By Train in Kobe

The Hikari Shinkansen runs between Tokyo and Shin-Kobe Station in about 3½ hours. If you don't have a JR Pass, the fare is ¥14,470. The trip between Osaka Station and Kobe's San-no-miya Station takes 20 minutes on the JR Tokaido Line rapid train, which leaves at 15-minute intervals throughout the day; without a JR Pass the fare is ¥390. The Hankyu and Hanshin private lines run between Osaka and Kobe for ¥310.

Within Kobe, Japan Rail and the Hankyu and Hanshin lines run parallel from east to west and are easy to negotiate. San-no-miya and Moto-machi are the principal downtown stations. Purchase tickets from a vending machine; you surrender them upon passing through the turnstile at your destination station. Fares depend on your destination.