Arima Onsen is located in the northern district of Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture. With its long history and abundant hot springs, it is one of Japan’s three famous hot springs and one of the three ancient hot springs.
It is very suitable for general tourists to visit as a day trip from the Kansai region. However, staying overnight in Arima Onsen is also a good choice.
This article will summarize the transportation routes from Kyoto, Osaka, and Kobe to Arima Onsen.
Please note that there are many routes available, so I will only list the routes that I personally recommend.
I will not introduce routes that are obviously not suitable. Thank you for your understanding.
You can mainly reach Arima Onsen from the following locations. If there are any places I haven’t mentioned, please find your own way to these locations.
From Sannomiya in Kobe to Arima Onsen
There are four main ways to travel from the Sannomiya area in Kobe to Arima Onsen.
1a. Take the Kobe Municipal Subway – Seishin-Yamate Line to Tanigami Station, then transfer to the Kobe Electric Railway to Arima Onsen Station.
Take the subway from Sannomiya Station to Tanigami Station, then transfer to the Kobe Electric Railway to Arimaguchi Station, and transfer again within the station to reach Arima Onsen.
Number of transfers: 2
Estimated time: 30-35 minutes
One-way fare: ￥690
Note 1: Originally, the route from Kitakami Station to Shin-Kobe Station was operated by the private railway “Hokushinkyuko Railway”. However, starting from June 1, 2020, it became one of the routes of the Kobe Municipal Subway.
Note 2: This route does not require transferring trains outside the station, only transferring within the station.
1b. Take the subway – Seishin-Yamate Line to Arima Onsen via Minatogawa Station.
From Sannomiya Station, take the subway to Minatogawa-Koen Station. Exit the station to Minatogawa Station and transfer to the Kobe Electric Railway to Arimaguchi Station. Then, change trains and continue to Arima Onsen Station.
Number of transfers: 2
Estimated time: 50-55 minutes
One-way fare: ￥790
1c. Take the Hankyu Bus to
At the 4th bus stop on the 1st floor of Sannomiya Bus Station, take the regular route bus operated jointly by Hankyu Bus and Shinki Bus. Hankyu Bus operates the No. 6 bus system. The alighting point is “Arima Onsen (Taikohashi)”.
Fare: ¥710
Travel time: 50 minutes
Timetable: Click here (09:00~16:25, only 7 trips per day to Arima Onsen)
Route map: Click here to view
Note: Regular route buses (non-express buses) of Hankyu Bus and Shinki Bus accept ICOCA, but KTP cannot be used on Shinki Bus.
1d. Take the JR Expressway Bus to
At the bus stop 1F of Sannomiya, take the bus No. 4 to Arima Onsen operated by West JR Bus (Arima Express).
Fare: ¥780
Travel time: 30 minutes
Timetable: Click here (08:50~19:25, 9 trips per day to Arima Onsen)
Note: The boarding and alighting locations for the West JR Bus in Arima Onsen are different, but they are all near Taikohashi. For more details, click here.
From Takarazuka to Arima Onsen
There are two main ways from the Takarazuka area, but the easiest way is to take the Hankyu bus directly.
2. Take the Hankyu bus to
At the bus stop in front of Hankyu Takarazuka Station, you can take bus number 96 from platform 2. From platform 3, you can take buses number 45 and 75 to go to.
Fare: ¥620
Travel time: 55 minutes
Timetable: Click here for the schedule (approximately 1 trip per hour)
Route map: Click here to view
Note: Buses from Takarazuka to Arima Onsen are: 45, 75, 96.
Buses from Arima Onsen to Takarazuka are: 45, 75, 76, 95.
From Mount Rokko to Arima Onsen
On Mount Rokko, because it is a whole mountain, the area is very large, and you can go from the south (Mount Rokko Tenran Observatory) or the north (Rokko Garden Terrace).
3a. Depart from Rokko Garden Terrace – Take the Arima Ropeway.
If you leave from the Rokko Garden Terrace, you can directly take the Arima Ropeway from the Rokko Summit Station to the Arima Onsen Station at the foot of the mountain.
