Japan's cosy, authentic and sustainable hot spring town, Kinosaki Onsen, sets an inspiring example of how a city can entirely reconstruct itself by committing to the right core values.

In 1925 a major earthquake became a blessing in disguise, whilst it left the town in ruins it gave the citizens determination and resolve to do anything in their power to rebuild their beloved hot spring town and to future-proof it as much as possible from natural disaster. They decided to re-erect many buildings with their original wooden architecture whilst ensuring maximum fire safety.

The ideas of coexistence and co prosperity (“kyozon kyoei”) were set as the core values for the future of Kinosaki's development and success as a tourist attraction. Instead of competing against one's neighbour, local businesses sought to support one another through a joint effort to revitalise their town's hot spring industry.

The town of Kinosaki would be viewed as one single inn–the individual accommodations would act as the rooms of one giant inn, with the train station as its entrance, the streets as its hallways, the public bathhouses as hot springs, the stores as souvenir shops, and the restaurants as dining rooms. The ideology of “coexistence and co prosperity” is still very much present throughout Kinosaki to this day, as visitors strolling through the town can even come across a sign sporting the local slogan of “kyozon kyoei”.

As a modern-day celebration of Kinosaki Onsen's 1300 years of history, master-piece, a Japanese bag company with facilities in Toyooka, has started selling commemorative bags created specifically for Kinosaki's local pastime–going of “onsen-hopping.”

The YUMEGURI BAG was crafted with the ideal hot spring experience in mind whilst holding true to the pledge to “coexistence and co-prosperity.” Each purchase of a YUMEGURI BAG comes with one free day pass to all of Kinosaki's Seven Mystic Onsen. The pass is valid until 2026 and can be exchanged at SOZORO Tourist Information Center right in front of Kinosaki Onsen's train station. YUMEGURI BAG is available in select shops both in Japan and abroad, as well as online: https://master-piece.co.jp/en/store/.

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