Kobe : Why this was My Favourite Japanese City?
Good morning from Kobe, Japan. After eventful night exploring Kobe City, it is now time to see how it looks like in the daylight. And I started my tour early at 700 a.m. alone checking it out because the family does not do early mornings unless it is a flight. And this is the sounds when I get away from the cricket. Just morning traffic in a very quiet and calm Kobe city. The plan this morning is to map out the city before we do our official sightseeing a bit later today. Good morning from Kobe. So, I’m up early. It’s around 7:00 now and uh we got 5 hours before flying to our next destination. So, I thought I will go and check out the city while Nola is sleeping. And you know what? Last night I had a early dinner. Let’s say two dinners before 7:00. So, this morning I woke up a little bit hungry because it was really small dinners. And I tell you what, walking around Colby and watching all of this It’s closed. And let’s take another look here. More meat, more problems because all of the shops look so oshi, which means delicious in Japanese. But it is actually closed. It doesn’t open till 9:00 and right now it’s 7:00. So yeah, I’m going to just go out for a walk, check it out what’s available to see in Kobe. And the reason I’m doing it so early and alone is basically it’s not hot right now. It’s hot, but it ain’t hot like it does get later in the afternoon. It’s actually quite calm, comfortable right now. So, I’m going to go check out the city, what it has to offer, and then I’m going to find some food and get back to the hotel. But let’s go and see what KBY has to offer. See you in a moment. A animal cafe. I’m going to have to come back to that animal cafe in a moment. But let me show you this. My hotel is 5 minutes from the shrine in that direction. So this shrine is 1,800 years old and it is one of the main attractions in Kobe. Okay, so this place is popular for matchmaking and finding love. So maybe Netflix’s unseamer is coming here soon for Indian matchmaking. I’m not looking for love at the shrines or doing any matchmaking. But to all my single friends, Abibi, come to Kobe. Japan tourism, you’re welcome. Now, let’s get back to the shrine and see how big this place is because I am just using Google map as my reference so far. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. This place is right next to the city. That is the gate to the shrine and it is absolutely close to the city to the hotel around 5 minutes walk from here. So, that was really convenient. And I’m going to go a bit further behind the shrine. And I think I got a mountain to climb. Yeah, I’m going to confirm that in a moment. This beautiful pink lotus was a pleasant surprise, and I do look forward to come back to Japan between March and early April for the cherry blossom season. But for now, I will enjoy the lotus. Going around the shrines, you will notice dragons. These dragons are there for guardianship and protection and also bring power and good fortune. This is a very rare experience walking through a Tory gate towards the shrine when it’s all empty absent from other tourists. So I was enjoying this experience a lot. Wow. Wow. I mean, I’ve been uh looking forward to find a place that has all the pillars like this, and it is absolutely crowded with tourists all over the other places, and this is just all to myself. Absolutely amazing. Enjoyed it. We’ll come back for a photo shoot later. This is just a morning scouting tour. There is a large hill behind the shrine and a huge forest as well. So, what I’m going to do next is climb up the hill, go to some of the smaller shrines, and see what else is in the forest. Okay, getting this footage means climbing steep hills. It’s not fun, but it needs to get done. So, yeah, just climbing this hill to see what’s on the other side. Okay. Okay. I’ve made it to the Kitano Chenman Shrine. There’s a bit of a walk, but uh this area is actually got homes that resemble European style designs. Let me show you. Heat. Heat. Got to climb those stairs. Got to climb those stairs. It’s a bit of a workout this morning. Didn’t plan that, but at least it’s not filthy hot. So, let’s uh let me see if I can get the lizard on screen. Just a moment. All right, the lizard that lizard was way too fast. All right, we’re almost there. So, the background noise with the crickets has been muted down to 10%, but it’s still extremely loud as you can hear. This shrine sits right on the edge of the forest, and you can go deeper into the forest, which I recommend you probably ask some local guys and authorities before you do that because a morning walk can become a hike very fast, like it has for me over here, and I’m doing this without water or snacks. So do the research before venturing into the forest. There was a lot of stairs. More stairs. While I was climbing all the stairs, the temperature was also rising. You know, it was getting a bit hotter and I found myself exercising a little bit of precaution because I am uncertain as to how big this shrine is and how deep and higher it goes into the mountain. So, after observing the ox monument at the shrine, which is a type of messenger for the Tanzin, I decided to wrap it up over here after checking this area out and move forward to the next