Kinosaki, Hyōgo

Kinosaki (城崎町, Kinosaki-chō^?) was a town in Kinosaki District, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.

On April 1, 2005, Kinosaki, along with the towns of Hidaka and Takeno (all from Kinosaki District), and the towns of Izushi and Tantō (both from Izushi District), was merged into the expanded city of Toyooka and no longer exists as an independent municipality.

As of 1 October 2010^[update], the Kinosaki district of Toyooka has an estimated population of 3,778.

Kinosaki is famous as a resort area, with onsen (Japanese hot springs). In 1913, the writer Shiga Naoya came to Kinosaki and stayed there for three weeks. Kinosaki provided inspiration for his short story, Kinosaki ni te or "In Kinosaki".

There are seven public onsen bath houses in Kinosaki Onsen. Tourists staying in most 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, this saves them having to change into their own clothes every time they use an onsen.

A feature is the fountains in the square where mesh bags of eggs can be immersed and boiled while you wait. There are several ashiyu foot baths with running hot spring water where one can sit by the edge of the road and relax while soaking one's feet. A ropeway at the far end of the street transports visitors to the top of Mt Taishi, which has spectacular views of the town and Japan sea coastline.

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