What to see in Kobe, Japan

Kobe, Japan was a stop on our 12-night "Best of Japan" cruise onboard the Celebrity Millennium in Fall of 2023. The weather was fantastic, not too hot nor too cold. We are new fans of Japan in the autumn season! 

The ship was in port for about 8 hours, giving us the better part of a day to sightsee. Celebrity Cruises provided a complimentary shuttle for guests to get from the cruise port into the downtown area. From there, we explored on foot.

Ikuta-Jinja (Shrine)

Our first stop was the Ikuta Jinja Shrine, which may be one of the oldest shrines in the country and is known for its association to love and relationships. Like many other parts of Japan, this shrine was located near the modern metropolitan area, so it was easy to navigate to and didn't require any long walks. 

If you love the aesthetic of the Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto, you'll enjoy the Inari shrine here with its repeating torii gates. 

Entry to the Ikuta Shrine is free, but I encourage you to say a prayer/give respects and offer some yen! The shrine also has a multitude of charms for sale, priced at around 500 yen, if you wanted a souvenir. 

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Ikuta Road

Next, we browsed Ikuta Road, which is right next to Ikuta Shrine. There are tons of restaurants and places to shop, including arcade centers with claw machines! There was a good price range and mix between Japanese and Western for the clothing stores as well as souvenir shops. Sannomiya Station is nearby if you want to venture further from the downtown area. 

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Try some Kobe beef

While in Kobe, you have to try its namesake beef! There are plenty of restaurants along Ikuta Road that are similarly priced, however I highly recommend making a reservation as these places are popular with both locals and tourists. We were able to find a place accepting walk-ins, but it was further down our "want to try" list. 

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Surprise appearance from Anya, won from a claw machine

Dartslive

This isn't exclusive to Kobe, but we happened to walk by a Bee: Dining and Darts bar, which sounded fun. This establishment chain happens to make an appearance in the Yakuza/Like a Dragon video game series, and nostalgia got the better of me. We still had some time before the ship departed for the evening, so we went in to play a few games of darts and get some drinks before heading back. 

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Have fun in Kobe!