" (in Canada) and " spider crab". The generic name ''Chionoecetes'' means snow (, ') inhabitant ...

, Tajima beef, and onsen-boiled eggs. Kinosaki Straw Craft Museum

Transportation

Railway

The

Sanin Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

provides a JR rail connection to

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, and direct trains to

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

are available via

Fukuchiyama file:Fukuchiyama City Hall.jpg, Fukuchiyama City Hall file:福知山駅プラットフォームより View toward northeast from platform of Fukuchiyama station 2011.1.10 - panoramio.jpg, Fukuchiyama city center is a Cities of Japan, city in north ...

. Direct Express trains take about 2.5 hours from Osaka to Toyooka. A

JR Pass The , also called the JR Pass, is a rail pass sold by the Japan Railways Group exclusively for overseas visitors. It is valid for travel on all major forms of transportation provided by the JR Group in Japan, with a few exceptions. The pass is de ...

(more specifically, a Kansai WIDE Area Pass) can be purchased to travel from Osaka or Kyoto to Kinosaki. *

JR West , also referred to as , is one of the Japan Railways Group (JR Group) companies and operates in western Honshu. It has its headquarters in Kita-ku, Osaka. It is listed in the Tokyo Stock Exchange, is a constituent of the TOPIX Large70 index, ...

San'in Main Line The is a railway line in western Japan, which connects Kyoto and Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi, operated by West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It is the major railway line of the San'in region, approximately paralleling the Japan Sea, crossing Kyot ...

** Ebara -

Kokufu were the capitals of the historical Provinces of Japan from the Nara period to the Heian period. History As part of the Taika Reform (645), which aimed at a centralization of the administration following the Chinese model (''ritsuryō''), the '' ...

- Toyooka - Gembudō - Kinosaki-Onsen - Takeno * Kyoto Tango Railway -

Miyazu Line The is a railway line of the Kyoto Tango Railway in Kyoto Prefecture and Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Trains on the line are operated by Willer Trains Inc. as part of its Kyoto Tango Railway system. The and the are the aliases assigned by Will ...

** Toyooka - Kōnotori-no-sato

Highways

* Japan National Route 178 * Japan National Route 312 * Japan National Route 426 * Japan National Route 482 * Japan National Route 483

Airway

The Tajima Airport serves Toyooka and runs two direct flights a day to Osaka Itami Airport. File:Kinosaki Onsen cherry blossoms.jpg, Kinosaki Onsen cherry blossoms File:Inside Goshono-yu Kinosaki Onsen.jpg, Inside Goshono-yu Kinosaki Onsen File:kinosaki_onsen.jpg, Kinosaki Hot Spring, postcard File:Kinosaki Onsen summer fireworks.jpg, Kinosaki Onsen summer fireworks

References

External links

*
Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinosaki, Hyogo Dissolved municipalities of Hyōgo Prefecture Spa towns in Japan Hot springs of Hyōgo Prefecture Toyooka, Hyōgo