Kobe, Nara, Kyoto

Hey guys

i want to go to Kobe, Nara and Kyoto. i was wondering which order i should do them. Do i have to spend at least a day in each city? or is it possible to do 2 cities in one day?

It depends on your preference and to what extent you want to see in these cities. Basically, however, Kobe and Nara need 1 day each and Kyoto needs more. As for Kobe, you can combine it with Himeji, though.

Honestly I never found much worth doing or seeing in Kobe. I do plan on going there for a sake brewery tour on my next trip, but I have 4 weeks to fill. If I only had 3 days I would skip Kobe entirely.

Nara is a good place to visit, but if I had to choose with a 3-day limit I would spend all 3 days in Kyoto. That is just me though... don't get me wrong, Nara is still very much worth seeing. It is just that Kyoto has so many things to offer there is no way you can squeeze it all into one day.

Another poster mentioned combining Himeji with Kobe. Himeji is a great place to visit if you want to see a good example of a castle. I agree that you could combine these two places inside of one day.

You could probably also get away with spending half a day in Nara, then moving on to Kyoto. The things in Nara I consider a "must" are Todaiji and the National Museum. There is also a walking tour (Naramachi) that sounds interesting, but I haven't joined it.

I guess it really depends on what specific sites you want to see. I suggest looking around on this site and others, make a list of all the things you want to see in Kyoto, Nara, and Kobe (and maybe Himeji). Decide which things you want to see the most and you will have your answer on where to spend your time. If you can't decide between certain sites, people are always glad to give you their opinions and experiences in the forums.

(a Kyoto tip... don't waste your time with the Imperial Palace tour. Nijo Castle is worth seeing though)

I've done Kobe, Nara, Himeji and Kyoto. If I had only 3 days, I would just do kyoto. I just went to Kobe for the Kobe beef and Chinatown area. I did not care for Nara. Lots of walking for a couple of shrines. Plenty of shrines in Kyoto and lots to do in Kyoto.

I have visited Kobe 7 times so far and use it as my base when visiting the Kansai. There are lots of interesting things for those who take the time to find out about them.

When I went to Western Japan for the first time last month I took a lot of things into consideration. First, the weather, but I lucked out and got perfect skies on each day. Kobe is the farthest; also in that area is Himeji. At night (around 5 p.m.) you will have plenty of free time, so I would receommend Potoncho or Gion in Kyoto. Also, Osaka is very good at night in Namba, aview from the Uemda Sky Building is also a good idea.