An affordable alternative to Tokyo, Hyogo is packed with forests, hot springs and cheap street food
Japan seems to spill over with wellbeing concepts. Among them are Ikigai (a sense of purpose) wabi-sabi (finding beauty in imperfection) and hara hachi bu (eating until you’re 80 per cent full). I would say I’m wellness curious. I have visited three of the world’s “Blue Zones” (areas thought to have high numbers of centenarians), tried Nordic lifestyle habits and joined boot camps. The next step was testing Japan’s theories. Autumn, with its back-to-school tone, felt fitting for a review of my routine.
My destination was Hyogo – a Japanese prefecture (region) on the main island of Honshu. It offers nature, onsen spa towns, and a world-class Zen retreat. Despite covering an area more than five times the size of Hertfordshire, the region lures just five per cent of international visitors to Japan – compare that with 51 per cent for Tokyo and 30 per cent for Kyoto.
As such, prices are geared towards domestic tourists.
“A ramen here is about ¥1,000 (£5); it’s easily double that in Tokyo,” Keiji Matsumoto, a tour guide, told me. Meanwhile, a night’s stay at a four-star hotel in Kobe can cost less than £90; in Tokyo you’d be lucky to find a four-star room for less than £150. My exploration would prove affordable.
One popular branch of Japanese wellness is shinrin-yoku – or forest bathing – the therapeutic act of spending time in nature. In Hyogo, it’s hard to avoid. I stepped off a 2.5-hour bullet train from Tokyo (around £150 return) at Shin-Kobe station and, within two minutes, I was at the starting point of a hike: up the foothills of the Rokko mountain range to the Nunobiki waterfalls.
The beautiful Arima Onsen (Photo: Kobe Tourism Board)
The trail was steep, but just 30 minutes each way, well-marked, and with four waterfalls framed by maple leaves and powder-blue hydrangeas.
There are at least 100 more hikes in the area, but my next stop was the onsen (hot springs). The spa town of Arima Onsen, with its winding streets of temples, cafés and shops, was 20 minutes by bus from Shin-Kobe.
“Onsen bathing is embedded in Japanese culture and linked to spirituality,” said Ramiya Kanai, who runs Tocen Goshoboh, one of the oldest ryokans (guesthouses) in Arima, with her husband.
The Arima Hot springs in
Japan (Photo: Kobe Tourism Board)
You can bathe at Arima’s public onsen like Kin no Yu and Gin no Yu (entry from ¥550/£2.80) or Tocen Goshoboh has its own. The iron-rich water is a rusty orange, but that’s easy to overlook as the heat soothes your tired muscles.
Of course, a healthy body requires a healthy mind and Hyogo has that covered. In 2021, a zen retreat called Zenbo Seinei opened on Awaji, an island connected by bridge to Kobe.
Marianna meditating at Zenbo Seinei
As I arrived, Zenbo’s 100-metre-long deck of Japanese cedar wood, which overlooks dense forest, emerged like a ship from waves. I was trying an overnight package, which involved an afternoon of tea and crafts followed by yoga, meditation, dinner featuring ingredients from the island, more meditation, bed, then a gong wake-up call at 6:30am when we’d go and polish the deck (in traditional Buddhist monk style), before enjoying more meditation, yoga and a goodbye breakfast.
It was a Müller light version of more intense Zen retreats where you can find yourself banned from speaking until mealtimes. All the other guests were from Japan, but the yoga and meditation instructors translated for me. I left feeling healthier and calmer than I have after any diet or boot camp.
Before my bullet train back to Tokyo, there was time to enjoy some of Kobe’s street food specialities (and low prices) in the market on Minatogawa Shopping Street – including a family-sized bag of crispy fried squid (¥540) and squidgy steamed pork buns (¥120). The stalls had that rough-and-ready feel of an old-school east London market and most of the customers were residents buying their groceries. I snacked on my greasy treats as I meandered through the beautiful Parisian-esque streets of Kobe’s European quarter, Kitano-chō, with its mansions (formerly for foreign diplomats), designer shops and restaurants.
It wasn’t exactly in the spirit of health and wellbeing. But then there’s harmony to be found in balance. Luckily Japan has a word for that too: nagomi.
How to get there
The writer travelled as a guest of ANA, All Nippon Airways, which flies from Heathrow to Tokyo Haneda.
Where to stay
Tocen Goshoboh starts from ¥31,400pp (£158) per night.
Zenbo Seinei’s overnight package starts from ¥48,000 (£241).
More information
Hyogo Tourism Bureau
AloJapan.com