Kobe 1 Day

Hi All,

My friends and I will be heading to Japan in the fall and as part of our trip we are going to be in Kobe for 1 night and 1 day. (yes I wish it was more, but we are balancing out what everyone wants to see and if we really like it we can come back on another trip). Planning to arrive in Kobe around 3pm - 6pm on Wednesday evening and have all day Thursday. At 7:30pm Thursday we are going to take the Hikari train to Kyoto (last 30 min train ride to Kyoto for the evening with JR Pass).

Top item: The Shi-Kobe Ropeway, but I would also like to do the hike. Is it better to hike up or down? I know one of the girls in my group as asking if we could hike down and take the ropeway up.
At the observation desk there is mention of a cafe and restaurant. Has anyone ever been? What kind of food is there? Is it a good place for either lunch or dinner?
For late October is it better to hike in the morning or afternoon?
Can I get tickets at the top for the ropeway going down or do they need to be purchased at the base?

My friends and I would also like to see a few other things around Kobe if there is time
1.Kobe Chinatown
2. Sorakuen Garden (is this worth seeing? We have been to Kokoen garden & Genkyuen Garden) Figured might walk thru on our way to Chinatown.

Thank you all for your help!

I'm sorry to hear that your Google is broken. However, simply look at the upper right of this page. See where it says, "Destinations?" There is extensive information about the Kobe Ropeway.

So, I did use the site to look up the information before asking anything. Did anyone have anything helpful to add?
Is Kobe worth stopping at? Most of the posts just talk Kobe beef, but don't really touch on the places to see.

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2159.html

There is fourteen locations in the following link. And all are more than just touched on.

IF you cannot find anything that appeals to you from that fourteen locations, then I think that answers your question whether Kobe is worth a stop or not.

Top item: The Shi-Kobe Ropeway, but I would also like to do the hike.

Shin-Kobe ropeway is very convenient, but if you want to hike, you might better consider Rokko cable car.

https://www.rokkosan.com/en/cable/
https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3557.html

It takes you to higher place (735 m above the sea level, Shin-Kobe ropeway is 400 m) and there are much to see and do (hike) in the Mt Rokko area.

Frog1954 Thank you so much! Very helpful!

Just a quick comment about transportation - if you're coming from central Kobe (Sannomiya station), it will take around 46 minutes to get to Kyoto Station via Shinkansen (since you have to travel to Shin-Kobe to catch the Shinkansen), and around 52 minutes via an ordinary express train (for around 1000 yen without a JR Pass, or free with one). So you don't have to stress out about catching that last Shinkansen at 7:30pm.

I love Kobe, and it's definitely worth a visit. Some personal recommendations....

- Sake museums - there are three major sake museums plus several small working breweries, so you can put together a DIY walking tour of the sake neighborhood, or just visit the big places: http://bento.com/phgal-sake1.html

- Kobe Animal Kingdom - sort of a cross between a petting zoo, a regular zoo and an animal cafe, where you can feed the kangaroos and pet the capybaras and see trained birds: http://animalcafes.com/v/25525.html

- under the train tracks between Sannomiya and Motomachi stations there's an old-fashioned shopping arcade that's fun to explore. (Motomachi is where Chinatown starts.) And Chinatown and the Motomachi area are nice to wander around in.

Thank you Umami Dearest. All three of those sound amazing! I love that you can feed and pet the animals at Kobe Animal Kingdom. So exciting!
Thank you so much for your suggestions! I am excited to add Sake museums , Kobe Animal Kingdom, and Motomachi to our group's Kobe plan.
Thank you for your help.

Oops, I just noticed that Kobe Animal Kingdom is closed on Thursdays, so you might want to head there Wednesday afternoon if you arrive in time. (Last entry is at 6:30pm on Wednesday, and I think they're open for another hour or so after that.) Sorry about that.