Get Ready for 2020! 5 Ways to Get Into the Competitive Spirit from Kinosaki Onsen, Japan's Best Hot Spring Town

As Tokyo is getting ready to play host to some of the world's most renowned international sporting events, Kinosaki Onsen is giving sports enthusiasts more reasons than ever to get into the competitive spirit with a number of action-packed experiences and activities available in the hot spring town and its surrounds.

With its intriguing caves, rugged mountains and calm waters, the Kinosaki area is blessed with a natural diversity not many destinations can match creating countless opportunities for exciting sporting activities. And what better way could there be to motivate yourself than knowing that your action-packed efforts will be rewarded with a dip in some of the world's finest onsens?

According to Visit Kinosaki, the top 5 ways to get into the competitive spirit in Kinosaki Onsen are:

1) Rowing the Maruyama River: The Maruyama River is the main river in the northern Hyogo region, where Kinosaki Onsen is located, and provides an extremely special location for water based activities – so special that two of the world's most renowned rowing teams have chosen it as a training location for the 2020 Games. More than an attractive tourist destination, Maruyama river also helps maintain the lives of the wild Oriental White Storks, the symbolic bird of Toyooka City. With the help of the Lower Maruyama River and surrounding rice paddies, work has been done to preserve and create this type of optimal wetland environment.

2) Biking along the Water: Visitors to Kinosaki Onsen can easily bike north along the Maruyama River and reach one of Kinosaki's hidden gem beaches, Kei Beach, and the Tsuiyama Fishing Port before heading up the hill to Kinosaki Marine World. Also make sure you visit the Genbudo Cave Park along the way. The park consists of five caves that were formed 1.6 million years ago when the lava from a volcanic explosion cooled forming spectacular columnar joints. For more information on renting a bike in Kinosaki, click here.

3) Biking on the Highlands: There is another fascinating cycling route in close vicinity of Kinosaki. Visitors can cycle along vast rice fields, cultivated farmlands, and villages in between broad-leaved trees on the Kannabe Highlands. Refresh the body and mind when stopping by waterfalls created naturally by a group of volcanoes, as well as a cave which exhales cool wind from its opening. For more information on cycling tour in Kannabe, click here.

4) Watch a Boat Festival & Regatta: If you're a sports enthusiast but prefer to be on the watching end, head to the Maruyama River Kinosaki Boat Festival & Regatta held every year in July or August.

5) Sea Kayaking on Kinosaki's clearest waters: Just a short train ride from Kinosaki Onsen, Takeno Beach has been ranked one of Japan's best 100 beaches so it should come as no surprise that kayaking on its blue waters will offer you nothing but the most magnificent views.

Website: visitkinosaki.com