Kobe Travel Guide: What to do in Kobe, Japan

Last Updated on October 29, 2023

Japan has been on my travel bucket list for ages, and in October Nick and I finally had a chance to visit.

Our Japanese adventure lasted two and a half weeks, and our itinerary consisted of Fukuoka, Hiroshima, Kobe, Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. Visiting this many cities gave us a fantastic overview of Japan, and the many things that it had to offer.

Nick planned our itinerary, and at the time neither of us knew anything about Kobe. However, it turned out to be a place that we were both grateful we visited, especially me, as it turned out to be my favourite destination of all the Japanese cities we visited.

Kobe’s weather was perfect, there were many attractions to visit, and like the other places we saw in Japan, the people were friendly and helped us in any way that they could.

We stayed at Hotel La Suite Kobe Harborland, which was in the perfect location, situated right on Harborland, which was the reason why I loved Kobe so much. It was saturated with shops, restaurants, and entertainment options.

Just a 15 minute walk from Harborland is Meriken Park, which has many areas to sit and relax, and where you can see many different sculptures and fountains. Located at Merikan Park are other attractions including Kawasaki Good Times World, Kobe Maritime Museum, and Kobe Port Tower.

Nick really wanted to go to Kawasaki Good Times World, so being a good sport I went with him. I didn’t think I’d enjoy it, but I actually did. I learnt a lot about the products that Kawasaki make, which included trains, aircraft, tunnel borers, jet skis, ships, and motorbikes.

Located in the same building as Kawasaki Good Times World is Kobe Maritime Museum, where we learnt about Kobe’s shipping history, and the role the Port plays.

Whilst here we also went to the top of the Port Tower, where we were lucky enough to see amazing views of the city.

On our second day in Kobe we went to Sannomiya Centre Gai Shopping Street, an area consisting of covered and non-covered shops, cafés, and restaurants. It could have taken us most of the day to walk around it and take it all in.

Plus, being the sweet tooth that I am, I especially loved the smell of cakes, waffles, and pancakes that was coming from the many shops selling them.

13 minutes on foot from Sannomiya Centre Gai Shopping Street, is Kobe’s Chinatown area called Nankinmachi. Here is where we found many shops, restaurants, and food stands selling everything from steam buns, ramen, rice, fried food, and drinks. We shared a pork bun here, which was soft and so doughy.

When we go anywhere Nick loves to walk, so we walked to Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Ropeway from Nankinmachi, which took us about 30 minutes. These gardens are Japan’s largest, and there are 14 areas to explore. We didn’t get around to all of the different areas, but made sure we saw the glasshouse, and surrounding sculptures. These gardens were the perfect escape from the bustling shopping areas, and the cable car we took to get there gave us the perfect cityscape view.

After the Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Ropeway, we walked for about 12 minutes until we stumbled across an older area of Japan called Kitano-chō. Here we saw some very large houses, boutique shops, food stalls, and the Kitano Tenman Shrine.

It didn’t take long to walk around Kitano-chō, but it was a lovely walk, the area is so pretty, and it presented us with a perfect chance to see a different side of Kobe.

In terms of food, Kobe is where Nick and I were lucky enough to have one of the best meals we’ve had on our travels, which was Kobe Steak at Sandaya Steakhouse at Harborland.

Kobe is known for Kobe beef, so there was no denying that we were going to try this dish whilst in Kobe.

We had a five course meal at this restaurant and every dish was amazing and so well presented Our courses included a meat antipasto dish with salad, tomato and vegetable soup, Kobe beef with rice, potatoes, onion, and cabbage, and a chocolate brownie with ice cream and mandarin.

I would go back to Kobe in a heartbeat. There was nothing that I didn’t like about this city. It was easy to see everything we needed to see by foot, there were a lot of shopping opportunities, and the Harborland has something for everyone.

If you’d like to read posts on other Asian cities I’ve visited then please visit my Asia travels page. Or, if you’d like to read posts I’ve written on other places then please visit this travel page.

Do you have any Kobe recommendations?