Cheap things to do in Kobe
Street food, jazz bars and a bridge walk, Kobe on the cheap
Kobe rewards the budget traveller more than almost any Japanese port city. You can graze through Chinatown for lunch money, catch live jazz for the price of a couple of drinks, and reach one of Japan's great night views on a bus fare. These three days are for anyone who'd rather eat standing at a counter under the train tracks than sit down somewhere pricey.
Day 1: Chinatown, shrines and gyoza
Day one plants you in central Chuo Ward for street food grazing, an ancient shrine forest and a standing gyoza bar where dinner costs less than a coffee back home.
- 9:30 AM
Rond Sucré Cafe Rond sucré cafe（ロンシュクレカフェ）
Patisserie café near Motomachi; one coffee and a pastry before you graze through Chinatown.
Map - 10:15 AM
Nankinmachi (Kobe Chinatown)
Wander one of Japan's three great Chinatowns, graze on street pork buns, sesame dumplings and gyoza for next to nothing.
Map - 12:30 PM
Hakusan Okonomiyaki
Order sobameshi, chopped yakisoba and rice fried together on the griddle, at this cheap Sannomiya counter.
Map - 2:00 PM
Ikuta Shrine & Ikuta-no-Mori
Ancient shrine tucked in a forest five minutes from Sannomiya, try the mizu-mikuji water fortune that reveals itself when dipped.
Map - 7:30 PM
Hyotan
Kobe-style gyoza with miso sauce instead of soy at a standing bar under the tracks, ¥400 a plate, seriously cheap dinner.
Map - 9:30 PM
Sone Jazz Bar
Kobe's jazz institution: nightly sets, cover plus drinks, peaks during October Jazz Street.
Map
Day 2: Kitano hills and Kobe beef ramen
Walk the foreign merchant quarter for free, ride up to a hillside herb garden and end the night with a panoramic city view and a bowl of ramen that won't hurt your wallet.
- 9:30 AM
Nishimura Coffee
Founded 1948, proper wood-panelled Kobe coffee-house culture, grab a coffee and a cake to start the morning right.
Map - 10:30 AM
Kitano Ijinkan-gai (Foreign Residences)
Stroll the stone streets past 12+ preserved foreign merchant mansions, Weathercock House and more, mostly free to wander outside.
Map - 12:30 PM
Steakland Kobe-kan
Teppan lunch sets near Sannomiya; the plain wagyu set is the cheap order, certified Kobe beef costs far more.
Map - 2:00 PM
Kobe Nunobiki Herb Garden 神戸布引ハーブ公園
Ride the ropeway up to terraced herb gardens with the whole city and bay below; the ticket includes entry.
Map - 7:30 PM
Mount Maya & Kikuseidai Night View
Kikuseidai's night view over Kobe and the bay; cars run late only on Fri, Sat and holiday eves, so plan for those.
Map - 8:30 PM
Kobe beef Ramen Yazawa
Rich beef-bone ramen topped with slices of Kobe beef, the cheapest way to taste it in Sannomiya.
Map
Day 3: Akashi fish street to Maiko
Akashi Castle's turrets, akashiyaki at Uonotana, the Sun Yat-sen pavilion, the Maiko Marine Promenade, sunset in Maiko Park and dinner at La Shomon.
- 10:00 AM
Akashi Park and Akashi Castle turrets
Akashi Castle's two original 1620s turrets stand on stone walls by the station; the park is free.
Map - 12:00 PM
Uonotana (魚の棚商店街)
Akashi's 400-year-old covered fish street; a plate of akashiyaki in warm dashi costs a few hundred yen.
Map - 2:00 PM
Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall 孫文記念館（移情閣）
Octagonal 1915 pavilion by the bridge, now a museum of Sun Yat-sen's ties to Kobe; closed Mondays.
Map - 3:00 PM
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge Maiko Marine Promenade
Walk the glass-floored walkway 47 m above the Akashi Strait, tucked under the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge deck.
Map - 4:15 PM
Maiko Park 舞子公園
Watch Awaji Island and the bridge turn gold at sunset; the bridge cables light up after dark.
Map - 6:30 PM
La Shomon
Charcoal-grilled meat and wine bar a minute from JR Tarumi on the ride home; dinner from 16:00.
Map
Where to stay
Comfort Hotel Era Kobe Sannomiya
The cheapest sleep in the lineup, a short walk from Sannomiya station and everything on days one and two.
Kobe Kua House
Another budget-rate option right by Sannomiya, good access to both the Chuo Ward days and the Maiko train on day three.
Make Kobe your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
Get Swearby on the App StoreBefore you go
Book ahead
- Kobe Port Tower: weeks ahead
- Bridge World: weeks ahead
- Kobe Suma Sea World: weeks ahead
- Mouriya Honten: weeks ahead
- Kobe Beef Steak Ishida: weeks ahead
- Wakkoqu: weeks ahead
Skip these
- Street stalls and generic spots using the Kobe beef name loosely are not serving certified Kobe beef.
- Lunch sets are 30 to 50 percent cheaper than dinner for the same beef grades.
- Harborland mall is a mall. The waterfront walk is the attraction, not the shopping.
- Do not confuse atoa on the central waterfront with Kobe Suma Sea World in the west.
The full Kobe travel guide: when to go, safety, getting around