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Kobe
City in Kansai region, Japan

Kobe

Kobe, officially Kobe City , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.

Plan a trip to Kobe→From Tokushima

With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in the Kansai region, which makes up the southern side of the main island of Honshū, on the north shore of Osaka Bay. It is part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto. The Kobe city centre is located about 35 km (22 mi) west of Osaka and 70 km (43 mi) southwest of Kyoto.

Get in

Getting to Kobe

  1. 01
    Kobe Airport

    Built on reclaimed land in front of the harbor, opened in 2006.

  2. 02
    Sannomiya

    Sannomiya station has a tourist information office well-stocked with area maps.

  3. 03
    Shin-Kobe

    From Tokyo station, Shin-Kobe is 2 hours, 50 minutes away via Nozomi (¥14,670); 3 hours and 20 minutes via Hikari (¥14,270; no charge with the Japan Rail Pass).

See

Worth seeing

Kobe's main attraction for the Japanese is its concentration of Western-style houses, some dating back to the days when Kobe was opened for foreign trade in 1868. Europeans who grew up in similar scenery may find them less fascinating.

  1. 01
    Kitano Ijinkan
  2. 02
    Kyu-kyoryuchi
  3. 03
    Chinatown

    The original settlement of Chinese merchants.

  4. 04
    Kobe Overseas Chinese History Museum
  5. 05
    Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum

    A very nice exploration of hand carpentry tools, from the stone axes of Jomon age to the Western influenced tools of yesterday.

  6. 06
    Kobe Maritime Museum

    Exhibits rich history of the port city with many photos, artifacts, models and some actual ships.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    MOSAIC

    There are restaurants, bars, a movie theatre, a shopping market, an amusement arcade and a little amusement park.

  2. 02
    Mount Rokko
  3. 03
    Nunobiki Falls
  4. 04
    Meriken Park

    Located on the harborfront has a poignant memorial to the devastating Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, which killed 6,433 people.

  5. 05
    Fruit Flower Park
  6. 06
    Sōraku-en Garden
Eat

Where to eat

Kobe has many restaurants offering international cuisine. Kōbe is known worldwide for its Kobe beef, exquisitely marbled, very fatty and very expensive beef. Recommended for a splurge, but expect to pay close to ¥10,000 per 100 grams. At the opposite end of the culinary spectrum is sobameshi (そば飯), a concoction of fried rice and noodles mixed together, which is cheap, filling and pretty much unique to Kobe.

  1. 01
    Minsei Chinese Restaurant

    1-3-3 Motomachidori, Chuoku,.

  2. 02
    Modern Ark Pharm Cafe

    3 Chome-11-15 Kitanagasadōri (south of Sannomiya station),.

  3. 03
    Naruto Taiyaki Honpo Hankyu Sannomiya-ekimae

    1-9-6 Kitanagasakidori (near Sannomiya Station),.

  4. 04
    Ryukaso

    Grill Ippei (グリル一平) (Several branches near Sannomiya station, Motomachi station, and elsewhere).

  5. 05
    Cafe Terrasse de Paris

    A French restaurant with a romantic view.

How locals move

Getting around Kobe the local way

  • Get inThe fastest way to get there is on the Kaijo Access high-speed ferry from Kobe Airport, which runs every 45 minutes (29 minutes, ¥1,850 or ¥1,000 for foreign visitors).
  • Get inSeveral ferry services are available to Kobe, including routes from: Takamatsu: Jumbo Ferry, +81 87-811-6688.
  • Get inKitakyushu: Hankyu Ferry, +81 78-857-1211.
  • Get inShanghai: Miyazaki Car Ferry runs an overnight ferry service from Miyazaki to Kobe.
  • Get inTake a bus from Miyazaki station to the ferry terminal.
  • Get inThe ferry departs at 19:10 and arrives at Miyazaki at 07:30.

From Wikivoyage: Kobe, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see file page), Wikimedia Commons.