Roger and Stephen in Singapore: Kobe

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

Kobe

Kobe is the fifth-largest city in Japan, and is a short train ride from nearby Osaka. Kobe is popular on cruise ships itineraries as it is such a cosmopolitan port city. While the 1995 earthquake diminished much of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth busiest container port. The city itself has been rebuilt with stricter building codes to withstand earthquakes. The area is also known for its prized Kobe beef and many of the restaurants in the area serve the beef. Kobe is an easy city to get around and the city tourist bus stops at the most frequented sightseeing spots.
Not far from the main train station from Osaka is the Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens and Ropeway. The gardens are set in the side of a mountain and contain over 75,000 herb and flowering plants. The gardens are reached by traveling up in a cable car which also gives you spectacular views over Kobe. Also nearby is the Nunobiki no Taki Waterfall which was certainly worth the climb up the narrow stairs to see.
Kobe was very popular with wealthy foreign traders and diplomats in the early 1900s. The expats built European styled houses in an area called Kitano-Cho. About twenty of the houses have been preserved and restored. This area is still a very fashionable place to live and shop today.
The Kitano Tenmangu Shrine is popular for students to come and pray for good exam results as the shrine is dedicated to a scholar.
Kobe also has a very large and vibrant Chinatown which is popular with locals for the many food stalls on offer.