An easy day trip from Osaka or Kyoto is the city of Kobe. Now, how much of the city you want to see and how much time you want to spend at each place is really up to you. We actually took it a little easy. After continuous long days of travel, we decided to just focus on one area in Kobe.
Kitano-cho
We focused our sightseeing efforts on the Kitano-cho area. It is an interesting area to walk around and enjoy seeing how historic houses with influences from different parts of the world blend together seamlessly to create a beautiful neighbourhood. Mixed in with the beautiful houses are cute shops that sell amazing niche products.
The roads in the neighbourhood do have steep slopes. So, please wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to walk (speed does not matter… just enjoy the atmosphere).
Kitano Shinto Shrine
The roads will eventually lead you to the Kitano Shinto Shrine. It is located at a height where you can view the city below and the views are spectacular!
The shrine itself is a Shinto shrine and it is beautiful. Because you have to climb many stairs to get to the shrine, you will not find many people there.
After spending some time here, we headed back down to the Kitano-cho area and after grabbing lunch headed back to Osaka and called it a day.
In all, we spent about half a day exploring this part of Kobe.
Note: Kobe is very well known for its unique cuisine… unfortunately, we did not stay around long enough to try. There is always next time!
Wandering Tales Travel Dreams 