We didn’t make it to Kobe on our last trip to Japan, though it is less than an hour by train from Osaka. We got close when we went to the Hanshin Tigers baseball game, whose stadium is in Koshien, just outside of Kobe. So this time, we decided we should definitely make it over to Kobe and definitely try some Kobe beef. As we started looking into what to do there, it became clear there was enough to warrant an overnight trip so I booked us a room with credit card points at the same brand of hotel we’d had in Nagano, the Tokyu REI. I didn’t do a review but I definitely recommend it.

We wanted to arrive early since we’d be starting with a hike, which is always more pleasant with fewer people around. So we left Osaka around 7:00 a.m It took us about an hour on fairly crowded trains with one transfer. We stored most of our stuff in a coin locker at Sannomiya Station then took the Kobe Metro up to Shin-Kobe station. The entrance to the hiking area is just behind the train station and is well-marked. The hike is pretty much all uphill, but nicely treed and very pleasant. We started our ascent a little before 9 and there were not many people out. It was really very peaceful and really made us feel immersed in nature despite being on the edge of the city. Our hike took us past all four of the waterfalls that make up Nunobiki Falls. They were all quite impressive and photogenic.

At the top of the hiking area is the entrance to the Kobe Herb Gardens. We arrived about 9:45 so had a little time to wait before they opened at 10. Then it was more uphill walking but in a garden setting rather than forest. We took some time near the lower entrance to relax on some hammocks and admire the bay before walking the rest of the way up to the top of the herb gardens. The more we went up, the more people there were because most use the Kobe Nunobiki Ropeway rather than walking up. You can take the ropeway to the top part of the gardens and walk down to where we entered where there is another ropeway station to take people back to the bottom. 

We decided to take the ropeway from the top back down to Shin-Kobe station. It was a little pricey at 1400 yen ($10) each but it was fun and provided great views. There wasn’t anyone else leaving from the top so we had the car to ourselves. From the bottom of the hill, we had about a 20-minute walk through the city back to Sannomiya Station to retrieve our stuff and another 15-minutes or so to our hotel. Our room wasn’t ready since it was only 12 p.m., but we were able to leave our bags and then relaxed with a cocktail at the rooftop café next door. Then we walked around Chinatown until our 1:30 p.m. lunch reservation. Kobe has the largest Chinatown in Japan outside of Tokyo and it is a big tourist draw. 

Of course, the big attraction and claim to fame of Kobe is Kobe beef. In the tiny bit of research I did into steakhouses, I found one called Red One with an amazing set lunch deal, which had to be reserved in advance. With our reservation being late on a Monday, the restaurant was pretty empty but the service was great and we really enjoyed trying the Kobe beef in all the courses. It started with steak sushi, then a salad with truly amazing roast beef, then a beef soup, then the main course – a small steak with rice and vegetables – followed by a cute dessert plate with a fluffy cheesecake bit and ice cream. When they brought the main course, they brought their special certification trophy showing it was real Kobe beef and at the end of the meal we were given little business-card certificates saying we had tried A-5 Kobe beef (the highest grade). We spent about $75 on lunch including two glasses of wine and two beers, which felt like a really great deal. 

We followed up our lunch by taking the train out to the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum. Kobe is a hub for sake and there are many breweries that do tours in the eastern part of town. This museum was the best reviewed for English speakers because the displays have text in English and Japanese and it uses several videos that all have English subtitles. The museum is free and was very well done. We learned a lot about sake, both historic production and current methods. We tried a few samples in the gift shop including a yuzu (sour citrus fruit) sake that we liked so much we purchased a bottle to bring home. We also bought a couple of little bottles, including one with a World Expo theme that we enjoyed later in our room.

We rested for a while in our hotel room with plans to try all the fun street foods we’d noticed walking around Chinatown earlier. Though our late lunch had five courses, the portion sizes were pretty small so we were hungry by about 7. Unfortunately, many of the places had closed for the day at 6. However, enough were still open that we got a satisfying mix of Chinese street food – a Peking duck wrap, pork bao bun, and a shrimp croquette. It wasn’t a full meal, but definitely a good snack. 

We walked from Chinatown to the Kobe City Hall, which has a free Observatory Lobby on the 24th floor. We enjoyed the view of the port, mountains, and city lights. Then we walked down to the port area. We capped off our night with dinner at a very local-feeling teppanyaki (grill restaurant), enjoying some edamame, gyoza (grilled dumplings), and squid okonomiyaki (grilled cabbage “pancake”).

The next morning, we had a very good Japanese breakfast at our hotel, though not quite the level we experienced in Nagano. We packed up our stuff and stored it at the front desk again while we went to the Kobe Maritime Museum. The museum was very interesting with a good mix of information about ships, shipping, and the history of the Kobe port area, which we had been curious about. We even got to play at unloading shipping containers! Kobe port has been the busiest in the world at times, so it’s great they have the museum to honor that history.

We were pretty touristed out at that point so picked up our stuff and headed on back to Osaka. We could have stayed to try the street foods we missed for lunch (Kobe’s Chinatown is especially known for soup dumplings) and/or visited the historic foreigner houses in the Kitano Ijinkan-Gai neighborhood, another well-known Kobe attraction, but we’d really had more than enough food, fun, and information from what we’d done already. 

Kobe was a great overnight trip and we were so glad we made the time for it. We’ll never forget trying Kobe beef – it was a very special experience.