People who want to leave behind the bustle of cities and enjoy some high-quality time visit this inn, Gosho Bessho.

Gosho Bessho is located in Arima Onsen hot spring village, which is well-known as one of the oldest hot springs in Japan.
You will find this inn standing along a long stretch of road going toward the hills outside of the hot spring district within the town.

Once, the “Shimizu Hotel” was located here, and foreign people who lived in the foreign settlement in Kobe City visited and stayed during the summer or for waterfall viewing.

The villa of an old Arima inn, “Goshobo”

“Bessho” means “second house” or “villa,” and Gosho Bessho is the villa of “Goshobo,” which is an inn passed down from generation to generation for more than 800 years.
“Goshobo”

Jun’ichiro Tanizaki, the renowned Japanese novelist, often stayed for days at Goshobo, and the inn appears in one of his novels.
For this reason, you can find the complete works of Tanizaki in the lobby of Gosho Bessho.

The ceiling is pretty high, and I felt it was much higher than its actual height. The lobby is very spacious as well. Maybe that is because I entered from the small entrance.

The atmosphere is very modern, but at the same time, you can feel its comfort and warmth, just like a log house where climbers stop by to rest after a long day.

All the guestrooms are detached suite rooms.

Just looking at the verdure outside the window calms your mind.
This is a nice, quiet place to relax and read a book, isn’t it?

Recover from your exhaustion with a brown hot spring and a “thermal room.”

A “thermal room” is installed in every room, and this is one of the keys to healing at Gosho Bessho.
This is a sauna whose temperature is kept at 36 degrees Celsius, just as same as your body temperature.
You can sweat gradually and slowly soothe your body from everyday fatigue.
If you just lay down on your bed after taking a hot spring bath and this sauna, you might find yourself waking up the next morning because you were too relaxed.

A maisonette-type building facing Takigawa River is also available.
This is a two-storied house and up to 4 people can stay here if you set out futons (Japanese mattresses) on the tatami.

You can enjoy the “golden spring,” which is a symbol of Arima Onsen, in the big public bath room.
This hot spring contains a lot of iron and salt, which is oxidized, changing its color to a red copper color on contact with air.

You will notice that the edges of the roads in the hot spring district in Arima are dyed with this color.

The inn has its own spring sources, the “Gosho hot spring source” (photo above) and “Uwanari hot spring source.”
Although these spring sources are a little bit far from the inn, Gosho Bessho has original supplying hot water facilities.
Therefore you can enjoy 100% fresh hot spring water at Gosho Bessho.

The hot spring of Arima contains a lot of salt, which warms up your body from the core, and so a chill after bathing does not occur for a while.

A dinner of special wagyu (Japanese beef) from Hyogo Prefecture

The excellent cuisine provided at this inn also delights you.

This is the main dish of a steak course.

The star in this course is a “Tajimaguro” steak, which is the special Tajima beef (the piece of steak in the photo is rump, but the steak provided in the course will be sirloin or tenderloin).
Tajimaguro is a brand beef and is a very rare kind among original Japanese black beef.
The red wine sauce enhances the thick and condensed taste of the meat.

Moreover, both the roasted and the pureed organic vegetables from Awajishima island are very delicious.

If you dine at the restaurant in the facility, I recommend you to sit at the counter.
You will be able to taste the special local cuisine while looking at beautiful trees from the window.
If you could visit here during the fall colors, the beautiful maple leaves are reflected on the counter, revealing the beauty of the season.

You will feel that every minute and hour goes by so slowly at Gosho Bessho.
Why not come and experience a luxurious time at this villa in Arima Onsen?

Photographs and text by Madoka Hori