Hyōgo Prefecture · Japan
Where to stay in Kobe
Kobe is a city in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, home to about 1,522,000 people. This guide covers 5 hotels in Kobe.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 5
- Nearest airport
- UKB7 km · Kobe Airport
- Currency
- JPYyen
- Time zone
- Asia/Tokyo
- Language
- Japanese
About
About Kobe
Kobe, officially Kobe City, is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama.
A cosmopolitan port city with an international flavor, hemmed in by Mt. Rokko, Kōbe is often ranked as the best place for expatriates to live in Japan. The city has a population of over 1.5 million people (2019). A port in what would become Kōbe was established as a concession to western powers in 1868, during the time when Japan was opening to the world. Nagasaki and Yokohama had already begun serving foreign ships nine years earlier.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Kobe
See
Kobe's main attraction for the Japanese is its concentration of Western-style houses, some dating back to the days when Kobe was opened for foreign trade in 1868. Europeans who grew up in similar scenery may find them less fascinating.
- Kitano Ijinkan
- Kyu-kyoryuchi
- Chinatown
- Kobe Overseas Chinese History Museum
- Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
- Kobe Maritime Museum
- Tetsujin 28 statue
- Weathercock House
- Kobe Port Tower
- Observation deck on the 24th Floor of Kobe City Hall
- Sawa-no-Tsuru Museum
- Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum
Do
- MOSAIC
- Mount Rokko
- Nunobiki Falls
- Meriken Park
- Fruit Flower Park
- Sōraku-en Garden
- Nunobiki Herb Garden
- Oji Zoo
- Kobe Luminarie
- Kobe Collection
- Kobe Jazz Street
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Kobe
5 places to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
Where to stay
Which part of Kobe to stay in
Kōbe has a wide variety of accommodation, ranging from love hotels near Shin-Kobe to luxury hotels by the waterfront. If you're looking for cheaper alternatives, ask at the tourist information office in Sannomiya station (they speak English). If you don't find a hotel, Osaka is only 20 minutes away on the JR line for ¥390.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
More hotels in Kobe
33 hotels within 25 km of the centre, as recorded in Wikidata. Each name links to its encyclopedia article where there is one.
| Hotel | Opened | From centre |
|---|---|---|
| Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel | 1995 | 1.3 km |
| Kobe Portopia Hotel | 1981 | 3.3 km |
| Oriental Hotel Plan-Do-See | 1870 | 0.3 km |
| Shin Kobe Oriental City | 1988 | 1.6 km |
| Hotel Okura Kobe Hotel Okura | 1989 | 1.0 km |
| Hotel La Suite Kobe Harborland | 1.3 km | |
| Hotel Pearl City Kobe | 1991 | 3.1 km |
| Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel & Towers Hotel New Awaji | 1992 | 6.8 km |
| Kobe Kitano Hotel | 1992 | 1.1 km |
| Sannomiya Terminal Hotel | 0.5 km | |
| Hôtel de Maya | 1957 | 5.4 km |
| Hotel Konigs-Krone Kobe Konigs-Krone | 0.3 km | |
| Hotel Monterey Kobe Hotel Monterey | 0.7 km | |
| Hotel Piena Kobe | 1.0 km | |
| Kobe PortTower Hotel Abest Corporation | 1970 | 1.1 km |
| ホテルシェレナ | 1986 | 1.6 km |
| Ana Crowne Plaza Kobe | 1.7 km | |
| Ariston Hotel Kobe | 3.0 km | |
| Brenza Hotel | 0.5 km | |
| Candeo Hotels Kobe Torroad | 0.5 km | |
| Comfort Hotel Kobe Sannomiya | 0.6 km | |
| Daiwa Roynet Hotel Kobe Sannomiya | 0.4 km | |
| Harbourland Onsen Manyo No Yu | 1.8 km | |
| Hotel Crown Palais Kobe | 1.9 km | |
| Hotel Isago Kobe | 1.8 km | |
| Hotel Monte Hermana Kobe Amalie | 0.7 km | |
| Hotel Plaza Kobe | 6.9 km | |
| Hotel Trusty Kobe Kyukyoryuchi | 0.3 km | |
| Kobe Luminous Hotel Sannomiya | 0.1 km | |
| Kobe Minato Onsen Ren | 0.9 km | |
| Sotetsu Fresa Inn Kobe Sannomiya | 0.6 km | |
| the b Kobe | 0.6 km | |
| Toyoko Inn Kobe Sannomiya No.2 | 0.6 km |
When to go
The best time to visit Kobe
Kobe has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; June is the wettest, with about 198 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Kobe: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kobe Airport (UKB), about 6.9 km from the city centre in a straight line; Osaka Itami International Airport (ITM, 25 km) and Kansai International Airport (KIX, 30 km) are also within reach.
Getting around
If you are planning to travel beyond city limits you might want to consider using the Kansai Thru Pass.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
UKB · Kobe Airport
ITM · Osaka Itami International Airport
KIX · Kansai International Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Kobe
Eat
Kobe has many restaurants offering international cuisine. Kōbe is known worldwide for its Kobe beef, exquisitely marbled, very fatty and very expensive beef. Recommended for a splurge, but expect to pay close to ¥10,000 per 100 grams. At the opposite end of the culinary spectrum is sobameshi (そば飯), a concoction of fried rice and noodles mixed together, which is cheap, filling and pretty much unique to Kobe. For dessert lovers, Kobe is also famous among the Japanese for its cheesecakes. Cheap eats can be found in Kōbe's Chinatown (Nankinmachi in Japanese), walking distance from Sannomiya station.
Drink
Kobe is Japan's largest center of sake production and you can sample fresh brews at the many sake breweries open to the public in the Nada district. Kobe's specialty are tachinomiya, literally stand-and-drink bars.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Questions
Kobe: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Kobe?
Kobe has no month that is both mild and dry by the measure used here. August is the warmest month, with average highs of 32 °C; June is the wettest, with about 198 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Kobe?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Kobe Airport (UKB), about 6.9 km from the city centre in a straight line; Osaka Itami International Airport (ITM, 25 km) and Kansai International Airport (KIX, 30 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Kobe?
yen (JPY).
Nearby
Destinations near Kobe
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.