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Kobe harbour with the city and Mount Rokko behind
A plate of sliced Kobe beef steak
The sloping Yumotozaka street of Arima Onsen with its old shops
Dusk over Kobe and the bay from the Miharashi tower at Rokko Garden Terrace
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge spanning the strait between Kobe and Awaji Island, seen from the air

Things to do in Kobe: 8 experiences

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Photo: Balon Greyjoy, CC0

Sannomiya, Kobe

Eat certified Kobe beef grilled at a teppanyaki counter

Check dates and prices

Photo: Maarten Heerlien, CC BY 2.0

Arima Onsen, Kita, Kobe

Soak in the gold and silver springs of Arima Onsen

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Photo: 663highland, CC BY-SA 3.0

Mount Rokko, Kobe

Ride up Mount Rokko for the night view over Kobe and the bay

Check dates and prices

Photo: そらみみ, CC BY-SA 4.0

Maiko, Tarumi, Kobe

Climb to the top of a tower of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

Tours in Kobe

Photo: Tysto, CC BY-SA 3.0

Kobe is a port city squeezed between the Rokko mountains and the sea, half an hour from Osaka. It opened to foreign trade in the 19th century, which gave it its Western merchants' houses, its Chinatown and a taste for beef, and it was rebuilt after the earthquake of 1995.

The centre is compact: Sannomiya for restaurants and the Kobe beef counters, Kitano on the slope above, and the harbour with Meriken Park and the Port Tower below. Shin-Kobe station, on the Shinkansen, sits right under the ropeway to the herb gardens.

Three trips leave the centre: up Mount Rokko for the view and over to the hot springs of Arima, east to the sake breweries of Nada, and west to the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.

8 things to do in Kobe

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A plate of sliced Kobe beef steak

Eat certified Kobe beef grilled at a teppanyaki counter

Sannomiya, Kobe

About 1.5 hoursBook ahead

The beef the city is named for, cooked on a hot iron plate in front of you by a chef who slices it to order.

Check dates and pricesKobe beef meal with a sake tasting
Been there?
The sloping Yumotozaka street of Arima Onsen with its old shops

Soak in the gold and silver springs of Arima Onsen

Arima Onsen, Kita, Kobe

Half a dayGo alone or with a tour

One of Japan's oldest hot spring towns, behind Mount Rokko, with rust-brown gold water and clear silver water in two public baths.

Check dates and pricesDay trip from Osaka to Himeji, Arima and Mount Rokko
Been there?
Dusk over Kobe and the bay from the Miharashi tower at Rokko Garden Terrace

Ride up Mount Rokko for the night view over Kobe and the bay

Mount Rokko, Kobe

3 to 4 hoursGo alone or with a tour

From 880 m, the lights of Kobe, Osaka Bay and the Akashi Strait spread below you, the view Kobe calls its 10 million dollar night.

Check dates and pricesKobe day trip ending with the Rokko night view
Been there?
Flower beds and terraces of the Nunobiki Herb Gardens above Kobe

Ride the ropeway to the Nunobiki Herb Gardens and walk down the falls

Shin-Kobe, Kobe

2 to 3 hours with the fallsNo booking needed

A ten-minute cable ride from the Shinkansen station to terraced herb gardens, then a walk down past four waterfalls.

Tours in Kobe
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The red-brick Weathercock House in Kitano with the weathercock on its spire

Walk the hillside of Kitano and its foreign merchants' houses

Kitano-cho, Chuo, Kobe

2 to 3 hoursNo booking needed

A slope above Sannomiya where Western traders built their homes after the port opened, with views down to the harbour.

Tours in Kobe
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The Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum building in Sumiyoshi, Kobe

Visit the sake breweries of Nada, Japan's biggest sake district

Nada, Higashinada, Kobe

Half a dayFree

A strip of coast east of Kobe that makes about a quarter of Japan's sake, with brewery museums you can walk into for free.

Tours in Kobe
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The red lattice Kobe Port Tower and the white frame of the Kobe Maritime Museum

See Kobe's harbour from the Port Tower and the earthquake memorial

Meriken Park, Chuo, Kobe

2 hoursNo booking needed

Kobe's harbour in one walk: a red tower with a rooftop deck and a quay kept broken since the 1995 earthquake.

Tours in Kobe
Been there?
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge spanning the strait between Kobe and Awaji Island, seen from the air

Climb to the top of a tower of the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge

Maiko, Tarumi, Kobe

Half a dayTimed entry

A guided climb to the top of a tower on the bridge with the world's longest suspension span, nearly 300 m above the sea.

Tours in Kobe
Been there?

Traveller picks

Hidden gems suggested by travellers. We check each one before it goes up; the words are theirs, not ours.

No traveller picks for Kobe yet. Know a place most visitors miss?

Plan your trip

  • Getting there

    Shinkansen trains stop at Shin-Kobe. From Osaka, JR, Hankyu and Hanshin trains reach Sannomiya in about 20 to 30 minutes, so Kobe works as a day trip. Kobe Airport, on an island in the bay, has domestic flights; Kansai Airport is linked by bus and by a fast ferry.

  • Getting around

    The centre is walkable from Sannomiya to the harbour. The subway links Shin-Kobe and Sannomiya, and JR and Hanshin run east to the Nada breweries and west to Maiko for the bridge. For Arima, take the Kobe Electric Railway or the ropeway from Mount Rokko.

  • How many days

    In must30's view, one day covers Kitano, a Kobe beef meal and the harbour at night. Add a day for Mount Rokko and Arima Onsen, which work best together, and half a day for the Nada breweries or the bridge.

  • When to go

    Spring and autumn are the best for Mount Rokko and the herb gardens. Winter is the sake brewing season in Nada and the best time for the hot springs. Clear evenings, at any time of year, are the ones for the night view.

  • Where to stay

    Sannomiya is the most practical base, between the stations, the restaurants and the harbour. For a hot spring night, stay in a ryokan in Arima Onsen instead and do the city as a day trip.

Questions travellers ask

How do I know the beef is real Kobe beef?

Kobe beef is a certification for Tajima cattle born and raised in Hyogo that meet the association's grading rules. Restaurants that serve it say Kobe beef, not just wagyu, and can show the certificate. If the menu only says wagyu, it is something else.

Can I visit Arima Onsen and Mount Rokko in one day?

Yes. The Rokko-Arima ropeway links the summit with the hot spring town. Go up the Rokko Cable Car in the afternoon, see the view, ride the ropeway to Arima for a bath, and return by the Kobe Electric Railway.

Is the Weathercock House open?

It is temporarily closed for seismic retrofitting. The other foreign residences in Kitano are open with their own tickets, and the house's exterior can still be seen from the square in front.

Is Kobe worth a day trip from Osaka?

Yes. Trains take about 20 to 30 minutes to Sannomiya. A day is enough for Kitano, a Kobe beef lunch and the harbour; Mount Rokko and Arima need another.

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