Hyōgo · Kinosaki Onsen
Gosho-no-Yu (Kinosaki outer bath)
御所の湯（城崎温泉 外湯）
The most popular of Kinosaki's seven public baths. In a building modeled on the Kyoto Imperial Palace, a waterfall rotenburo faces the hillside and a glass-roofed 'sky bath' sits indoors, all renovated in 2020. Overnight guests get free entry with the 'Yumepa' pass, so evenings are busy with yukata-clad bathers — go at 7 am when it opens.
- Price (adult)
- ¥800
- Hours
- 07:00–23:00 (last entry 22:30)
- Closed
- Thu
- Access
- 10 min walk from JR Kinosaki-Onsen Station
- Water type
- Sulfate spring
- Tattoos
- Allowed
- Spring type
- Sodium-calcium chloride high-temperature spring (mildly alkaline). Kinosaki distributes one blended supply to all seven public baths. Clear, faintly salty, and it keeps you warm long afterwards
- Baths & facilities
- A timber building with a karahafu gable modelled on the Kyoto Imperial Palace (rebuilt 2005, renovated 2020). Besides the indoor bath, the highlight is the garden open-air 'Tenkū-buro' facing a waterfall. Shampoo and body wash provided; towels sold; hair dryers. Its blessing is 'good matches and protection from fire'; nicknamed 'the beauty bath'
- Bath-hopping pass
- 'Yumepa' one-day unlimited pass ¥1,500 adults / ¥750 children, sold at any bath, valid that day only. Single entry is ¥800 each, so the pass pays off from the second bath. Guests staying at Kinosaki inns receive a free barcode pass to all seven
- Phone
- 0796-32-2230
- Official site
- kinosaki-spa.gr.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
Stay in this onsen town
Compare and book stays in Kinosaki Onsen. Day bathing itself needs no booking.
Opens partner booking site (affiliate)
Why go
- Most popular of the seven baths
- Waterfall rotenburo and sky bath
- Opens 7 am — go early
History & building
Kinosaki began 1,300 years ago with Mandara-yu, said to have gushed forth after the priest Dōchi prayed for a thousand days, and by the Edo period it was hailed as 'the finest spring in the land'; it is also the setting of Shiga Naoya's story 'At Kinosaki'. Gosho-no-yu ('Imperial Palace bath') takes its name from a 1267 entry in the chronicle Masukagami recording a visit by Ankamon-in, sister of Emperor Go-Horikawa, and it remains the most prestigious of the seven public baths. The present building, rebuilt in 2005 with a karahafu gate evoking the Kyoto Imperial Palace, had its bathrooms fully renovated in 2020. The garden open-air 'Tenkū-buro' faces a cascading waterfall, framed by maples in autumn and snow in winter, and is generally rated the most scenic bath in town. Kinosaki is the birthplace of sotoyu-meguri — hopping between public baths in yukata and wooden geta — built on the idea that the whole town is one inn: the station its entrance, the streets its corridors, the baths its great bathhouse.
How to use it & practical notes
- Shampoo and body wash provided; bring a towel (also sold). Inn guests can borrow yukata, towel and geta and walk straight over.
- Lockers are free (inn guests scan the barcode on their bath pass). Hair dryers available.
- The Tenkū-buro is popular and busiest 7–9 pm after dinner; the 7 am hour or just before the 11 pm close is calm.
- Tattoos are accepted — Kinosaki's seven baths ask only that small tattoos be kept discreet, so in practice everyone can bathe.
- No photography inside. The gate and façade are among the most photographed spots in town, especially lit up at night.
- Closed Thursdays; go to Ichi-no-yu or Mandara-yu (both closed Wednesdays) instead. Closing days are staggered so at least some baths are always open.
- Under-3s bathe free, elementary pupils ¥400. The Yumepa is sold at any bath counter and allows unlimited re-entry the same day.
Access and a bath-hopping route
About 10 minutes on foot from Kinosaki-Onsen Station (JR San'in Line): follow the willow-lined Ōtani River into the far end of town, next to Shisho Shrine. From Kyoto the Limited Express Kinosaki takes about 2 h 30 min; from Osaka the Kōnotori about 2 h 45 min. By car, 20 minutes from Tajima Airport IC; use the town car parks. The seven baths line up from the station inward — Sato-no-yu (by the station, closed long-term), Jizō-yu, Yanagi-yu, Ichi-no-yu, Gosho-no-yu, Mandara-yu, Kō-no-yu — about 15 minutes' walk end to end. A good plan: Jizō-yu → Ichi-no-yu → Gosho-no-yu in the evening, then Kō-no-yu the next morning. In crab season (Nov–Mar) both inns and baths are crowded, so the easiest windows are 4–6 pm before dinner or after 9 pm.
Before you go
- As a communal bath there is no soap or shampoo — bring your own or buy at the shop.
- Payment is usually by ticket machine in cash — bring coins.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Only here
Baths
Mood & scenery
Price
Convenience
Language support
✔ Verified operating: 2026-09 Operating status and rates cross-checked against the official site and onsen guides (full source notes in Japanese on the JA page)
Prices and hours change. Check official sources before visiting.
More in this area
Kin-no-Yu
The public bathhouse of Arima, one of Japan's three oldest hot springs. For ¥800 you can soak in the 'kinsen' — iron- and salt-rich water that turns rusty brown on contact with air, in pools at 42°C and 44°C. Under an hour by train from Kobe or Osaka, so an easy day trip. Free foot bath and drinking fountain outside. No tattoos.
Ichi-no-Yu (Kinosaki outer bath)
Kinosaki's flagship outer bath, praised as 'the best under heaven' by an Edo-period physician. Its cave bath carved into rock is the draw; the kabuki-theatre-style building is the town's landmark.
Gin-no-Yu
Sister facility to Kin-no-Yu. Clear carbonated and radon water that leaves skin silky, plus a steam sauna. Usually less crowded than Kin-no-Yu. ¥700 on weekends/holidays, ¥550 on regular weekdays.
