Kinosaki Onsen with child

Hi,

we are a family of 2adults and a 4yr Old travelling to Japan in April and I am hoping to spend a night in a traditional onsen town - preference is for Kinosaki at this stage, if we cannot fit it into our itinerary probably Hakone or Shibu Onsen - still finalizing our itinerary!.

Just wondering weather it is ok to take a 4yr old with us from onsen to onsen specifically in Kinosaki?? or maybe is the water too hot for a child?

Its one of my Japanese dreams to wear the Yakuta and walk around a traditional town experiencing the onsen. thx

Reply

Just wondering weather it is ok to take a 4yr old with us from onsen to onsen specifically in Kinosaki??

Sure, no problem.

or maybe is the water too hot for a child?

Depends on the bath. I didn't find any of them to be particularly hot, but there's a lot of variety to explore.

Its one of my Japanese dreams to wear the Yakuta and walk around a traditional town experiencing the onsen.

Then I'd also consider Shibu, Kusatsu or Ikaho in that order and Hakone not so much. Kinosaki really is special though, so I hope it works out for your plans.

Temperature at 7 sotoyu (= bath facilities open for visitors not staying overnight) in Kinosaki is about 42 degrees C (55 degrees F).
Some of them have ashiyu (= footbaths).
Their regular closed days are on weekdays. Not all of them are closed on the same day.
A common one-day card is available at 1000 yen, including 500 yen as a deposit.

Bath facilities inside inns / hotels are called uchiyu. I suppose being 4 years old is enough to stay in a hot spring inn / hotel if an adult always accompanies him/her.

Its one of my Japanese dreams to wear the Yakuta
That is yukata. One thing to note is that your right half of yukata comes always under your left half, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, old or young.

Hi
Thanks so much for your replies and the information. I think we will definately choose between Kinosaki or Shibu, but it seems Kinosaki is the smallest and most traditional of the onsen towns so would be worth the effort to go.
Any feedback on our proposed Itinerary would be appreciated. We arrive 24March:
3n Tokyo
2n Takayama
2n Nagano
1n Kanazawa
5n Kyoto
1n Kinosaki
2n tokyo
we have friends in Nagano to visit so it throws our itinerary out a bit with extra travel but I am not sure of a better way to fit it in with Jr Pass. At least we see new scenery on the train between Nagano - Kanazawa....is that worth the extra travel?

Its one of my Japanese dreams to wear the Yakuta and walk around a traditional town experiencing the onsen.

We visited Kinosaki onsen November last year. Onsen hopping around "the village" wearing yakuta and Japanese style "clogs" was an experience I would not want anyone to miss.
Hoping that the hotel you are staying would have child's size yakuta, Japanese style "clogs" and small handbag to carry his/her own towel. This will be your ultimate onsen hopping experience .

We also visited Shibu onsen a week earlier after visiting the Jigokudani Monkey Park ,but did not stay the night. We spent about 3 hours walking around the area and tried an onsen . It was an interesting experience, but if onsen hopping is what you are after, I highly recommend Kinosaki onsen. Most of the hotels will include a free pass to visit 7 other onsens in the areas . The Six I visited all have beautiful rotenburos ,and they are within walking distances from each other.
Since you are visiting Nagano, you may pay a visit to Shibu onsen. You friend might even drive you there. If you do, do not forget to visit Jigokudani Monkey Park ,which is only short distance away from Shibu onsen, and I am sure your 4 year old child would love it !!!!

Thanks so much for the reply Liem....yes we are planning on visiting the monkey park, I have factored in Kinosaki to our itinerary because I really want a traditional Japanese village experience and I think Kinosaki will be great, if all else fails and its to much of a stretch I will definately stay the night in Shibu Onsen.