Japan is home to many storied onsen, but few reach the renown of Arima Onsen, considered one of the country’s top three ancient hot spring resorts. Located in the mountains of the port city of Kobe, this legendary resort has been soothing bodies and minds since at least the seventh century, counting among its visitors emperors, aristocrats, samurai and literary giants.

The onsen area — largely a modern townscape, though still hiding the occasional corner of narrow, winding streets and wooden buildings — brims with hotels and inns offering Arima Onsen’s famous spring waters; it even has two public baths. But to truly immerse yourself in the atmosphere of Arima, it’s worth ensconcing yourself in the hills, where birdsong and the surrounding greenery lend a serene backdrop to each soak.

At Gekkoen, comprised of two sister facilities at the base of Mount Ochiba in the Rokko Mountains, you’ll get exactly that: comfortable hot spring accommodation amid a natural wonderland, where leafy trees and the tranquil Takigawa River provide a home for birds and insects, including fireflies in the early summer. In this resplendent environment, you’ll find everything you need to decompress and refresh.

A Tale of Two Sisters

Gekkoen’s hotels provide guests with the same high level of hospitality in two very different aesthetic packages. Korokan is a model of modern Japanese elegance, with guest rooms that subtly incorporate Western influences. At Yugetsu Sanso, mid-20th-century charm permeates the property, from its sukiya-style architecture to its carefully preserved interiors. Both, of course, have an abundant supply of Arima Onsen’s spring waters.

Guests can freely use the facilities at both Korokan and Yugetsu Sanso, and the trip between the two comes with its own allure: the atmospheric Gekko-bashi, or Moonlight Bridge. The covered crossing of the Takigawa River almost feels like a gateway between eras — retro Showa and modern elegance.

Korokan: Refined Comfort

The distinct aesthetics of the two hotels lend themselves to vastly different experiences. The contemporary Korokan has recently unveiled Japanese-Western fusion guest rooms, featuring tatami flooring and Western-style beds, and designed with three original themes.

The Taisho Roman rooms are refined and romantic, inspired by the blending of Japanese charm and Western elegance that characterized the Taisho era — perfect for anniversaries and couples’ getaways. The Japandi rooms are designed to be soothing and balanced, featuring wood, washi, stone and other organic materials. Each Natural room is a bright and open sanctuary unified by warm wood tones and soft, natural colors and light — a fitting space for family getaways, workations and longer sojourns. A stay in any of the rooms, all a stylish combination of East and West, gives guests a chance to bask in a distinctly Japanese ambience.

Korokan offers guests an exceptionally sumptuous stay in its 122.5-square-meter Royal Suite, which comes with a hinoki cypress indoor bath and an open- air “bath in the sky” overlooking the densely forested Mount Ochiba. A stay in the suite, located on the top floor of the hotel, includes an evening meal of Kyoto-style kaiseki cuisine, served in the serenity of your room, during which a chef prepares and grills Kobe beef right before your eyes. In-room dining is a hallmark of the quintessential Japanese hospitality experience — one that all visitors to the country would be wise to add to their itinerary at least once.

Yugetsu Sanso: Heritage Charm

Korokan’s sister hotel, Yugetsu Sanso, is built in the sukiya style defined by natural materials and refined, teahouse sensibilities. The aged wood of the building radiates warmth, adding a comforting softness to the hotel’s mid-Showa architectural beauty. Walking through its doors is to slip back in time to a previous era’s cultivated grace, where colorful koi and quiet gardens invite a deep sense of stillness.

That quietude is represented throughout the hotel and its grounds, from the open-air bath along the Takigawa River to the understated yet exquisite guest rooms to the Moonlight Bridge and riverside walking path. Yugetsu Sanso’s two premium Kyokusuitei suites, featuring a blend of Japanese and Western styles, offer an especially serene stay; each suite’s private ceramic onsen bath is filled with crystal-clear radium spring water. For dinner, kaiseki cuisine, crafted with Kobe beef, Setouchi seafood, and local seasonal ingredients sourced from the mountains and coastal waters of Hyogo Prefecture, is served in your room.

Better Together

Korokan and Yugetsu Sanso’s sister status and close connection via the Moonlight Bridge mean that guests can easily enjoy the facilities — bathing and other-wise — of both hotels, doubling their enjoyment. At Korokan, guests will find large public bathing areas with an indoor bath, open-air bath and sauna, as well as three private themed baths that can be reserved for an extra charge. Though these private baths — a wine bath, a cave bath and a barrier-free cypress bath — are not natural hot springs, they each offer a truly unique encounter with Japanese bathing culture.

Yugetsu Sanso, meanwhile, boasts riverside baths fed by Gekkoen’s own free-flowing hot spring, a rarity for a hotel. Between the two hotels, guests have the opportunity to relish Arima Onsen’s renowned spring waters — kinsen, a reddish-brown water rich in iron and sodium chloride, and clear water imbued with radium — in a multitude of ways.

Beyond baths, you’ll find a noodle shop, tearoom and spa offering Balinese massage among other treatments at Korokan. At Yugetsu Sanso, a panoramic view of the Takigawa River and Mount Ochiba awaits in the lob- by — the perfect place to admire spring’s cherry blossoms and fresh verdure and fall’s tapestry of fiery colors. Yugetsu Sanso is also where you’ll find Gekkoen’s souvenir shop, selling local specialties like Arima Onsen’s carbonated rice crackers.

More Info

Gekkoen (Korokan and Yugetsu Sanso)
318 Arima-cho, Kita-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture

Korokan
T: +81-570-052255
W: kouroukan.com/en/

Yugetsu Sanso
T: +81-570-050366
W: gekkoen.co.jp/en/

Gekkoen’s sister hotels are approximately 30 minutes by train from Shin-Kobe Station.

Updated On March 25, 2026