[JR/JNR] June 2025: Is a hotel being built on the site of the former JNR (Arima Railway) Arima Station?

The site of the former JNR (Arima Railway) Arima Station may finally be disappearing.

On June 24, 2025, the Rihga Royal Hotel Group announced that it would open a new concept hot spring resort hotel in Arima Onsen around the end of February 2028.

The outline of the new hotel announced by Royal Hotel Co., Ltd. is as follows.

Address: Arima-cho, Kita-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture
Building Overview: Scheduled for completion around November 2027, 8 stories above ground
Number of guest rooms: 93 (planned)
Scheduled opening: Around the end of February 2028 (planned)
Access: Approximately 10 minutes on foot from Arima Onsen Station on the Kobe Electric Railway
Building owner: River Sangyo Co., Ltd.

The new hotel will be located along the Arima River and will be a small luxury hotel where all rooms are 40 square meters or larger and include a terrace.

Currently, this is the only press release that has been announced.
The specific address is not written.

So, with only this information, why can we infer that the hotel construction site is the former JNR Arima Station site?

In the press release, there are two pieces of information that can identify the location.
The first is that it is located 'along the Arima River.'
The second is that it is located 'about a 10-minute walk from Arima Onsen Station on the Kobe Electric Railway.'

First, let's check the area about a 10-minute walk upstream along the Arima River...
Across the river, 'Taiko no Yu' is on the north side, and forests spread out on the south side.
It seems possible to build a hotel if the forest is developed, but it would likely take time and money.

On the other hand, if you check the area about a 10-minute walk downstream along the Arima River...

You arrive right near the site of the former JNR (Arima Railway) Arima Station.

The site of Arima Station is located past the Otsukura Bridge that spans the Arima River.

This is what the former JNR Arima Station looked like, as displayed on the bridge railing.

When I visited in August 2024, the station site was an open, vacant lot.

And this is likely the only remaining relic of the former Arima Station.

It is a single wooden post that was left behind.

A plaque inscribed with the 'I' (JNR) mark and 'December, Taisho 10'.
It is proof that the JNR Arima Station once existed.

With this much open space, it seems a hotel could easily be built here.

When I visited in August 2024, a sign was posted in the corner of the vacant lot.

Actually, there was a hotel construction plan from that time.

However, the content differs from this latest press release.

The current press release mentions an 8-story building with 93 rooms. In contrast, this sign indicates a 6-story building with 99 rooms.

The project owner is also listed as 'Mint Co., Ltd.'

Furthermore, the scheduled start date for construction was August 1, 2020. The scheduled completion date was October 29, 2021.

The scheduled completion date has long since passed. Looking at the site as of 2024, this plan appears to have been suspended.

If the project owner and the construction plan are different, is this not the planned site for the Royal Hotel?

However, upon closer inspection, there was one common point between the two.

The sign lists another project owner, 'River Sangyo Co., Ltd.' And the name of the same company is also written as a project owner in this press release.

・Located along the 'Arima River' ・Located 'about a 10-minute walk from Kobe Electric Railway Arima Onsen Station' ・Project owner is 'River Sangyo Co., Ltd.'

The only vacant land large enough to build a new hotel along the Arima River, about a 10-minute walk from Arima Onsen Station, is the former site of JNR Arima Station. And the project owner is the same, River Sangyo Co., Ltd.

From here on is purely my speculation.

At this former JNR Arima Station site, Mint Co., Ltd. originally operated a hospital and a hotel. However, the hospital and hotel buildings were demolished around the spring of 2020. This was likely to build the new hotel mentioned on the sign.

However, for some reason, the new hotel construction plan fell through. The former Arima Station site ended up being left as a vacant lot.

Royal Hotel took notice of that vacant lot. Perhaps by having River Sangyo Co., Ltd. continue to undertake the construction, it became possible to build a new hotel for the Rihga Royal Hotel Group?

I repeat, this is just my speculation. Of course, there is a possibility that new hotel construction could begin in other areas of Arima Onsen, but isn't the former JNR Arima Station site the most likely candidate?

If construction were to begin, the former JNR Arima Station site would likely be closed off. Those who wish to record the current state of the site should visit sooner rather than later, just in case.

As a railway fan, I am worried about the fate of the wooden pillar, which is the only remaining relic. It will likely be removed along with the construction, won't it?

If it is difficult to keep it on-site in its current state, I cannot help but wish that it would at least be relocated somewhere on the premises as a monument.

As I suspected, will a hotel really be built on the site of the former Arima Station?
If I have the opportunity, I would like to go and check the site myself in the near future.

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