Kobe

Hi
I have read forums about Kobe. It seems everyone who is going to Kobe seems to be interested the beef. Is there anything else to do in Kobe than eating beef and visiting shrines. Does Kobe have outlets or other interesting things to do?

Hi Jen
Kobe as you know was largely destroyed in the 1995 earthquake so the museums on that are really worth a visit. I enjoy the cable car
ride near my hotel at Shin Kobe as well and it is a beautiful view just before dark but only if no smog.
Shopping is also a plus as
it's mostly within easy walking distance of train stations.
This Oct I walked to the harbour which took 30 minutes at easy pace downhill. I also wanted to see the big bridge further south but arrived to late.
Pity maybe next year.
Check out the Kobe city net site and JNTO site etc before
deciding. Oh and I did not eat any steak while there.
(my second time)
Kiwi

Interesting things like outlets or shrine? Outlets, Shopping streets are going to be the same everywhere, Except for local products in the area. Yes , I enjoyed shopping in Sannomiya and Motomachi Shotengai. If you can take a short train ride to Himeji Castle and Mt Shosha for a day. You won't regret it!

Kobe is a good location (to stay or to go visit) for Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and any other cities close by. It's a harbor city stretches along shoreline and mountains surrounds on other side. Just take a train ride to wherever you want to go from Kobe and you get there in jiffy. We like Kobe because of it's location; it's near the ocean with clean air and it's a quiet smaller city and also easier to get around. We also enjoy the view of the harbor from the hotel and being able to walk out from the hotel right to the harbor to get some exercise or walks in.
Not to mentioned there are many nice interesting places in Kobe to visit, just search around on websites.
Kobe was largely influenced by the foreign settlers in the years past so many history there within local people.
There are museums (of foreign settlers and natives), Arima hot spring, Sake brewery, great shopping places..etc.
Kobe I find aside from Kobe beef has some of the best tasting bakery anywhere in Japan (influenced by the foreign settlers years ago).
We've taken trips to Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Iwakuni and other areas near those from Kobe.
We saw Kobe in 1999 four years after the earthquake and were there in 1994 a year before earthquake. The city looked almost unaffected by the earthquake by the time we saw it in 1999. A few building was still going thru construction but that was about it. Hotel Okura by the harbor was unaffected by the earthquake which is near the damaged bridge. Now days Kobe doesn't look like anything happened there at all, it was rebuilt rather quickly in my opinion.
http://www.city.kobe.jp/index-e.html
http://feel-kobe.jp/english/sightseeing/index.html

There are some shrines dates goes back as 9th century. Suma.

I remember you on some other Kobe threads last year when I visited. Did you get to try Kobe Portopia Hotel Buffet, With their Kobe Beef?

I must correct the myth that Kobe was "largely destroyed" by the 1995 earthquake. Only some parts where but most of it wasn't. I was there just before the quake and was back again a few months later and did remember many buildings all over the place and was relieved that they were still there. I also watched something like 20 hrs worth of videos taken during the quake and have books of photos taken at the time. Because of my background in construction I also can gauge the age of a building. It is fairly obvious, for example, when walking in the alleys right under the JR tracks by Sannomiya but also 1/2 mile east of it that both the tracks and the buildings underneath are fairly old. There are also many buildings all over the place , both old private houses and famous buildings, that weren't touched or barely. Mount Rokko and the towns of Arima and Takarazuka are worth a visit, along with the Kitano district. there are also beautiful gardens and sake factories. I also find pretty much every shrine I see very interesting. I wouldn't dream of going to a factory outlet so I can't help you on that.. I have been to Kobe many times in the past 10 years alone and was there last week and I find Kobe a great place to stay when exploring the Kansai.

----Did you get to try Kobe Portopia Hotel Buffet, With their Kobe Beef?-----

No we haven't been there, we thought about staying there as well but it's sort of out there on the water acrosss the bridge, that's the one where you can take the monorail is that correct?
We will eventually. did you say the Kobe beef at that buffet is good?

Yes, I remember talking to taxi drivers to local merchants about how they were affected by the earthquake and one driver said he lost a place (his parents house burned down) but the rest said just minor damage to the building, a big crack in the wall of their apartment buildings etc. Most of them I think didn't want to talk too much about it but they each politely told me about it. The department store I went to appeared unaffected.

Yes CC, A friend of mine went to that buffet last year on his honeymoon. You have to take the Port Liner to get there, and Make reservations. He said it was worth it! Just have to get there before the tour groups. This thread is so great! CC and Plant... Have shared some great info! Arigato! I'd like to add to this... In Kobe, The next street towards the train station along Motomachi Shotengai(The Start) Is a Place called Chau Chau. It is a chain, But some of the best Gyoza I have ever had. Further down the street is a famous Yakiniku place, Iwasaki. It is only opened in the evening. Not a fancy place, But Shichirin and buckets of Charcoal everywhere. Nice Kim Chee, and Reasonable. When I went back to my hotel, The guys told me, Iwasaki is a famous place in Kobe.. I'll take my friends there in about 2 weeks!

Hi
I have read forums about Kobe. It seems everyone who is going to Kobe seems to be interested the beef. Is there anything else to do in Kobe than eating beef and visiting shrines. Does Kobe have outlets or other interesting things to do?

My guidebook mentions:

+ a lively Chinatown
+ Kitano-cho (Meiji period houses in an international community, many open for the public, today a fashionable district)
+ Arima Onsen is nearby.

There is a museum on the earthquake as well:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3555.html

Thanks Mitsuo for the list of information on good eating places in Kobe. I'm taking note for our future trip there coming next year.
Kobe is full of good places to eat even at the hotels.
It's no wonder many Japanese go there to get away.

sorry to sound picky but the 2 rapid transit systems (the Portliner and the Rokko liner)going from dowtown Kobe to various artificial islands aren't monorails but automated (no driver) guided transit systems with wheels (with rubber tires) that run on 2 parallel concrete tracks. Monorails run on top or below a single beam. very different systems. unfortunately guidebooks popular in North America confuse these different systems. This might seems a minor details but we should all strive to be factual in anything as there are already far too many mistakes on the Internet as it is.

Thanks for this explanation Plant, I thought those trasit systems are a little different than the monorails.. been on it to that fashion island place with friends who showed us around there once...there were all business buildings.
Can't recall what those transit rails were called other than monorail in top of my head.

Don't worry.. I made that mistake many times too until I started getting interested in various transit sytems in various countries (isn't Japan transit great?) the guilty parties are the guidebooks like Lonely Planet, Rough guide, Frommers etc that do not do their homework. Obviously this makes some, if not most, of their info rather suspect.

I don't rely too much on those foreign guide books for travel in Japan though I rely on my friends and ralatives in Japan at times nor study transit systems, I just ride it. I also gather info from magazine vacation guide books they sale in Japan, it's all about travel places of onsen etc but you have to be able to read it in Japanese.

Much Aloha.

sell not sale...hahah