If you mention Japan, many people’s first thoughts may be the most famous cities such as Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Although these are all great places to visit with their own unique charms, there are many other great cities in this country that are well worth a visit. Kobe is an underrated city, great for…

Most people who visit the Kansai region go to Osaka for the food and shopping, or to Kyoto and Nara for the temples and traditional culture. However, roughly an hour and a half away from these prefectures, you can actually visit a paradise with a panoramic view of Osaka Bay, natural scenery, and excellent hot…

Kobe is a great multicultural city in proximity to other megacities such as Osaka that needs to be covered when you are in the Kansai region. It has many fantastic places to visit, including castles, temples, modern buildings, parks, and whatnot. However, if you are looking for a relaxing day watching animals, these are the…

Sake (酒) is one of Japan’s most well-known products, and it is famous throughout the world. Understandably, many visitors to Japan are eager to try Japanese rice wine for themselves. However, sometimes it can be hard to know where to begin; I came to Japan knowing nothing about how sake is made or which brands…

Kobe University is one of the leading national universities located in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. In the region of Kansai, it is referred to as Shindai (from another reading of the first of Kobe’s kanji 神戸 and 大学, daigaku or university). Kobe University is an institution of efficient learning. Are you looking for a place to…

When disaster strikes, there’s nothing left to do but gather your strength and start life all over again. This is a situation reminiscent of the Great Hanshin Earthquake in Kobe last 1995. To symbolize this strength, a 59-foot statue was built in full scale and has been called Tatsujin-28. It is also believed to guard…

Osaka is the third largest city in Japan after Tokyo and Yokohama and is well known for its street food, friendly locals, unusual dialect, and a huge amount of comedians. This city was visited by over nine million tourists in 2016, and it is easy to see why. As well as being a city where…

The Southern city of Kobe has long been known for its diversity due to its overseas settlers from centuries ago. Kobe has churches, mosques and temples of different beliefs. The Kobe Mosque is one of the biggest mosques in Japan. There are also a Gurudwara (Sikhs’ holy place) and a Jain temple near by the…

Kobe Chinatown is also known as 南京町 (Nankinmachi), translated as Nanjing Town from Chinese. The town is located only a 3-minute walk from Motomachi Station, Kobe. You can get to this station from Osaka by taking either the JR Tokaido-Sanyo Line or the JR Kobe Line Hanshin train from Umeda Station (this takes around 40-50…

In Japan when winter comes around lots of people enjoy heading to the slopes around Japan for a spot of skiing or snowboarding. There are famous ski resorts all over the country in mountainous areas such as Hokkaido, Nagano and Shiga where experienced skiers and snowboarders can hit the slopes in spectacular surroundings. If you…