Dispatch from Kobe 

Every time I mention Kobe to someone who hasn’t been to Japan, they always reply, “Oh yeah, that place where Japanese beef is from?” While marbled Kobe beef might have been the first speciality wagyu that we non-Japanese heard about, it’s not the only wagyu in town. Today there are over 150 specialty types of beef in Japan, with regional specialities stretching from Kyushu to Hokkaido. But so common was Kobe beef in the 1990s and 2000s that it became erroneously interchangeable with the word wagyu, which simply means Japanese cattle. (Wa being the word for Japanese, and gyu for beef.) 

And just as there is much more to wagyu than Kobe, there’s so much more to Kobe than beef. The relaxed and modern port city of 1.5 million—Japan’s 7th largest—was one of the first cities in Japan to open up to international trade in the 1800s. This crossfire with both Western and Chinese cultures has dramatically influenced Kobe’s architecture, food, culture and lifestyle. For Japanese, a visit to Kobe is a chance to experience western and foreign culture in Japan, much like say NYC’s Chinatown or London’s Little India. While the enclave of foreign culture doesn’t entirely capture Kobe’s vibes, the openness to foreign ideas is part of what makes it so different. That said, it also remains a bastion of traditional Japanese craftsmanship skill, carpentry, and even cooperage, since sake brewing is so prized in Kobe.  

I’d been to Kobe three or four times in the last decade for quick one-night visits, and to be honest I liked it, but was overwhelmed by its relentless urban landscape that you can see stretching all the way to Osaka, just 20 miles away. It wasn’t until my most recent visit that I had an a-ha moment and understood Kobe’s deeper appeal: its unique geographic location and access to a serious wild side. Kobe city sits on a long flat plain between the verdant and steep Rokko Mountains and the Seto Inland Sea. It’s the capital of the dragon-shaped Hyogo Prefecture, one of the few prefectures that stretches across all of Honshu with coasts on both the Sea of Japan—where crab comes from—and the more mild inland Seto Sea areas, home to cattle grazing areas, Awaji Onions, black beans, Sanho pepper and chestnuts. It also stretches between some very touristed areas of Japan—Kyoto, Osaka and the Art Islands, to name a few. But it’s Kobe’s proximity to these two seas and the mountains that makes it and surrounding Hyogo prefecture so different and special. 

What’s more, the area’s mineral rich hard water is not volcanic like most of Japan’s, but comes from an abduction zone 80 kilometers deep offshore. And the steep green Roko mountains are responsible for the region’s prized soft water, which yields fantastic tofu and excellent locally brewed sake—some of Japan’s best, in my opinion—including the rarefied cult favorite of taruzake, sake aged in cedar casks. 

The preservation of these precious water sources has also created a network of green spaces across the prefecture, many of which are especially easy to reach, which is not the case in big cities like Tokyo and Osaka. If you need a quick break from city life, just walk to the incredible waterfall nature trail just behind Kobe Station, or hop on the zipline-like ropeway cable car that whisks you from the urban concrete over an emerald-green mystical forest in 12 minutes. Roadtrippers can make their way out of the city in 10 minutes on the snake-like switchback roads climbing to the mountains, reminiscent of LA’s Mulholland Drive. It’s this instant access to nature that really spoke to me on my last visit to Kobe. Having both the variety of a city and the physical and mental health benefits of nature is something many modern cities have been striving to achieve, and it’s been hiding in Kobe all this time. It just took me a few visits to finally see it.

Eating and Drinking in Kobe

Kobe Chinatown, Kobe – Also known as Nankinmachi, Kobe’s Chinatown reflects its past and ongoing trade with China and home to a large Chinese population and a rich mix of Chinese restaurants, grocery stores, and street food stalls selling everything classics like stinky tofu, bubble tea, and Bao buns with some Japanese items like strawberry skewers and scallop croquettes. 

Uontana Fish Market, Akashi – Fish markets have become so touristy in Japan, but this retro, 350-meter-long shōtengai, a covered shopping street in Akashi—located 15 miles southwest of the city—is worth the trek. 100 vendors hawk local seafood specialities like akashiyaki, eggy octopus balls, not to mention sushi, sashimi, red sea bream rice bowls, dried fish and fish paste.

Matsunoya, Kobe – This elegant and especially friendly kaiseki restaurant opened in 1917 and is run by the same family. Expect ornate classics like chawanmushi, tempura of matsutake mushroom with local sancho pepper, finished by local chestnut-based desserts. 

Kobe Plaisir, Kobe – You can find Kobe beef everywhere in Kobe, but this is one of the classic go-tos beloved by beef lovers. It serves up premium cuts of Kobe beef, raw, grilled on a teppanyaki or a charcoal grill, and fresh sides of Hyogo produce, like sweet Awaji Island onions, bird-friendly Hyogo rice and greens and lettuce from the Seto Sea. 

Robata no Ganso Shushi Oozeki , Kobe – This convivial robata is legendary with locals, and a great place to study the cooking of the chefs, all female, who kneel on pads while grilling and plating up dishes of eggplant, fish, mushrooms and meat to a lively crowd. 

