Tenboroten-no-Yu ARIMAKAN Travel Journal

Thus, the area flourished as a therapeutic hot spring resort, but in 1783, the hot spring town was designated as a family estate (a place of residence for clan members), and the traditional owners of the hot spring were made light vassals, and the business of a bathhouse was prohibited.
From then until the abolition of the han system in 1871, the area lost its function as a hot spring resort.

However, when the era of civilization and enlightenment came and the restrictions on the area as a domesticated land were lifted, the area experienced a revival as a hot spring area.
Especially after the opening of the Ou Main Line railroad in 1901, stores began to line the streets, and the area rapidly became a thriving business district.

In May 1921, a new hot spring was successfully drilled in the Arayu area.
It was the first well in the Kaminoyama hot spring area to produce 216 liters per minute (at the time).
Mr. Seizo Suto, who drilled this hot spring, established an inn in October of the same year.
This was the birth of Arimakan.
A photo of the hot spring excavation is displayed in front of the "Roman-no-Yu", a large public bath for men and women.

In the early Showa period (1926-1989), a new hot spring resort was formed in the old Yumachi district, and the six hot springs in the districts of Arayu, Yumachi, Tokamachi, Kawasaki, Takamatsu, and Hayama were collectively called "Kaminoyama Onsen".
Later, it came to be counted as one of the three Ou hot springs, along with Higashiyama Onsen (Aizuwakamatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture) and Yunohama Onsen (Tsuruoka City, Yamagata Prefecture).

The origin of the trade name "Arimakan" is interesting.
The name originated from the fact that the first landlady was on a hot-spring cure at Arima Onsen in Hyogo Prefecture when this hot spring was drilled. She named it because she was born in the year of the horse and believed in Bato Kannon (Goddess of Mercy), and as an extension of that belief, she collected horse goods.
Also, at that time, there were many inns called "〇〇-kan" and "△△-ke", which had a high-class image.
Thus, the name "Arimakan" was given to the inn.
Although the ryokan started with only 6 guest rooms at the time of its establishment, considering its size, it was well known as a hot spring ryokan with an abundance of hot spring water.

As Japan recovered from the exhaustion of the postwar period, the number of tourists increased steadily.
Along with this, the scale of the inn grew as well.
In 1959, the east building was expanded to a total of 15 rooms.
In 1969, the south building was added. The total number of rooms increased to 19.
Three years later, in 1972, the annex was added, with a total of 23 rooms.
In 1980, the 8-story main building was added, bringing the total number of rooms to 32, and the name of the inn was changed to "Hotel New Arimakan".

In April 1989, the first fully automated hot spring management system in the Tohoku region was introduced.
Also, the American Spa (jet stream and bubble bath) was installed.
It seems to be a tradition of the inn to proactively adopt cutting-edge technology.

In 1992, the long-awaited Yamagata Shinkansen bullet train passed through, and the Kaminoyama Onsen station became a stop on the line.
The next year, in October 1993, the observatory open-air bath, which could be called the symbol of the inn, was opened.

The name of the inn was changed to "Tenboroten-no-Yu Arimakan", the same as it is today.
The popularity of the inn grew even higher, as the late 1980s trend of open-air baths.

In 1997, the number of rooms was increased to 47 in total, and since then, the inn has been transformed into a comfortable place to stay for individual travelers.
At this time, actor Hiroshi Fujioka, well-known for his role in the first Kamen Rider movie, visited the inn.
At the time, the Sega Saturn commercial character "Segata Sanshiro" was the talk of the town.