The Kobe City Guides answer the questions every visitor brings: where to eat real Kobe beef without a shock at the bill, how to fit Kitano, the harbour and Mount Rokko into a short stay, which sake bars welcome first-timers and whether Himeji or the Arima baths suit your free day better. Each guide is a short, opinionated list with the reason to go, what to order or look for and one practical tip for every place, and it opens in your browser as soon as you pay.
About the Kobe City Guides
- 137 places
- 6 guides
- 13 languages
- Works offline
- Print or PDF
- Instant access
- Free updates
The six Kobe guides
Food guide
24 places
Kobe beef from the splurge counter to the cheap cutlet lunch, Chinatown snacks, sobameshi, old coffee houses and sake bars.
Things to do guide
24 places
The merchants’ houses and shrines of Kitano, four museums, harbour viewpoints and the parks, hot springs and outings around the city.
Family guide
22 places
A hill farm and hands-on animals, indoor play for wet days, flat harbour parks for pushchairs and meals children will actually eat.
Nightlife guide
21 places
Tiny sake and whisky bars, craft beer, jazz cellars and live houses, the night view from Mount Maya and food after the last round.
Day trips guide
22 places
The Suma and Maiko shore, Akashi and Awaji Island, the baths of Arima Onsen, Himeji Castle and the Nada sake breweries.
Budget guide
24 places
Free shrines, a waterfall and harbour walks, sake museums with free tastings, cheap museums and pork buns, croquettes and gyoza for small change.
Why an interactive guide beats a list
Tick places off
Mark each place as done and watch your progress, so you always know what is left.
Your own notes
Write notes on any place and add your own finds. They stay on your phone.
One tap to Maps
Every place opens in Google Maps, and the day route puts your picks in a sensible order.
Open now, near me
Filter by what is open right now or what is closest to you.
Works offline
Open the guide once with a connection and it keeps working without data.
Print it or save as PDF
On a computer, print any guide or save it as a PDF to take with you.
Three places from the guides
Hyōtan Sannomiya
Under the Hankyu tracks, Sannomiya
A narrow counter in the alley beside the railway that cooks gyoza and nothing else, served with Kobe’s sweet miso dip. You eat standing, it costs little and the trains rattle overhead. From the food guide.
Ikuta Shrine
Shimoyamate-dori, a 5-minute walk from Sannomiya
One of Japan’s oldest shrines, its roots said to reach back to 201 AD, and a calm, free pause between the shopping streets. The city even takes its name from it. From the things to do guide.
Himeji Castle
Himeji, 15 min walk from Himeji Station
The best-kept original castle in the country, a huge white keep on its hill an hour west of Kobe. Give it about two hours and expect to carry your shoes in a bag inside. From the day trips guide.
Plan your days in Kobe
Day one: start uphill in Kitano with the old houses and shrines, walk down to Nankinmachi for street snacks and reach the harbour as the lights come on, with dinner from the food guide. Day two: take the train to Himeji Castle or over the mountain to the Arima baths, then pick a jazz cellar or sake bar from the nightlife guide. On a rainy or slow day, pair the earthquake museum with the free sake brewery museums in Nada and a long breakfast in an old coffee house.
Questions about the Kobe guides
What do the Kobe City Guides include?
Six guides with 137 places in total: food, things to do, family, nightlife, day trips and budget. For every place you get the reason to go, the area, notes on opening days and one practical tip.
How do I receive the guides once I have paid?
The links appear on your order page as soon as the payment goes through, and again in your order email. They open in any browser on a phone or laptop, with no app and no account.
Can I use the Kobe guides without mobile data?
Yes. Open each guide once while online and it keeps working offline, ticks and notes included. Only the map links need a connection.
Which languages are the guides available in?
The guides open in English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Greek, Polish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Arabic. You can switch the language inside the guide at any time.
Do I have to buy all six guides?
No. One guide costs €4.99, two cost €8.99, four cost €15.99 and the full set of six costs €19.99.
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