Third stop : Kobe! What to say about Kobe… It’s a beautiful, diverse and lively city! It’s been a huge crush with its botanical gardens, its hikes and its covered streets.
So back from Koyasan I spent the night in Osaka in a great hostel – BON Hostel – which is located under a railway but it didn’t quite bother me. It was a comfortable place, you can book a mixed or ladies only room and they provide slippers, towels and earplugs for the train noises.
Content :
Kobe
Kobe, literally « The Spirits/gods’ door », is the main city of the Hyōgo prefecture, Kansai. Famous harbour city and well known for Wagyu (Kobe beef), Kobe is one of the most attractive cities of Japan with Mount Rokko and its coast. It has been one of the first ports opening to foreign trade in the 19th century and a strategic important harbour for centuries.
Details :
- Inhabitants : 1 538 840
- Specialities : Wagyu beef, akashiyaki, Tamba black soybeans
- Main places : Kobe tower, Akashi bridge, Mount Rokko, Nankinmachi (Chinatown), Kitano-cho (western-style neighborhood)
What to do/see ?
Arriving in Kobe from Sannomiya station, I recommend going to the Nunobiki Herb Gardens by passing by Kitano-cho and see this calm, tranquille, western style neighborhood.
Then take the ropeway to the top of the Nunobiki Herb Gardens, there are some places to eat and a nice shop with products made from the garden’s plants (I got too many ^^ »). Then you can walk around, admire the panoramic view on the gardens and the city or visit the Fragrance museum.
Next let’s start walking down to the glasshouse and its cafe (The Veranda). In the glasshouse you’ll find the Herbal house (with dried flowers and a cute kitchen), a tropical garden where you can try yourself at planting and a spice museum with an amazing and large variety of spices from all around the world.
After that, walk down to the middle ropeway station, behind it there is a road leading to a hike along a dam, old bridges, and the great Nunobiki falls. This hike was beautiful, I highly recommend to go for it, it is okay most of the way, quite flat except for the shortcut to access it but I haven’t seen the main road which might be easier.
For lunch I decided to do European and tryout an Italian restaurant (La Piazzetta Italiana) in Kitano-cho which was really heart-warming. You could stop for a coffee (italian style of course) or a pizza (they have other dishes but not that day). The owner is Italian and can speak French, English and Japanese, which was amazing to see, he was really friendly so the mood of his restaurant was really warm and felt just like Italy. People were talking to each other from other tables laughing all together, which was a great feeling.
Then I walked to Ikuta Shrine, there weren’t that many tourists so it was quite calm and nice.
I wanted to experience chinatown, that was another story! The streets were extremely crowded, the food fragrances smelt so good and the street itself was beautiful.
Finally out of the crowd let’s head to the port! I love old boats so I was more than happily surprised when I saw these beautiful boats!
You can take a boat to go on a cruise in the bay, shop in the huge shopping malls next to the port or visit the maritime museum. You can also go inside the Kobe Tower but it was closed that day.
You can also try and go to Nofukuji in the west of Kobe, I couldn’t due to the bus time for Nagoya but, it seems amazing, and if you love shopping, there also is the Mitsui Outlet Park!
How to get there ?
From Fukuoka:
- Night bus: I traveled with Willer (7900yen) and arrived around 6 a.m. (for the trip from Kitakyushu to Kobe (Day1-2))
- Train: taking the Shinkansen is more expensive (around 14.500yen) but takes only 2h20
From Osaka:
- train: JR Hamakaze/ A Tokaido line: takes 18min for 1710yen
- train: Hankyo Kobe Line : around 30min for 330yen
In short, Kobe was my favourite city so far! The gardens and the hike really got to me, it was amazing, it’s a city to consider when planning a trip to Japan!
Travel & Cake 
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