location or probably back to the hotel. There’s a lot of different stations here to place blessings and receive good fortune and luck. And that is a rep. We are just finishing at the shrine and going to head to the next location. But before I go there, I just want to say in a moment of reflection. It is so much more enjoyable to be in these places alone without the hundreds and hundreds herds of tourists that often accompany a shrine or any tourist location in Japan at least the big cities like Theoto Osaka Tokyo. So uh this has been quite relaxing. Even the crickets are getting relaxed now with my frequency. But the point being this is 2 kilometers away from my hotel. I’m going to start walking because those crickets are quite loud. They’re competing with my voice here. But yeah, this place is 2 km away from the hotel. It did involve about 400 m going uphill, climbing some stairs, but it’s totally worth it. As you can see, just me and the crickets. No one else is here. And it’s got a good view of the city as well, which I’m going to turn the camera around in a moment. But yeah, it is worth visiting the smaller cities in Japan like the Japanese government is recommending and Japan tourism. Visit the smaller cities because it’s got less tourists and you get to see Japan. in a better way without fighting. Not necessarily fighting but just uh navigating through those herds and herds of tourists which is not fun. So anyway, that was my moment of reflection around visiting the smaller cities because it is so so worth it. But now I got to get to the next location. So see you in a moment. Navigating my way around Kobe is rather easy, and Google Map is very compatible and accurate here. The paths are rather narrow, but don’t worry, everything is labeled very well with arrows and the actual distance, so you can’t get lost unless you go off path, but that’s a different video. On the way back to my hotel, I saw this nature themed hotel, which is rather nice. But now back to our hotel. Are you having your favorite drink? Yes. What do you like about this drink? What’s up with the funny face? Okay, don’t spit it out. Don’t spit it out. Enjoy. What is it? Kyoto lemonade. Most of the hotels we went to in Japan have a automated check-in and checkout system, so you don’t really need to speak to anyone. Everything is scannable and easy to use. We checked out and left our luggage to go explore the city further with the family. Back to the shrine and I could actually tell Nicola that it’s a very short walk since I’ve done it early in the morning. How is it, Nicola? This is a statue in the garden. This is that classic lotus flower port. What you’re not seeing is I’m kneedeep in one of those lakes. beautiful with the cloud. I have returned to this place now and it is hot. It’s um 11:00, a lot hotter than it was at 7:00 in the morning. A lot more tourists as I mentioned, but because I’ve scouted it out, uh it’s much easier to bring Nicola here. Uh during peak hours, I know what to expect. Done it, experienced it, and that experience makes the whole trip much easier second time around. All right, now for some Kobe beef. How’s your water station? All right. Got all our goodies here. Yep. Okay, so this is the same place I saw in the morning that was advertising Wagu beef and Kobe beef. And I was looking forward to have a nice dinner before getting to the airport. And oh my god, it did not disappoint. This place was absolutely amazing. And shout out to the guy who was sitting next to me helping me with the grilling machine. Hang on. I’m going to Yeah, it’s so easy. I love the concept here of ordering all this beautiful meat and just grilling it by herself. An absolute delight and I enjoyed this. Oh yes, this is amazing. Amazing. Nicholas was a bit worried I was going to burn the meat, but anyway, the meat over here was absolutely great. Enjoyed my lunch and now off to the airport. So, see you in the next episode as we make our way to Kobe airport and fly further to Okinawa.
Kobe: The Japan Travel Hack for Geniuses (Why We All Deserve Less Crowd-Shame)
We’ve been lied to. We’re told Osaka is “fun” and Kyoto is “culture.” But what if both are just wildly overrated Chaos Zones?
Introducing Kobe: The elegant, walkable, “I’m not fighting 7,000 tourists for a photo” solution. It’s got all the quality (hello, authentic Kobe Beef) but none of the existential crowd-anxiety.
In this day edition video, we prove why this coastal gem—a true secret weapon of the Kansai region—is the peak performance choice for travelers.
🚀 Part 1: https://youtu.be/k2hbIxaMBDs
☀️ Part 2: The Day Vibe (Beef, Boats, and Blessings)
🥩 Kobe Beef: The Real Deal: Why fight for a reservation in Osaka when you can eat the absolute, certified legend in its actual hometown? We discuss the glorious difference.
🥂The Quick Culture Fix: We visit Ikuta Jinja Shrine, a beautiful, ancient spot right downtown. You get your history/culture points without a three-hour commute into the wilderness.
🇪🇺The European Side-Quest: Explore Kitano-cho, the unique historic district where 19th-century European mansions sit right next to downtown. A total palate cleanser.
Stop validating the crowd. Come to Kobe.
#JapanTravel #KobeBeef #TravelHacks #KyotoCrowds
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