Kinosaki Onsen

 “It would be nice to visit a hot spring in autumn, wouldn’t it?” I remembered my younger daughter saying that before. So last week, our family — including my elder daughter and her husband — went to Kinosaki Onsen in Hyogo Prefecture. The crab season had just begun on November 7 this year.

The weather wasn’t great, but we enjoyed a sumptuous crab dinner at a comfortable ryokan, and of course, we relaxed in the famous hot spring.

 




The next day, after browsing some souvenir shops, we stopped by Nova, a coffee house near Kinosaki Onsen Station. 



 The coffee was excellent and the music created a pleasant atmosphere. I asked the owner’s wife what music was playing, and she showed us the CD jacket. It was LANDSCAPES by the Jan Lundgren Trio, a Swedish jazz group.

 

On our way home, we made a stop at Amanohashidate, known since ancient times as one of the Three Views of Japan. The name means “bridge to heaven.” I had been there twice before, but it was the first visit for my wife and daughters. We took the chairlift up to View Land and tried matanozoki — looking at the scenery upside down from between your legs. Seen that way, Amanohashidate looked like a dragon soaring into the sky. It was a strange but fascinating experience. 

 




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