Kobe Shushinkan Sake Brewery, Kobe – This sake brewery, restaurant and tasting room is on the outskirts of town, in the Higashinada Ward, home to many sake breweries, but worth the trek. It nabbed the Gold Prize in the International SAKE Challenge 2017 for its Junmai Ginjo Fukuju, which was even served at the Nobel Prize banquet that same year.

Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum, Kobe – If you want to learn more about the making of sake, this informative museum and brewery is a great place to start. Don’t miss their excellent taruzake, sake brewed in cedar casks and sold in lightweight PET bottles for easy transport back home. 

Kiku-Masamune Sake Brewery Museum, Kobe – Founded in 1659, this brewery and museum present the story of sake’s origins, and also has a great expression of sakes to sample. 

Sone Jazz Club, Kobe – This cozy, dim Showa-era jazz club is a great place to nurse a highball while listening to some local jazz acts. It’s been around since 1969 and fills up on weekends. 

Hotels

Kobe Kitano Hotel, Kobe – This elegant western style hotel is a throwback to Kobe’s international past, with rich wood armoires and period furnishings from the 19th-century. Its French fusion restaurant is legendary, while the western breakfast served up the hill at Kobe Kitano Terrace is downright lavish with a spread of juices, pastry, and fruits that is almost as staggering as the epic city and sea views. 

Peanuts Hotel, Kobe – This affordable, tiny 18-room hotel right in the city center is a hit with Peanuts character lovers, with walls decorated with Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and even a themed breakfast featuring the characters in edible form. 

Tocen Goshoboh, Arima Onsen – This 6th-generation ryokan is famed for its rare non-volcanic salt-rich kinsen (gold colored) onsen fed from a mineral rich subduction zone that has a salt concentration 2 times greater than seawater. The water contains seven of the nine minerals officially designated as healing, while delicious kaiseki meals include Kobe wagyu sukiyaki, with sansho pepper, a local Arima speciality, and locally brewed taruzake, aromatic Hyogo sake aged in cedar casks.

Nishimuraya, Kinosaki – Cross the width of Hyogo Prefecture for a getaway to the charming seaside 8th-century onsen town of Kinosaki, home to this excellent ryokan perched on the willow-lined Otani-gawa River. The town’s seven tattoo-friendly onsen each have their own individual appeal, and draw onsen hopping locals in yukata robes and wooden geta sandals. Celebrating its 165th birthday in 2025, the hotel has two properties, the newer Shogetsutei, and the older Honkan, with 27 rooms built in the Sukiya style modeled after tea houses, with wooden terraces, sliding screens, and big windows facing Japanese gardens.

Nature

Nunobiki Falls – Right behind Shin-Kobe station is this short 15-minute trail to one of Japan’s three sacred waterfalls, with two secondary waterfalls, Ontaki and Meotodaki, cascading down the mountains over a few different lookouts. At the top is a quiet sun-kissed bench on a platform, where you can sit and let the waterfall mist your face. 

Mt. Rokkō Snow Park – Kobe’s ski area is ideal for beginners, with a ski school, gear rentals, and a half kilometer of piste, plus three lifts, including one exclusively reserved for sledding. In summer, the piste is converted to hiking trails. 

Rokko-Arima Ropeway  – This incredibly scenic and magnificent 12-minute glide over the evergreens and cascading waterfalls of the steep Rokko Mountains is just a 15 minutes drive from Kobe city center and brings you to Arima Onsen, a secluded but bustling mountain village teeming with artisan shops, restaurants and onsen. 

Tenjo-ji – High in the Rokko Mountains above Kobe sits this serene Shingo Buddhist temple founded in 646 with numerous frog statues peppered across its manicured grounds. But hit it during October butterfly migration season, as I did, to witness numerous Chestnut Tiger butterflies beginning their long autumn journey to Taiwan.

Sights in Kobe

Ikuta Jinja – Kobe’s major shrine is believed to be one of the oldest in Japan dating back to 210. It’s dedicated to Wakahirume, the goddess of weaving who is said to be good at making connections—both business and romantic.

Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum – Anyone interested in the design and craftsmanship of Japanese woodworking will be in heaven at the rambling museum of Japanese wood joint technology, with a variety of lectures, seminars, hands-on classes and exhibitions on ancient tools and the woodwork made by them. 

Kitano Ijinkan-Gai – Travel back to 18th-century Japan at Kobe Kitano Ijinkan, a warren of old brick residences just a 15-minute walk from Shin-Kobe Station and filled with coffee shops, boutiques, and bakeries.

Kobe Port Tower – It’s hard to miss this iconic skyscraper shooting up from the port in Merikan Park and offering panoramic views of the harbour and cityscape stretching all the way to Osaka, and the green mountains in the hinterland.

Kobe Earthquake Memorial Museum and Park  – This is a tribute to the 1995 Great Kobe Earthquake that took the lives of over 5,000 residents.