However, please note that the Arima Onsen Station of the Arima Ropeway is quite far from the Arima Onsen Kinsen and Ginsen areas.
Fare: ¥1030
Travel time: 12 minutes
Timetable: Click here to view (09:30~17:10, one departure every 20 minutes, the last departure time may vary depending on the day of operation)
3b. Departing from the Mount Rokko Tenran Observatory – Descending with the Rokko Mountain Cable Car
This route is quite complicated. First, take the Rokko Cable Car down the mountain, then transfer to Kobe City Bus No. 16 to Hankyu Rokko Station, JR Rokko Station, or Hanshin Mikage Station.
Then, take Hankyu/Hanshin/JR to the Sannomiya area, and follow the directions in Section 1 to get to Arima Onsen.
Note: If it is Mount Maya, you can also take the cable car or ropeway down the mountain, then take Kobe City Bus No. 18 to the Sannomiya area, and follow the method mentioned in 1 to get to Arima Onsen.
Traveling from Shin-Osaka to Arima Onsen
There are 4 ways to travel from the Shin-Osaka area to Arima Onsen.
4a. Take the JR Expressway bus to
Before the 6th exit of Shin-Osaka Station, take the expressway bus operated by West JR Bus (Arima Express) to Arima Onsen.
Fare: ¥1250
Travel time: 51 minutes
Timetable: Click here (09:04, 13:54, only 2 trains per day to Arima Onsen)
4b. Take the Hankyu Expressway Bus to
On the 1st floor of the Hankyu Building in Shin-Osaka, take the bus operated by Hankyu Expressway Bus to Arima Onsen.
Ride Location: Click here
Fare: ￥1250 (fare table)
Ride Duration: 51 minutes
Timetable: Click here for schedule (5 trains per day to Arima Onsen)
Note: ICOCA and KTP cannot be used.
4c. Take the Shinkansen to
After arriving at Shin-Kobe Station, you can choose to follow method 1a or take the JR Expressway bus to Arima Onsen.
However, I do not recommend this method as the Shinkansen fare is as high as 1530 yen (unreserved seat), and there are multiple transfers involved.
Fare: ￥2220
Travel time: 65-85 minutes
Number of transfers: 3
4d. Take the JR Kyoto Line.
You can take the JR Kyoto Line to Sannomiya Station, and then follow the method mentioned in 1. The fare from JR Shin-Osaka to Sannomiya is ¥570, and with the addition of the method in 1, the minimum total fare is ¥1260.
The price is almost the same, but it requires more transfers and is not recommended.
Fare: ￥1260
Travel time: 100 minutes
Number of transfers: 3
Traveling from the Umeda area to Arima Onsen
There are 3 ways to travel from the Umeda area in Osaka to Arima Onsen.
5a. Take the JR Expressway bus to
At Osaka Station, take the Expressway bus operated by West JR Bus (Arima Express) to Arima Onsen.
Fare: ￥1400
Travel time: 65 minutes
Timetable: Click here (3 trips per day to Arima Onsen)
5b. Take the Hankyu Expressway Bus to
At Hankyu Sanban Gai (Hankyu Expressway Bus Terminal), take a bus operated by Hankyu Expressway Bus to Arima Onsen.
Fare: ¥1400
Travel time: 55-60 minutes
Timetable: Click here (10 trips per day to Arima Onsen)
5c. Take JR/Hankyu/Hanshin.
You can take JR/Hankyu/Hanshin to the Sannomiya area in Kobe, and then follow the method in 1. to get to Arima Onsen. However, it is not recommended as there are multiple transfers involved.
Fare: ￥1110
Travel time: 83-93 minutes
Number of transfers: 3
Traveling from Namba to Arima Onsen
There are 3 ways to travel from the Namba area to Arima Onsen.
6a. Take the JR Expressway Bus to
At the Minatomachi Bus Terminal (OCAT Bus Terminal), take the expressway bus operated by West JR Bus (Arima Express) to Arima Onsen.
