14 Best Sights in Kobe, The Kansai Region

In 1995 the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake killed 6,433 people, leveled vast areas of the city, and destroyed much of the harbor. Using documentary footage and audio, an introductory film shows the frightening destruction of this modern city. A re-created postquake display and high-tech exhibits convey the sorrows and memories of the event. This excellent museum has English pamphlets and electronic guides, and English-speaking volunteers are on hand. It's a 10-minute walk from the South Exit of JR Nada Station, one stop east of JR San-no-miya Station.

Also known as Shirasagi-jo (White Egret Castle), Himeji Castle is visible as soon as you exit the train station. Universally beloved, it dazzles the city from atop a nearby hill. A visit to Himeji-jo could well be one of the high points of your trip to Japan, especially if you can manage to see the brilliantly lighted castle soaring above cherry blossoms or pine branches at night. Thanks to frequent rail service, it should be easy to hop off, visit the castle, and jump on another train two hours later.

Himeji-jo is regarded as medieval Japan's crowning achievement of castle design and construction. It arrived at its present state of perfection after many transformations, however. It was first a fortress in the year 1333 and was transformed into a castle in 1346. Radically enlarged by Terumasa Ikeda in the period 1601–10, it has remained essentially the same ever since, surviving numerous wars and—perhaps even more miraculously—never once falling victim to the scourge of fire.

The five-story, six-floor main donjon (stronghold) stands more than 100 feet high and is built into a 50-foot-high stone foundation. Surrounding this main donjon are three smaller ones; all four are connected by covered passageways. Attackers would have had to cross three moats, penetrate the outer walls, and then withstand withering attack from the four towers. It was an impregnable fortress then, and its grace and grand proportions still inspire awe. Filmmaker Akira Kurosawa used Himeji-jo's exterior and the castle's grounds in his brilliant 1985 movie Ran.

Free guided tours in English are usually available from volunteer guides, though they cannot be booked in advance; ask when you buy your entry ticket. Tours usually take 90 minutes.

This striking concrete edifice was designed by acclaimed architect Tadao Ando. Working primarily with concrete, Ando is known for his use of light and water, blending indoors and outdoors and utilizing flowing geometric paths. The permanent exhibit here features art from prominent 20th-century Japanese painters Ryohei Koiso and Heizo Kanayama, Kobe natives who specialized in Western techniques. The museum rotates its vast collection, displaying fantastic modern works from Japanese artists as well as sculptures by Henry Moore and Auguste Rodin. It also hosts international touring shows. It's a 10-minute walk from the South Exit of JR Nada Station, one stop east of JR San-no-miya Station.

Three cable cars scale Mt. Rokko, providing spectacular views of lush forests. If you think it's beautiful during the day, time your trip so you'll descend after dusk, when you can see the city lights twinkle against the black sea.

You can do this trip in a half day, but you may want a full day to explore the area. To get to Rokko-san, take the Hankyu Kobe Line from Hankyu San-no-miya Station to Hankyu Rokko Station (¥190). From there take a taxi or a bus to Rokko Cable-Shita Station. A funicular railway travels up the mountain to Rokko-sanjo Station (¥600). The spread-out summit area is home to various attractions including a viewing terrace, tea rooms, a botanical garden and even a snow park in the winter; the Rokko Sanjo Bus runs regularly between the various facilities (¥210 to ¥260).

The Japanese were already enjoying the thermal waters at Arima Onsen 有馬温泉 before the 7th century. Arima is on the north slope of Rokko-san and consists of a maze of tiny streets and traditional houses. Some 30 ryokan use the curative powers of the water to attract guests. Although the water gushes up freely from springs, some ryokan charge as much as ¥10,000 for use of their baths. Go instead to the public bath, Kin-no-Yu, in the center of the village near the bus terminal. Here ¥650 gets you a soak in the steaming waters. Kin-no-Yu is open daily 8 am to 10 pm (closed the second and fourth Tuesday of the month). Take the subway north from JR Shin-Kobe Station, transferring at Tanigami and ending at Arima Onsen (¥680).

If you're heading to Meriken Park, consider a short stop in Kobe's Chinatown. The area was originally a center for Chinese immigrants, though it is now mostly popular with Japanese tourists looking for souvenirs and food. To find Nankin-machi from Moto-machi Station, walk on the port side and enter the neighborhood through the large fake-marble gate.

