Kobe City's Best Gems - Private Shore Excursion from Kobe Port
Description
A private tour - to maintain the unique energy of your group. Have any special interests or requests? We can add it into your Kobe experience...just let us know. A Great Mix of the Old & New of Kobe City... oh yeah! You will have a fluent English Speaking local guide. Spend time enjoying the city, (and not spending time getting lost in train stations or lost in translation)....another Oh yeah! Once you have booked your experience, we will be in touch with you within 48-hours to plan your personalized experience, and finalize our meeting point. For tours less than 48-hours, we will contact you sooner.
Tour Options
Itinerary
One of the two most popular shrines in Kobe City. It is a shrine, and for this one, it is more muted... without the famous orange/red every where. Very popular for many different important celebrations for locals.
We will be passing through Harbor land and Meriken Park. This is a beautiful port area for both locals and travelers alike. In Meriken there are many eateries and shops to browse.
The place where locals love to shop. Closer to Daimaru store, the shops are more so cosmopolitan, and going towards the Kobe Station side, you see a mix of new, and old (many generations owned stores).
China Town nestled on the side of Motomachi. You will feel like you are in a totally different area from when you step into this street. You feel like you are not even in Japan anymore.
One of two most popular shrines in Kobe City. Vibrant colors, old history, and getting to this shrine is fun because you go through the entertainment part of Kobe.
What OTHER INTERESTS did you have in mind? Sake Tasting? We can either go to a local brewery museum, or go to a popular sake bar. Your choice, just let us know.
8-hour Experience is recommended if you would like Nunobiki Falls included. Nunobiki features the flowers that bloom in the season you visit. As you walk down the garden paths, you have views of the Kobe City Ocean/Sky line along the way. Fun ride up the mountain on a rope-way "gondola"; and on your ride up, you can see the Nunobiki waterfall, and other homes, foliage.... and not forgetting to mention, the skyline view of Kobe City. Once at the top, visit the essential oil museum and smell some samples, walk down the path with many smaller gardens placed in beautiful patterns, and visit a greenhouse with wonderful sight and sound of streaming river. If you want, you can also have lunch at the herb restaurant, (with courses of edible flowers). You can't go wrong here if you want to see all that Kobe City landscape has to offer, (mountains, oceans, and all thats in between).
Want to try KOBE BEEF? ...oh yeah! We can end your tour at a recommended restaurant, so you can take your time enjoying. If you prefer to have Kobe Beef for lunch during your experience, we can do that too :-)
Prior Kobe City Mayors private residence. On the grounds, a European designed horse stable, beautiful Japanese gardens with hidden areas to explore, and an old boat house. Also transplanted here is a home from a foreign settler tradesman; and most days we are able to tour through this home.
Highlights
What's included
Pickup Locations & Times
We will provide you with the local host's photo.
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Wheelchair accessible
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Transportation options are wheelchair accessible
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Reviews(22)
Michelle was an amazing tour guide during our stop in Kobe. Since it was our first time there and we had limited time at port, we really appreciated how much she was able to show us in such a short amount of time. We did a walking tour that also included riding the subway, which gave us a great feel for the city and how locals get around. Michelle made everything easy and stress-free while still fitting so much into our day. She introduced us to local candies, Kobe beef, and ice cream, all of which were amazing and made the experience even more memorable. It felt like we were able to experience a great mix of the local culture and food in just a few hours. Michelle was friendly, knowledgeable, and organized, and we are so glad we got to spend our time in Kobe with her. I would definitely recommend her to anyone visiting Kobe for the first time!
Hello Lauren. We are happy that you saw so much in such a short time, and felt relaxed, welcome, and enjoyed Kobe very much. Thank you for such a nice and detailed review.
Just be aware that your review can disappear while writing it as mine did both times so keeping it short! We started our tour by riding the Ropeway to the Nunobiki Gardens which provided amazing views of Kobe and the waterfall below. Once at the top we walked around the many gardens with beautiful flowers and herbs. The Cherry blossoms were in full bloom which made our visit very special. We enjoyed a coffee and cake while admiring the views below but the cafe is very expensive! There are lots of concrete paths and steps as you descend the mountain. We finished our tour at a restaurant in downtown Kobe and enjoyed the very tender flavoursome Wagu beef. A must do in Kobe.
