{"id":3823,"date":"2019-10-18T14:30:33","date_gmt":"2019-10-18T05:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/how-to-see-kobe-on-a-budget\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T11:34:44","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T02:34:44","slug":"how-to-see-kobe-on-a-budget","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/how-to-see-kobe-on-a-budget\/","title":{"rendered":"How to See Kobe on a Budget"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Traveling around Japan can be expensive, but it\u2019s still possible to visit any city in the country if you\u2019re on a budget. Kobe is no exception. It\u2019s easy to reach Kobe from Osaka or any other city in Kansai and there\u2019s plenty to do once you get there for almost no money.<\/p>\n<h2>Shinto Shrines<\/h2>\n<p>If you\u2019ve already spent some time in Japan, you\u2019ll know that shrines are everywhere and that each has something unique to offer. There are several stunning shrines in Kobe that you can visit for free:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Ikuta \u2014 The most famous shrine in Kobe and one of the oldest shrines in the country, Ikuta is located in the middle of the city, surrounded by modernity.<\/li>\n<li>Kitano Tenman Jinja \u2014 Head to the top of Kitano Tenman Jinja for panoramic views of the city below.<\/li>\n<li>Minatogawa \u2014 One of the Fifteen Shrines of the Kenmu Restoration, Minatogawa is dedicated to military commander Kusunoki Masashige.<\/li>\n<li>Kusumoto Inari \u2014 The red torii gates leading up to the entrance of Kusumoto Inari make this shrine a site to see.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Chinatown<\/h2>\n<p>Kobe has one of the largest Chinatowns in the country. Called Nankinmachi, it has hundreds of shops and restaurants giving you plenty to explore for at least an hour or two. Make sure to visit all the top attractions, including the temple to Guan Yu and both Seian-mon Gate (in the West) and Choan-mon Gate (in the East). Nankinmachi is also a great place to eat if you\u2019re looking to try something different. Just bear in mind that you\u2019ll spend much less if you buy from a food stand instead of going to a sit-down restaurant.<\/p>\n<h2>Meriken Park<\/h2>\n<p>Close to Chinatown is Meriken Park, which is also free to enter. Right on the waterfront, it has interesting structures, including the Kobe Tower and Bell of Hortensia. Most importantly, there is the Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial on Meriken Pier, which shows how the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Great_Hanshin_earthquake\">Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake<\/a> damaged the breakwater. It also gives people a place to remember the victims of the natural disaster.<\/p>\n<h2>Mount Maya<\/h2>\n<p>Just one of several peaks in the Rokko mountain range, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tripadvisor.com\/Attraction_Review-g14127422-d1384609-Reviews-Mt_Maya-Nada_Kobe_Hyogo_Prefecture_Kinki.html\">Mount Maya<\/a> is a top choice for viewing Kobe from above. Many people take the ropeway up, but if you\u2019re looking to save money (and you\u2019re up for some exercise), a better option is to hike up. If you don\u2019t have the time or energy to make it to the top (it takes between three and five hours), at least visit Nunobiki Falls. These impressive waterfalls are right by the first station on the ropeway.<\/p>\n<h2>Kitano-cho Foreigners Town<\/h2>\n<p>In the mid-19th century, Kobe opened to foreign trade. Merchants were allowed to stay in a neighborhood called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.japan.travel\/en\/spot\/1044\/\">Kitano-cho<\/a>. Walk around the area to see the former mansions in European architecture. Unless you have a particular interest in any of the buildings, there\u2019s no need to enter.<\/p>\n<p>The choice for things to do in Kobe is pretty much endless even if you do have limited funds. Whether you want to see the sights, soak in the culture, or get some exercise, there\u2019s at least enough to do for one full day.<\/p>\n<p>DVMG [<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/3.0\">CC BY 3.0<\/a>], <a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Ikuta_Shrine_-_panoramio_(1).jpg\">via Wikimedia Commons<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Traveling around Japan can be expensive, but it\u2019s still possible to visit any city in the country if you\u2019re on a budget. Kobe is no exception. It\u2019s easy to reach Kobe from Osaka or any other city in Kansai and there\u2019s plenty to do once you get there for almost no money. Shinto Shrines If [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3824,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[165,85,104],"tags":[72,74],"class_list":["post-3823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-kobe","category-miscellaneous","category-temples-shrines","tag-hyogo-prefecture","tag-kobe-city"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3823"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50436,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3823\/revisions\/50436"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}