Skip the crowded main bathhouses and find a private day-use room if you want peace. The Kinsen (gold water) smells like iron, but it leaves your skin feeling reset. Walk the steep back alleys behind the main temple—the tourist strip is just overpriced souvenir shops. Visit on a weekday morning to dodge the Kobe day-trippers. Grab a fresh carbonated senbei cracker from a stall and leave before the afternoon train crowds hit the station.
