Luxurious hot spring, only 30 minutes away from Kobe.
Arima Hot Spring (有馬温泉) is one of the three oldest hot springs in Japan, and it is known as a luxurious hot spring. You can never imagine that you can reach this authentic hot spring only within 30 minutes from the city center of Kobe, because the area is surrounded by rich nature and the atmosphere is totally different.
It is possible to enjoy shopping and sightseeing in Kobe city during daytime, then head to Arima Hot Spring to get rejuvenated, which let you feel two different features of Japan on the same day.
What is Tansan Senbei?
When you come to Arima Hot Spring, everyone will definitely try Tansan senbei (炭酸せんべい), or carbonate crackers. It is raw carbonate cracker experience, which you can only try at the real shop at Arima Onsen, because it expires only after 5 seconds.
How Tansan senbei looks like.
It is just a piece of cracker, and it is not fizzy at all. But the truth is that, yes, they are made with soda water! At Arima Hot Spring, carbonated water springs out from the ground, and the people use this water to make this famous cracker.
It is said that by using carbonated water from the spring, the cracker gets crispier.
Ingredients
Flour, sugar, starch, salt and soda water from the spring. *There are few shops that make Tansan Senbei, and the recipe could vary.
Price
2 for 100 yen
So, what is the unique experience we can do at Arima Hot Spring?
“Nama Tansan senbei”, or raw carbonate cracker can be enjoyed only when you physically come to this place, because the expiry date of this product is only 5 seconds after baked. This cracker is available at Yunohanado Honpo (湯の花堂本舗) on the Taiko Street.
There is always a long queue.
Crackers are baked by hand, one by one, so that the number of the crackers they can bake is limited.
They will hand you the freshly baked cracker, saying that the texture will be totally different after 5 seconds. If you can eat within the first 5 seconds, the cracker is soft, which quickly turns crispy afterwards.
The shop may stop selling this cracker after they reach the maximum number, which usually takes place in the morning, so you have to try to queue as soon as you see the shop.
Carefully baked by hand.
Precautions when buying Tansan Senbei as a souvenir.
There are also some dried Tansan senbei sold as souvenirs throughout the hot spring. Some of them have cream inside.
However, we could not confirm how this cream is made, so that it can contain some emulsifier from animal products or alcoholic flavoring, so please check well before buying as a souvenir.
Instead, we would strongly recommend you buying one with sesame or just a plain flavor.
Credit: https://yunohanado.shop/
Price
864 yen
Expiry date
90 days
Tansan senbei is a very common souvenir from Kobe area, so it will be found in major souvenir shops in the city, too.
Crispy and slight sweet taste!
The risk of contamination is quite low, too.
Details of the shop
Name: Yunohanado Honpo, Taiko Street Address: 1645 Arima cho, Kita Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 651-1401 兵庫県神戸市北区有馬町1645 Tel: 078-904-1405 Opening hours: 9:00-18:00
Please be reminded, that the product is not made Halal or Muslim-friendly, so that there can be a small risk of contamination, which we cannot be responsible of. It is your responsibility to determine if the product is Halal or not.
