One of the charms of Kinosaki is transporting yourself back in time by walking the town in your yukata and geta. Most hotels will provide guests with a full ensemble and it's pretty cool to see everybody walk the streets in their traditional wardrobe. Of course, when in Rome...
The buildings feel like they are from a different era so there is definitely a tourist town kind of feel to it. But Kinosaki is also a working town, as well, where locals go about their daily business like shopping for groceries. It's pretty cool how both tourists and locals co-exist and navigate through the same streets together. We walked up and down the main road which was divided by the Otani River, making occasional pit stops to take a foot bath, grab a coffee and donuts in a modern cafe, and even cook some soft boiled eggs in the hot spring waters.
Near where we cooked our eggs was an old temple where the statues are "dressed up" in winter attire to keep them warm. A nice intersection of reverence and whimsy.
