Eat your way through Arima Onsen! 8 local delicacies to soothe your travel fatigue

*Business hours and menu items may be subject to change.
*Prices include tax.
*Please refrain from eating while walking, eat in designated areas, throw away your food in the trash, and follow the rules.

Arima Onsen Food Walking Map

Enjoy your trip to Arima with freshly made, piping hot gourmet food

Some dishes use Japanese pepper as an accent, while others have a gentle, light flavor. Arima's delicious foods come in a variety of flavors that will fill you up. You'll want to try everything.

"Takenaka Meat Shop" - Croquettes filled with chunks of Kobe beef, full of meaty flavor

The aroma of fried food wafting through the street will whet your appetite at Takenaka Meat Shop. This long-established butcher shop was founded over 80 years ago, and here you can enjoy Kobe beef skewers and croquettes.

The crispy deep-fried "Butcher's Croquette" (170 yen each) is a popular menu item at this restaurant, with the delicious flavor of meat soaked into the fluffy potatoes. The smooth texture of the potatoes is also a key point. Enjoy the difference in texture with the crispy batter.

Another recommendation is the "Kobe Beef Croquette" (280 yen each), which is filled with chunks of 1cm cubes of Kobe beef. This is an original croquette made by slowly simmering onions and Kobe beef with sugar and soy sauce, resulting in a rich flavor. Be sure to try this unique dish that can only be found at a butcher shop.

Takenaka Meat Shop

How about having bread made with salt from Arima Onsen for breakfast? "Pain de Bou"

"Pain de Bou" is a bakery that opened in 1996 so that people visiting Arima could enjoy breakfast. There is also a cafe on the second floor.

Among the breads baked fresh in the shop every morning, the highlight is the "Kinsen Salt Bread" (take-out 300 yen, eat-in 306 yen). This product was created with the high salt concentration of Arima Onsen's water in mind. Salt extracted from the hot springs is kneaded into the dough, and the surface is sprinkled with coarse seaweed salt. The salty accent brings out the sweetness of the moist bread.

Enjoy a cup of hot coffee (take-out 500 yen, eat-in 509 yen) at a table in front of the shop and spend a peaceful morning.

The store also sells bread made with Tanba black beans and rusks with Japanese pepper. The selection of products unique to Arima is exciting.

Bread de Bou

"Uusuan Arima Onsen Store" - Chewy fish paste made with specially selected fish paste

At the Arima Onsen branch of Hokyuan on Taiko-dori, you can see rows of tempura on display. The rising steam draws you in, and you can't help but peer inside the bamboo steamer.

The bamboo steamer has about 10 kinds of fish paste products on offer. The paste is made using only the highest grade white croaker and golden-threaded bream, giving it a chewy texture. It is fried in oil and then steamed in a bamboo steamer, resulting in a light and easy-to-eat dish. The recommended "Tako Shiso" (500 yen per piece) has an appealing seafood flavor. The refreshing flavor of the shiso and the chewy octopus go perfectly with the paste.

The "Jaga Butter" (450 yen each) is heavy when you pick it up. It is a snack-like paste filled with chopped potatoes, with the sweetness of butter and minced fish matched well. Why not take a stroll around the area with a stick tempura in hand, which is perfect for eating on the go?

Usuan Arima Onsen

Arima's Sansho pepper is topped on fried chicken. A tingly, numbing dish at "Fried Chicken Specialty Store YAPPY"

YAPPY, a fried chicken specialty store located just around the corner from Yumotozaka, uses domestic chicken seasoned with a white dashi base. In about three minutes, the fried chicken is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

There are three types in the lineup: "Light White Dashi," which lets you enjoy the flavor of white dashi as is, "Curry Flavor," which is topped with curry powder, and "Arima Sansho Karaage," which is sprinkled with Arima's specialty, sansho pepper (all 500 yen for 3 pieces). "Arima Sansho Karaage" is topped with plenty of crushed sansho pepper, and when you put it in your mouth, you can smell the fragrant sansho pepper. The tingling and numbing aftertaste that comes afterwards is also addictive.

In order to make fried chicken that has a crispy exterior and a juicy interior, they pay particular attention to the frying temperature and time. Look for the original mascot "Yappy-kun", which is modeled after the owner's face, and be sure to stop by.

