Why Kobe Is Japan’s BEST Kept Secret 🇯🇵 | Our Favorite City!

Why Kobe Is Japan’s BEST Kept Secret 🇯🇵 | Our Favorite City!

Welcome back to our channel. After an unforgettable time showing my sister around Japan, it’s just the two of us again. And this time, we’re in the beautiful port city of Kov, which is only 30 minutes away from Osaka. And it’s a city with mountain views, harbor, a beautiful one at that, and a surprising amount of hidden gems. So, let’s dive into what you can do if you ever go to Coobe. [Music] It’s really hot today, so you know that spring is in full effect. Uh, it’s 22° outside Celsius, but it it feels like it’s like 35 or something. We want to go to the ropeway. Supposedly, it has a very good view to the whole of the city. So, of course, we had to check it out for uh for, you know, research purposes, but Oh, god. That was like a huge freaking bug. Oh god. But yeah, let’s go. Yeah. Yeah. It takes you above the city and into the herb garden, which is honestly one of the most relaxing places in Kov. [Music] Over 75,000 herbs and flowers bloom here throughout the season, so it’s super beautiful. The round trip ticket is around 1,800 for adults. So many flowers. It is spring. [Music] You also have some food at top. And most importantly, we also found a cafe at the herb garden that had some amazing desserts. We tried a cheesecake that had mochi on top of it that was delicious. [Music] [Music] Oh, butterfly pretty. And you get to also buy herbs there. So, you can buy little and craft your own like uh fragrance. Yeah. It’s a strange concept, but yeah. Once we got back down, we stopped at Ikit Shrine, which is one of Japan’s oldest Shinto shrines, dating back to the 3rd century. It’s dedicated to the goddess of Wakahu Mikoto, and it’s a popular spot for love fortunes. The entry is also free, so it’s always nice. [Music] is a peaceful park that also has very moving memorials for the earthquake victims. It’s a perfect day as well for you to really feel the heart and soul of Coobe. It is so strange because we don’t see this in Portugal at all, but there’s so many families, so many people like friends, groups of friends just chilling in the park, a picnic, having a picnic, having a picnic, kids playing football and games. Like, we don’t see this that much in Portugal anymore. It used to be common when we were kids, but now no one gets out and our country actually has a great weather. So, it’s really fun to see that kids actually go out and play. Yeah. People sleeping, bringing tents, like what? We then of course had to also go to the Kov City Museum, which has everything from ancient Japanese artifacts to 16th century western maps. It’s a fascinating blend. Fun fact, Kov was actually one of the first Japanese ports opened to the world in 1868. So the museum captures that east meets west vibe perfectly. Looks so cool. So nice. Kobe Chinatown or nanki machi. This is one of the only three Chinatowns in Japan and it’s packed with food stalls, souvenirs, and yeah, panda everything. Make sure you also bring cash for all the street food because most of the vendors don’t accept cards. blasphemy go. Good. Is it good? Is it good? Good. Yes. [Music] Once we ate a little bit, we still wanted to explore a little bit more of Coobe. So, we went towards the port area. We wanted something a little bit different. So, we went to Atoa, which is Kov’s Art and Aquarium Fusion Space. The name Ata actually comes from aquarium with art, and it opened in late 2021. Tickets here go for around 2,400 yen for adults. [Music] [Music] [Music] up in the fourth floor after you go through the whole museum and aquarium. And you can also collect stamps by the way. Ask for a stamp booklet at the ticket office as well. It’s 500 yen. And you get memorabilia, of course. On the fourth floor, you actually have a beautiful view of the port of Coobe and the Coobe Tower as well at the port. So you can see the whole thing from there up there. And when you go down, you also have an area here to eat called Toothark, which has a lot of places to eat. And it all looks very delicious. So I think we probably will come back here. I don’t know why, but this place like reminds me of south of Spain or Italy. I don’t know why. More prettier. But yeah, but more prettier and cleaner. Yeah. Once you continue throughout the port area, you’ll also see the Coobe Earthquake Memorial Museum, which is heavy, but it’s a very important landmark here in Coobe. It documents