Kobe Osaka

Kobe has two cruise facilities. “Naka Pier Cruise Terminal” stands directly downtown, while the “Kobe Port Terminal” connects to the centre by Kobe Port Liner in only 5 minutes.

The frequent driverless “Port Liner” links Kobe Airport with Sannomiya's main railway station. Port Terminal station sits above, and effectively forms part of, the cruise-terminal buildings, providing an inexpensive and convenient route to either the airport or principal station at the end of a voyage. Reaching the bullet-train station farther inland requires a change at Sannomiya.

Naka Pier Cruise Terminal is in central Kobe and mainly serves smaller cruise lines and cruises that do not turn around here. Brass bands and traditional Taiko, or Japanese drums, greet arrivals. The terminal occupies the first two floors of the enormous Kobe Meridian Park Oriental Hotel, making the Oriental an obvious option before embarkation or after disembarkation.

The Port of Kobe sits at the foot of Mount Rokko beside Kobe Port Tower, whose observation deck is a little more than 90 metres high.

Kobe is an attractive port city combining a world-class international trading harbour, the green Rokko Mountains and lively commercial and entertainment districts.

Japan's greatest concentration of sake breweries is in the waterfront district called "Nadagogo". Skilled brewers combine pure "miyamizu" spring water from Mt. Rokko with high-grade "yamadanishiki" rice to produce celebrated sake brands.

For Japanese visitors, Kobe's chief draw is its collection of Western-style houses, several dating to the city's opening for overseas trade in 1868. Europeans raised among similar architecture may find them less remarkable.

Ijinkan, walkable from either Sannomiya or Shin-Kobe station, is Kobe's leading attraction. Also called the Barbarian Houses, these 19th-century homes of foreign merchants cluster around Kitano.

Kyu-kyoryuchi is near Motomachi station on the Hanshin Line or JR Line. Foreign consulates and trading firms once built offices here, and several 19th-century properties now contain shops and restaurants. Key examples are Chartered Square, formerly a Chartered Bank branch, and the 15th Building, once the American consulate. Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Fendi and other high-fashion boutiques also fill the district.

Meriken Park on the harbour front contains a moving memorial to the 1995 Hanshin Earthquake, which caused 6,433 deaths. Nearby Kobe Tower, the city's unofficial emblem, has a viewing pavilion costing ¥600.

Fruit Flower Park is 35 min by bus from Sannomiya and opens daily from 10 AM to 6 PM, except on holidays. Flowers and greenery surround the grounds, where many wedding ceremonies take place each year. Spring brings around 10,000 flowering tulips. Hotel Fruit Flower stands nearby, and many families visit.

Two bus services call at Naka Pier Terminal: Kobe Port Loop and Kobe City Loop. Both operate clockwise in one direction.

Kobe Port Loop uses a standard-size bus and serves the main Kobe stations, Sannomiya for JR and Shin Kobe for Shinkansen trains. It also calls at Kanomeria terminal for the Kobe Port Liner, serving travellers from Kobe Port Terminal.

The second circuit, Kobe City Loop, is an inexpensive hop-on-hop-off service. Along with the transport stations on Kobe Port Loop, it serves attractions such as Chinatown and the ropeway up Mount Ryokyo.

A one-day ticket valid on both Loop services costs 600 yen and is sold at the Naka Pier Terminal information desk.

A taxi's left rear door is operated remotely by its driver, so passengers should neither open nor close it themselves. Do not tip the driver because service is already included in the fare.

If you cannot speak Japanese or are travelling to a destination that is not well known, give the driver the exact written address or, preferably, indicate it clearly on a map. Japan's address system can confuse even local taxi drivers.

Kyoto is 30 min. away by bullet train or 60 min. by bus. Rolling hills surround its many old temples and shrines, and its history reaches back 1,200 years. Traditions include the three principal festivals and the send-off bonfire, alongside Nishijin brocade, Yuzen, Kiyomizu pottery and refined Kyoto cuisine. Nara, 90 min. by bus, is older still. The region contains deer-filled Nara Park, pastoral Nishi-no-kyo and Ikaruga, known for Horyuji Temple, as well as a winding mountain road...

Osaka's highlights, reached in 20 min. or 60 min by bus, include Osaka-jo and its park, the enormous whale shark at Osaka Aquarium, Dotombori's Blade Runner-like night scenery and Open Air Museum of Old Japanese Farmhouses. More than a collection of sights, Osaka, like Tokyo, rewards experiencing the city as a whole, with an unplanned walk often as satisfying as an organised tour.

Japan's yen comes as notes of ¥10,000, ¥5,000 and ¥1,000, together with coins of ¥500, ¥100, ¥50, ¥10, ¥5 and ¥1.

Japanese ATMs increasingly accept cards linked to overseas accounts, and post offices also provide cash machines. Most large-city restaurants and shops take major credit cards, but carry sufficient cash for any rural travel. Japan remains a cash-oriented society, and some hotels, shops and restaurants refuse cards regardless of location.

Tipping is considered rude, so do not leave one.

Cafés providing customer WiFi are appearing across Japan. Prices differ: some coffee shops have free Wi-Fi, while others charge by the hour for cable-enabled PCs.

Japanese shops and department stores generally open every day, including national holidays except New Year's, from 10:00 or 10:30am until 7:30 or 8:00pm. Certain specialist shops close on Sundays and national holidays. Department stores may shut irregularly for one day each week, but differing closure days mean an open store can always be found.

See the information on Public Holidays in Japan.