Fried chicken specialty store YAPPY

"Arima Juhachiban" is a soft Akashiyaki dish with Japanese pepper berries dipped in soup stock.

A large sign reading "Akashiyaki" stands out at the entrance of "Arima Juhachiban." When you open the door, you'll see a row of copper plates for making Akashiyaki right in front of you. In addition to piping hot Akashiyaki, you can enjoy gourmet food made with ingredients from around Arima, such as raw whitebait rice bowls and deep-fried sweet shrimp, along with some alcohol.

Arrived on a sloping, bright red plate is "Arima Yaki" (800 yen for 10 pieces). This Akashiyaki dish is topped with Arima's famous sansho pepper, and when you take a bite, the sansho pepper gives a tingling sensation to your tongue from within the soft batter.

If you let it soak up the kelp and bonito broth, you'll enjoy a warm and gentle flavor. Enjoy the original taste of Arima.

Arima Juhachiban

Taste the Desserts of Arima on the Spot!

Arima also has sweets that will put a smile on your face. Here we will introduce some of the specialty rice crackers, which have a variety of textures, and Japan's leading gelato.

Smooth texture and a wide variety of flavors! "Arima Gelateria Stagione"

Arima Gelateria Stazione won the Gelato World Tour Japan 2019 Yokohama just four years after it opened, and was chosen as the representative of Japan for gelato. You can taste the melting gelato that the chef created through repeated trial and error.

The shop's specialty is "rich yet refreshing." There are always 11 different flavors available, with fun combinations of ingredients. Highly recommended are the rich "Rokko Premium Milk," made with plenty of Rokko raw milk, and the "Arima Cider & Awajishima Lemon," which adds the freshness of lemon to Arima cider. The "Rare Cheese with Blueberry Sauce," a sweet and sour mix of rare cheese gelato and homemade blueberry sauce, is also popular.

Other options include the "Salted Mascarpone Kumquat-Scented Amazake Style," which is like a Japanese-style cheesecake with a homemade kumquat sauce to add a different flavor. If you can't decide which flavor to choose, try the luxurious "3 FLAVOR (Triple)" (680 yen, some flavors incur an additional charge).

Arima Gelateria Stagione

Yunohanadou Honpo Taiko Street Store: Attraction gourmet with a 5-second expiration date

A large can of "carbonated rice crackers" is an eye-catching object at the Yunohanadou Honpo Taiko Street Store. Carbonated rice crackers, with their slightly sweet and crunchy texture, are a souvenir representative of Arima.

One thing you definitely want to try while you're there is the live demonstration of "Nama Tansansenbei" (100 yen per piece). The rice crackers are baked right in front of you and you can eat them straight away. "Best before 5 seconds." As you enjoy the warm, chewy texture, they quickly become crispy. Being able to feel the texture change is something you can only experience at a live demonstration. You'll be excited to eat it right away! The speed at which you receive your product is like an attraction, and it's fun.

Yunohanado Honpo Taiko Street Store

Arima's recommended drinks to soak in after a soak in the hot springs

After your body has warmed up in the hot springs, a cold drink is the perfect remedy. We will introduce some special drinks that go well with gourmet food you can enjoy while walking around.

ARIMA BREWERY: A craft beer with a subtle hint of sake flavor

ARIMA BREWERY is a craft beer specialty store. Its beer has a refreshing taste with a hint of sweetness, making it a popular drink to gulp down after a bath.

The shop's "Japan Ale" (280ml 680 yen, 430ml 980 yen, bottle 670 yen) is based on the concept of "Japanese Original" and is a masterpiece that won a gold medal at a beer competition such as the World Beer Cup 2016. It is a beer that allows you to feel the essence of sake, using Yamada Nishiki sake rice and Rokko underground water, which are used in many sake brewing.

They also offer a smooth dark beer called "Black Ale" and a "White Ale" that is popular among women. You can take a break and sip on a freshly poured beer in the eat-in space inside the store. They also sell bottled beer, which makes a perfect souvenir.

ARIMA BREWERY

Arima Onsen is the perfect place to warm up your body from the inside out in the hot springs, savor the local delicacies, and refresh yourself. Take your time and enjoy a stroll around the quaint townscape, sampling the local delicacies.

Originally posted: January 18, 2024
*Some content was updated on November 5, 2025.

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