Mt. Rokko ▲ Ashiyagawa to Arima Onsen | Japan Mountain Note #01

Mt. Rokko is my home mountain.
For the first Japan Mountain Note, I wanted to start here.

Located just behind Kobe, my home town, it’s where I’ve spent many days hiking, climbing rocks, drinking coffee outside, and simply enjoying being in the mountains.

This route begins at Hankyu Ashiyagawa Station, climbs through the rocky terrain around Mt. Arechi, continues to the top of Mt. Rokko, and finishes in Arima Onsen.
A mountain, an onsen, and yummy food at the end.

A very Japanese hiking day — and one of my favorite ways to enjoy Mt. Rokko.

The most popular route from Ashiyagawa goes through Kazafuki-iwa (Windy Rock), but this time we took a quieter route toward Mt. Arechi instead.

Table of Contents

Rui’s Memo

Difficulty: ★★★☆☆
There are some rocky sections, and the route toward Mt. Arechi can be surprisingly difficult to follow.

Fitness: ★★☆☆☆
It’s a full day if you continue all the way to Arima Onsen, but there are plenty of places to stop and enjoy the mountain along the way.

My Rating: ★★★★★
It’s my home mountain. Of course, five stars. Especially with onsen and good food at the end.

About Mt. Rokko / Basic Information

Location	Kobe / Hyogo, Japan
Highest Point	Mt. Rokko, 931 m
Route	Ashiyagawa → Mt. Arechi → Mt. Rokko → Arima Onsen
Distance	12.5km
Elevation Gain	1,005 m
Time	7~8 hours
Trail Type	Point to point (After hiking, you can take bus or train.)

Best Season

Mt. Rokko can be enjoyed in different seasons throughout the year.

Spring and autumn are my favorite seasons for hiking Mt. Rokko.
Summers can be very hot and humid, with plenty of bugs, so I personally prefer the cooler months.

Access

One of the best things about hiking Mt. Rokko is how accessible it is.
The trail eventually finishes on the other side of the Rokko range in Arima Onsen, one of Japan’s oldest and most famous hot-spring towns.

Access	From Osaka or Kobe by train to Hankyu Ashiyagawa Station
Trailhead	Hankyu Ashiyagawa Station → Koza Falls
Parking	No car needed. Public transportation works best for this point-to-point route
Finish	Arima Onsen
Return	Bus or train from Arima Onsen

View on Google Maps

My Hiking Log

I’ve been hiking Mt. Rokko since I was a child, exploring many different routes over the years.
This is one of my favorite routes.

Date : March 6, 2021
Total time : 7 hours

Ashiyagawa → Koza Falls

We started from Hankyu Ashiyagawa Station.
This is one of the most popular starting points for hiking in the Rokko Mountains, so the area around the station was already busy with hikers.

For the first section, we walked through the residential streets toward the mountains.
Soon, we arrived at Koza Falls, the entrance to the famous Rokko Rock Garden area.

From here, the mountain really begins.

Into the Rocks

Not long after Koza Falls, we left the main Rock Garden route and headed toward Mt. Arechi.
And this is where things got interesting.

The trail isn’t always obvious.
There are many places that look kind of like a trail, and very few signs in some sections.

Luckily, my dad loves Mt. Rokko and knew the way. (My dad and I actually started working as hiking guides in the same year.)

We continued along the stream and eventually passed Castle Wall, a well-known rock-climbing area.

Then came more rocks. And eventually…Hashigo-iwa (the rock ladder).

This section is one of the reasons I like this route. It feels completely different from simply walking along a maintained forest trail.

Coffee at Cheese Rock ☕

Then we reached one of my favorite hidden spots on Mt. Rokko:

Cheese Rock.
It’s also sometimes called Table Rock.

If you don’t know it’s there, you could easily walk straight past it.

But the view is beautiful. My mom loves having a cup of coffee here.

Coffee outside always tastes better.
And with a view like this, I could have stayed there for a nap.

Mt. Arechi

From Cheese Rock, we climbed a little farther and eventually joined a clearer hiking trail.
From here, route-finding became much easier.

Mt. Arechi wasn’t far away.

After passing the summit, we descended for a while before climbing again toward the main ridge of Mt. Rokko.
The final climb took us toward Ichiken-jaya (tea house) and the highest point of the mountain.

Mt. Rokko Summit ▲ 931 m

And then the weather changed. By the time we reached the summit area, it had become cold, windy and miserable. I’ve hiked Mt. Rokko in the rain many times, but I remember being surprised by how cold it felt that day.

The summit is exposed, so the wind can make a huge difference.

Still… we made it!

No view. Classic mountain weather.

There is also a first-order triangulation point (called sankakuten in Japanese) at the summit.

We didn’t stay long. It was freezing.

Down to Arima Onsen ♨️

Once we’d reached the summit, my mood changed completely.
Now I was thinking: onsen, ice cream, croquette

A hike without an onsen? Not an option. ♨️

You don’t simply finish at a parking lot.
You walk out of the mountains and into an old Japanese hot-spring town.

Our onsen for the day was Kin no Yu, one of the best-known public baths in Arima Onsen.
After getting cold and windy on the summit, a hot bath was exactly what I wanted.

And Then… Food

Of course, the day wasn’t finished yet.

First, croquette.
We stopped at Takenaka Meat Shop, an old Kobe beef shop in Arima, and ate a freshly cooked croquette right there.

I also wanted gelato from Arima Gelateria Stagione, but we decided to save room for dinner.
Maybe next time.

For dinner, we went to Kutsurogiya for kamameshi — rice cooked and served in a small traditional pot.

YUMMM!!!

I had kamameshi with a salty lemon drink and an Arima Beer and Awaji Beer.

It was a very good ending to the day.

Gear Notes | What I Packed

Lightweight Jacket
The weather changed completely near the summit, and it became much colder and windier than I expected. I was glad I had an extra layer with me.

Hiking Shoes
There are several rocky sections around Mt. Arechi, so shoes with good grip are important.

Water & Snacks
I always carry water and something easy to eat on the trail. Trail mix is one of my favorites.

Mountain Tips

The route toward Mt. Arechi can be difficult to follow. Bring a map and don’t rely only on trail signs.
There are rocky sections, so shoes with good grip are useful.
Weather around the Mt. Rokko summit can feel very different from Kobe below.
Starting from Ashiyagawa and finishing in Arima works particularly well because both ends can be accessed without a car.
Leave some time after your hike to enjoy Arima Onsen.
And arrive hungry.

My Home Mountain

Mt. Rokko isn’t the highest or most dramatic mountain in Japan.

But for me, it’s special.
It’s the mountain I’ve returned to again and again.

There are rocky trails, quiet places for coffee, views over Kobe, and countless different routes to explore.

Sometimes, the best place to start is home.

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