Fare: ¥1370
Travel time: 80-95 minutes
Timetable: Click here for the schedule (2 buses per day to Arima Onsen, please refer to “Minatomachi Bus Terminal” for the timetable)
6b. Take the Hanshin Namba Line.
After taking the Hanshin Namba Line to Kobe Sannomiya Station, follow the instructions in 1. to get to Arima Onsen.
Estimated Time: 110-120 minutes
One-way Fare: ￥1110
Number of Transfers: 3
6c. Take the Osaka subway and transfer to JR/Hankyu/Hanshin.
You can take the Osaka subway Midosuji Line to Umeda Station, then transfer to JR/Hankyu/Hanshin to the Kobe Sannomiya area.
However, this method involves multiple transfers, so it is not recommended.
It would be better to go to Osaka Station and then transfer to a expressway bus.
Traveling from Kyoto to Arima Onsen
There are several ways to travel from the Kyoto area to Arima Onsen. Below, we have listed the most suitable methods.
7a. Take a expressway bus directly to Arima Onsen.
Hankyu Expressway Bus and Keihan Bus Joint Operation
Train Number: 6 trips per day
Duration: 75 minutes
Fare: ￥1850
Boarding location: Kyoto Station, Hachijo Exit, H2 bus stop
Timetable: Click here to check
Take the JR Kyoto Line to Shin-Osaka Station.
You can take the JR Kyoto Line to Shin-Osaka Station, and then follow the directions for 4a or 4b to get to Arima Onsen.
The fare from JR Kyoto to Osaka is ¥580, and with the addition of method 1, the minimum total fare is ¥1830.
Estimated Time: 80-90 minutes
One-way Fare: ￥1830
Number of Transfers: 1
7c. Taking the Shinkansen
After arriving at Shin-Kobe Station, you can follow the method mentioned in 1a. or choose to take the JR Expressway bus to Arima Onsen.
However, it is not recommended to take this method as the Shinkansen fare is as high as ¥2870 (unreserved seat).
Estimated Time: 80-90 minutes
One-way Fare: ￥3560
Number of Transfers: 3
Take the JR Kyoto Line to Sannomiya Station.
You can take the JR Kyoto Line to Sannomiya Station, and then follow the method mentioned in 1. The fare from Kyoto to Sannomiya is ¥1110. Adding the cost from method 1, the minimum total fare is ¥1800.
Estimated time: approximately 80-90 minutes
One-way fare: ￥1800
Number of transfers: 3
Transportation Recommendations for Arima Onsen
Transportation recommendations for visiting Arima Onsen depend on your itinerary.
If you plan to go to Arima Onsen early in the morning, it is best to have fewer transfers. However, be mindful of the travel time for the express bus.
For example, if you are starting from Namba, there are only afternoon departures for the JR express bus, so you will need to make alternative arrangements.
In addition, the Arima Onsen area is quite large, so it depends on how you want to explore.
Generally, I would recommend allocating at least 2 hours here for a better experience.
If you plan to soak in the hot springs and have a meal, I would suggest staying for a minimum of 4 hours.
However, if you intend to stay overnight, that’s a different story!
Additional Information
The bus stations in various locations are as follows:
Osaka Station JR Expressway Bus Terminal
Hankyu Expressway Bus Terminal – Umeda
Arima Onsen Station (next to the Taikohashi)
Sannomiya Bus Terminal – Bus Stop No. 4
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Can I bring large suitcases on board JR or Hankyu Expressway Bus?
A1: Both of these express bus companies have stated on their official websites that it is not allowed to bring large suitcases on board (source).
However, there are some netizens, such as “Fierce Bear” and “pinyu,” who have shared their experiences of using Hankyu Bus and bringing large suitcases on Hankyu Expressway Bus.
So, in reality, it is still possible, but please use your own discretion.
Reference Materials
■ Arima Rokko Round Trip Ticket
■ West JR Bus: Arima Express
『Original Source：https://nicklee.tw/1192/』
