After arriving in Osaka on Sunday, on my first full day I traveled to nearby Kobe. The city, with its million inhabitants, has a bit of a European atmosphere, and it can be explored quite quickly, even on foot.
Trains depart from Osaka’s Umeda railway station. The Hankyu Kobe Main Line runs to Kobe-Sannomiya station, which is in the city center. The ticket costs 330 yen each way. Most of Kobe’s attractions are located in a fairly small area. I used the metro once; otherwise, I explored the city on foot.
A few minutes from the station is one of the city’s most important shrines, Ikuta-jinja. It’s considered one of Japan’s oldest shrines, so it has a distinguished role not only in Kobe.
After this, I walked back to the railway station, from where I took the metro one stop to Shin-Kobe station. From here, a very beautiful waterfall, Nunobiki, is easily accessible on foot. You have to conquer a few minutes of uphill walking, but the view is worth it.
I walked to one of Kobe’s most beautiful areas, the Kitano-cho district, which is the most European part. The houses were built for diplomats in the early 20th century, so we can stroll through an elegant neighborhood here.
From here, a path leads up through the houses to the Venus Bridge. This offers the most beautiful view of the city. The bridge is actually a spiral-shaped observation platform. I lingered here for a while, and I recommend everyone come up here!
With about 15 minutes of walking downhill, I reached Sorakuen Garden. This is Kobe’s largest garden and it’s free. Since this was the first garden I visited during my Japan trip, I spent at least half an hour there. It’s very beautiful, worth exploring and enjoying jumping across the stones in the water. 🙂
My next stop was the waterfront Meriken Park. Kobe’s symbol, the Kobe Port Tower, stands here. The uniquely designed tower is also an observation deck. I didn’t go up here because there’s no better view than from Venus Bridge anyway. Another striking feature is the Maritime Museum, whose building resembles a ship.
Next to the park is the Earthquake Memorial Park, which was established in memory of the 1995 earthquake. It caused great destruction in the city, and we can see numerous images of this.
I returned to the railway station via Motomachi Shopping Street. This is the city’s covered shopping arcade; you can find something like this in almost every larger Japanese town. There are countless restaurants and eateries, and there was a lot of hustle and bustle here too.
In the eastern part of the shopping street, we find Chinatown. It consists of a few streets, but it’s one of the most famous such districts in Japan. Naturally, there are countless eateries and shops here as well.
As you can see from this account, the main part of Kobe, including the main attractions, can be explored in less than a day. If you’re spending several days in Osaka, it’s worth dedicating a day to this city!
In Part 1, I wrote about useful information and things to know – it’s worth starting with that!