All Day in Kobe, Japan?
 

I will be in Kyoto for 5-6 days at the end of this month and am putting the finishing touches on the itinerary. Initially I was planning on a day trip to Kobe mainly to visit a sake brewery or two (seeing as Nada ward is considered the birthplace of sake) and enjoy a decadent steak dinner. My question is - is it worth a day trip (~30min on a train each way) when Kyoto, Nara & Tokyo (all places we will be) all have sake breweries and wagyu beef restaurants?

All opinions, advice and especially experience appreciated!

Jazzy Kobe
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/engli...s20130417.html

Neighborhoods Reborn
http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/engli...s20140219.html

Best of NHK
http://bestofnhk.tv/
Scroll down on show menu to appropriate date
(This site has been a little fluky lately)

Japan Guide Kobe
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2159.html

JNTO Kobe
http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/r...ntralkobe.html

Bento.com Kobe
http://bento.com/kansai/index.html

I've never been to Kobe but hope to spend some time there, one to two days sounds about right.

I've collected these links in the meantime.
Tough to edit a trip to Japan , stay longer in one place or cover more ground is always a dilemma.
Please report back with a trip report and have a great time

Definitely a reasonable day trip and sounds like it would be worth it to you. Where better to visit a sake brewery that the birthplace of that industry? I am guessing that the Nada-ku breweries would be proud of and promote that distinction.

I've had wagyu beef: Hiroshima beef, Yonezawa beef, but not Kobe wagyu beef. I did see Kobe beef available at a restaurant in Gion, Kyoto and you could have it there and surely in Tokyo. If you are going to be in Kobe for sake then just get the beef there. Then, when you get home and tell people that you visited Kobe they will ask if you had Kobe beef and you will be able to give the right answer ;)

Kobe also has some unique Japanese history. I think you might find a different vibe in Kobe than Kyoto or Tokyo.

Now it's looking like an entire day might be in order. I'm a huge jazz fan so I'm going to check what time the last train back to Kyoto runs and see if I can hit a club after dinner, if the timing doesn't work out I'm taking that JAZZ CAB!

Good point on the "different vibe" some of our fav travel experiences have been when we got out of the main city area and day-tripped it (Lucca outside Florence, Tivoli outside Rome, etc.). A cablecar up Mt. Rokko looks great too.

That Mt Rokko ropeway was good. On another day, I might have thought it great. Nice view. I did find a great restaurant near the bottom. It is a nice view. You can walk down through a garden, herb garden, I think. Do it if you have the time. I would be interested in going to Arima Onsen.

We had planned to go to Kobe (and had booked an overnight there) but realised we wanted more time in Kyoto and Osaka, so we rejigged the itinerary at the last minute and cancelled. That's not because Kobe didn't still appeal but because I figured we would certainly be back and it could be pushed to the next trip.

For me, what appealed most were the Rokko mountain ropeway, the Nunobiki Herb Garden, the sake district and of course, seeking out kobe beef.

I had marvellous Hida beef in Takayama and was hoping for similar in Kobe.

Next time!!!

Lets hope for good weather - we leave a week from today!