This typically old-fashioned Western house was constructed in 1907 by an Englishman named Baker and served as a makeshift hospital during World War II. Now it's a house museum by day and an English pub by night. Antique baroque and Victorian furnishings dominate the interior, there are several downstairs bars, and a bottle of champagne rests in the bathtub. A classic black Jaguar in the driveway and an enormous moose head on the wall complete the English atmosphere.

Nada, one of Kobe's westernmost neighborhoods, is home to a number of museums and breweries—many offering free sake tasting. The most popular is the Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum, where at the door you'll find a sake barrel of immense proportions. Traditional tools and devices and life-size figures of traditionally clad brewers demonstrate the sake-brewing process. There are also videos in English. The tour ends with free tastings. It's a five-minute walk south from Hanshin Sumiyoshi Station. Brewery Museum tours are by reservation only, so be sure to call ahead at least a couple days in advance.

No trip to Kobe is complete without a waterside visit. Within Meriken Park broken slabs of thick concrete and crooked lightposts are preserved as part of the Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park. Across the grassy park the Kobe Maritime Museum's roofline of white metal poles, designed like the billowing sails of a tall ship, contrast beautifully with the crimson Port Tower. The top of the tower provides a 360-degree view of Kobe. A walkway connects to Harborland's outdoor shopping mall. Eat dinner at any of the restaurants on the waterfront and enjoy the stunning nighttime view. Nearby, a small Ferris wheel rotates lazily, the colors of its flashing lights bouncing off the sides of nearby ships. Meriken Park and Harborland are a 10-minute walk south of Moto-machi Station.

Legend has it that this shrine was founded by Empress Jingu in the 3rd century, making it one of Japan's oldest. An impressive orange torii (gate), rebuilt after the 1995 earthquake, stands amid the bustle of modern Kobe, welcoming tourists and religious observers alike. Every year two Noh plays, Ebira and Ikuta Atsumori, at Ikuta's Autumn Festival retell parts of the 12th-century Genpei War. It's just a six-minute walk northwest of San-no-miya Station.

This museum specializes in work from the 16th and 17th centuries, focusing on reciprocal cultural influences between East and West. The first floor has a variety of displays on the West's impact on Japan in the second half of the 17th century. Other exhibits document the influence of Western hairstyles for women and the arrival of electric and gas lamps. The museum also has an impressive collection of woodcuts, maps, and archaeological artifacts, as well as Namban-style art, namely prints, silkscreens, and paintings from the late 16th to 17th century, usually depicting foreigners in Japanese settings. The historical exhibits are fascinating, but it is the artwork from this period that is the real draw.

From San-no-miya Station, walk south on Flower Road to Higashi-Yuenchi Koen. Walk through the park to the Kobe Minato post office, across the street on the west side. Then head east along the street in front of the post office toward the Oriental Hotel. Turn left at the corner in front of the hotel, and the City Museum is in the old Bank of Tokyo building at the end of the block.

The Kobe Maritime Museum is the stunning building with a billowing roofline of metal sails. It showcases detailed ship models, opening with a 27-foot model of the HMS Rodney, the British flagship that led a 12-ship flotilla into Kobe Harbor on January 1, 1868. A model of the Oshoro Maru, one of Japan's earliest sailing ships, is adorned with pearls, rubies, gold, and silver. There are also displays of modern tankers. Kawasaki Good Times World is also inside the museum. High-tech displays and interactive models showcase the Kawasaki company's history. You can ride a helicopter flight simulator and see a robot work at a Rubik's Cube. Admission is included in the fee for the museum.

This is one of the few sake breweries open to tours (from January to November), which should be booked at least two days before to ensure an English-speaking guide. All of the signposting is in Japanese, but there's a fine shop.

In the hustle and bustle of this modern city, you wouldn't think that one of Japan's most impressive waterfalls would be just behind the train station. Nunobiki Falls has four gushing cascades in the forests of Mt. Rokko. References to their beauty have appeared in Japanese literature since the 10th century. They are a 20-minute walk from Shin-Kobe Station. After the falls you can pick up the Shin-Kobe Ropeway, which stops just above the falls before continuing on to the Nunobiki Herb Park. The stopping point provides a beautiful view of the city, especially at night. The signs leading you to the falls are in Japanese, but the ANA Crowne Plaza Hotel can provide English-language hiking maps.

More elaborate than any other Kobe ijinkan, this one, built by a German trader in 1910, stands out strikingly in red brick at the north end of Kitano-cho. The interior reflects various traditional German architectural styles, including that of a medieval castle. Its architecture makes this the most famous ijinkan, but the interiors are spartan, with few additional attractions.