a devastating 1995 Great Hunchin Earthquake and how the city actually rebuilt itself. It’s a very important reminder of Japanese resilience. Once you continue on, you’ll start seeing the Coobe Port Tower as well in the distance. Then you can go and visit the area around it, which is the Medicanin Park, which is super chill and artsy. It also has a Coobe sign where you can take some pictures at. [Music] The Kobe Port tower is shaped like a tsunami, which is a traditional Japanese drum, and it lights up so beautiful at night. The turret itself costs around 700 yen for you to go up and also has a barn up top. [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] We still ventured out to the Harborland and strolled a little bit until we finally got hungry and we found a little spot called Coobe Beef Steak Noble US near Sanomia. Their Coobe beef hamburger steak was super good and that’s probably the one thing that we definitely recommend in this place if you get to come here. But since you’re in Coobe, you have a ton of restaurants that serve Coobe beef. So, you can’t really go wrong here. Lunch sets here normally start from 2,000 to 3,000 yen. It was a a good experience. With a good experience. The hamburger uh was absolutely delicious. Do recommend that one. They have a bunch of restaurants with co beef. So, it’s always a little bit like a hit or miss situation. I feel so far. Coobe. It’s surprising. It’s surprising. Yeah. The harbor part of Coobe is absolutely beautiful. Yeah. [Music] If you also get the chance to go to the tooth mark, which is very close to Atoa, please do. We had some lunch here, and it’s a very cool, stylish food court inside the Harbor Studio building. [Music] We of course had to go back to the Harborland for some extra food and we made a really quick stop at a matcha house in Harland itself which has amazing matcha lattes and the soft serve here is absolutely delicious. Matcha is very bitter and it has a very earthy flavor. It’s perfect to cleanse your palette after a meal as well. [Music] [Music] first try. [Music] The last stop as well that we did was Sarakuan Garden, which is a traditional Japanese landscape garden right in the heart of Koo. It’s super amazing how it’s so calm and so quiet, even in the middle of a huge city. It features a former diplomat’s western style residence and even a relocated Edo period boat house. The entry is around 300 yen for adults. You have skyscrapers all around and then just a tranquil garden just in the middle of the city. It has a restaurant here as well. Like so cool, so nice. I hope I don’t fall though because scared. I can do it. And just like that, we ended our stay in Kov. I think it was one of our favorite cities so far in Japan. But now we’re off to Himei. And on the way there, we also discovered something unexpected. I’m excited. Like, subscribe, comment, ring that bell for notifications, and follow us on our socials. Let us know. Leave us a comment. Let us know what you think about the videos. Let us know what you think about the photos, what you think about everything. Yeah. See you later, guys. See you see you in the next video. Kobe is definitely a must. If you’re coming from Osaka, please don’t skip it. And now, let’s go into the next adventure. See you there. Bye. [Music]

Kobe, Japan completely surprised us with its unique mix of modern city life and scenic bay views. During our visit, we explored the vibrant bay area, took in the panoramic sights from the iconic Kobe Port Tower, and wandered through the beautiful Kobe Herb Garden. The city has so many layers, from serene spots like Ikuta Shrine to immersive experiences at AtoA and the City Museum.

We also got a taste of local culture and history, visiting Chinatown, the Earthquake Memorial, and the Toothmart. Every corner of Kobe felt alive with stories waiting to be discovered, making it a city full of contrasts and surprises. Of course, no trip would be complete without the world-famous Kobe beef, a true highlight.

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0:00 – Welcome!
0:31 – Kobe Herb Garden
2:46 – Ikuta Shrine
3:17 – Higashi Yuenchi
4:12 – Kobe City Museum
4:36 – Kobe Chinatown
5:27 – Àtoa
7:36 – Kobe Earthquake Memorial
7:57 – Meriken Park and Kobe Port Tower
9:11 – Harborland
9:28 – Kobe Beef Restaurant
10:21 – Toothmart
10:59 – More of Harborland, food and fun
12:00 – Sorakuen Garden
12:50 – Thank you for watching!

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