Originally Posted by evergrn

You've got a lot packed into 24th. Are you sure you can do all that and still get to Kinosaki at an okay time? I'm looking at the train schedule from Himeji to Kinosaki, and there're only two express trains in the entire PM. One leaves Himeji at 1.25pm which gets you to Kinosaki at perfect time, the other one leaves at 7.21pm which is way too late. When you stay at an onsen ryokan, ideally you'd arrive at least a couple hours before dinner time. And if you get there past 8pm, you have most likely missed the dinner.

Btw, wrt Noboribetsu, I understand what you are saying. If you hate ginormous hotels in the bubble-era mold, then you will not be a fan. Then again, that doesn't matter so much when you're soaking in the onsen. Noboribetu's onsen quality and water volume are pretty good, way better than anything you'll find around Kansai. I've been to onsens all throughout Jpn, and Noboribetsu to me is among the top 5. I first went 2 yrs ago. Now I can't stop going there. This summer will be my third time in as many summers.