Kobe

Kobe is a large city of one and a half million inhabitants about 30 km south of Osaka. Due to its location and history, the city has a lot in common with Yokohama.
Just like Yokohama, it is a large port city within the metropolitan area of a larger city (Tokyo and Yokohama, Osaka and Kobe), and, along with Yokohama, it was one of five cities designated in 1858 to open up to trade with the abroad, while the rest of the country remained isolated. Unlike Yokohama, however, it is surrounded by mountains, from whose peaks you can enjoy one of the most famous views in all of Japan.

Today Kobe is a modern city, largely rebuilt after the devastating earthquake that hit the area in 1995 (Great Hanshin earthquake). Fortunately, both the Chinese neighborhood and the former western merchant neighborhood have survived. The area around Sannomiya station and the redeveloped port area around Meriken Park are the heart of the city.

Essentials

Kobe travel guide

Chinatown

The city's colorful Chinese district, famous for its Chinese food stalls and restaurants.

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Kitano

Kitano Hill was for many years the district of all the westerners residing in the city, and today you can still find a number of historic buildings.

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Meriken Park

An area of relaxation and recreation built in front of the sea, close to the port of the city. Here is the Kobe Port Tower, one of the most famous landmarks of Kobe.

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Monte Rokko

The mountains behind the city of Kobe are home to several attractions and scenic spots, where to enjoy one of the most famous views from above in all of Japan.

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Sannomiya

The commercial heart of the city, with large shopping centers and traditional shopping arcades covered with endless shops and restaurants.

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Near Kobe

Osaka 30 km / 25 minutes

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Kyoto 70 km / 50 minutes

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Himeji 60 km / 40 minutes

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Guided tours, activities and other things to do

If you are planning a trip to Japan and you want to do something more than just visiting famous places and monuments, we suggest you to use Rakuten Travel Experiences.

How to use Rakuten Travel Experiences

Rakuten Travel is a very useful website to enrich your travel experience, especially if you are going solo or it's your first time in Japan.
Because of the language barrier (and more), in Japan it is very difficult to interact with the locals and to get off the tourist track.
Thanks to Rakuten Travel you can find a lot of interesting and sometimes unique guided tours and activities all over Japan (and not only in Japan), that you would otherwise never be able to enjoy.
But there's more: on Rakuten Travel you can also buy tickets for several famous attractions, events, transportation and other useful services for tourists. Last but not least, you can reserve a table in hundreds of restaurants.

Some examples

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You can book unique and funny tours and activities, like driving around Tokyo or Osaka on a go-kart dressed as Super Mario, or dueling with real Sumo Wrestlers
You can learn about traditional Japan, for example by joining a tea ceremony in Kyoto or by attending a crash course on Japanese Calligraphy
You can reserve your table in a lot of cafes and restaurants, for example one of the legendary 3-star Michelin restaurants in Japan, or crazy cafes like a unique Owl Cafe in Tokyo or one of the many and nowadays worldwide famous maid cafes
...

Take a look at Rakuten Travel Experiences