Hello Susie, Thank you for such a detailed review of your Kobe tour. Kobe in the Spring is such a beautiful place, and glad you loved the blooming flowers. We are glad you had a chance to try the famous Kobe beef also.
The Kobe tour with Cait was fantastic! She was super informative and flexible. She recommended a wonderful spot for lunch. The tour was a blast!
Hello Nathan, Thank you for your 5-star review. We are really glad you enjoyed your Kobe tour, and went to a nice place for lunch, to complete your fun day.
Our day with Michelle was fabulous. She went out of her way to show us what real life is like in Kobe. She answered all of our questions openly and honestly and we had many laughs along the way. She took us to a fantastic restaurant to try Kobe beef, we shopped for vintage candy and even in a second hand store. Her photos were great too! Everything she showed us was thoughtful and the day flew by. Her perspectives from both east and western living were very insightful and we felt like we had made a new friend by the end of the day. Highly recommend Michelle for your time in Kobe.
We are glad you enjoyed your time in Kobe and with Michelle very much. Thank you for your review; we appreciate your thoughtful details, and know it will help other travel guests.
The tour was fun and communication was perfect, easy and clear. Would recommend this tour especially finishing it off with an amazing Kobe steak which was recommended by Michelle. Top marks . Thanks
Thank you for reviewing your Kobe Experience with us. Thank you for your recommendation. We agree with you :-) that having Kobe beef in Kobe is a great way to top-off your Kobe experience.
Excellent tour, the guide was very friendly, the restaurant Kobe recommended us was delicious. It rained all day but we managed to do the whole itinerary and had a great time.
Thank you for your lovely review. We are glad that despite the rain, you all enjoyed yourselves.
Michelle Kiyoko is a very good friendly guide. She's given a lot of information about Kobe. We are very satisfied to have her as a guide in Kobe. I can highly recommend her to take Michelle as a guide.
Thank you for your review. We used a translator to help us read your review :-) We appreciate your recommendation, and glad you enjoyed your Kobe Experience.
We had an absolutely wonderful tour with Michelle. She is from Kobe but spent many years in the US. She showed us a couple of shrines, which were beautiful but explaining her inside knowledge of the everyday life of the cities residents was something that really fascinated us. She explained different shops, hotel, the inside daily activity of neighborhoods etc. that you never get on a regular tour. Because this wasn't just seeing tourist attractions, this was one of our favorite tours ever... and we do a lot of traveling.
Thank you for your review. We are glad that you are well traveled travelers, and found your Kobe Experience and Michelle, as one of your favorites. Michelle enjoys taking guests "off the beaten path", and show the every days of Japan along with the favorite hot spots.
We really liked this tour because the guide was born and raised in Kobe but lived in the US for many years so she was able to explain parts of her city that would be new to us. She showed us a couple of wonderful shrines, a neighborhood and how people lived their daily lives, local shops, malls, waterfront, etc.. She was very accommodating to our needs and wishes. It was a great day.
Thank you for your detailed review. We are glad you enjoyed your Kobe experience. We really appreciate your review.
Michelle's tour around her town was a lot of fun. The tour is really custom to what you want to see. We learned a lot about Japanese history, things we didn't learn from other guides in Japan. We got to see the sights, see great views, eat Kobe beef, drink Kobe sake and stroll around local neighborhoods. My wife enjoyed shopping with her and learning about local stores/souvenirs and buying some Japanese candies. She's also a great photographer, we got some great photos together. A very personalized tour, it felt like strolling around a town visiting an old friend. I would definitely recommend her tour.
Thank you for your detailed review. Yes, we specialize in customized tours, to make sure your experience is unique to your interests, as well to introduce guests to aspects of a city that they were not aware of. That is great that Michelle connected so well with you and your wife, and the ability to take great photos is a nice treat as well. We really appreciate the detail, thank you.
