Location: Kobe
Top Things to do in Kobe
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10 Museums in Kobe That You Shouldn't Miss
Famous for its luscious beef and crisp, pure sake, the Japanese port of Kobe is a thriving metropolitan city with an international feel. The sake-brewing season runs from October through April, and that's the best time to take a tour of a kura (the Japanese word for brewery). Visit the Hakutsure Sake Brewery Museum year-round. Naturally, the nightlife here is prime perfection.
Restaurants in Kobe
1. Hakutsuru Museum
2. Kawasaki Good Times World
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 353 reviews
Reviewed By allanl912
A really good little museum. As Kawasaki is one of the most important Japanese companies that existed through the Meiji restoration, WW2, and up to the modern era....this museum is also a history of modern Japan itself. It's also very important to the port of Kobe where Kawasaki is a large company. There is plenty to fascinate history buffs, those interested in engineering, and of course there are the motorbikes which are just cool by themselves :)
3. Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 149 reviews
Reviewed By passthemayo - Kericho, Kenya
Its amazing to think that all this detailed woodwork was done by hand! This museum, while small, is a great revelation into the skill and traditions in Japan. Its also a quiet pleasant way to spend a few hours and close to a train station. I highly recommend a visit if you are in Kobe.
4. Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 276 reviews
At HAKUTSURU SAKE Brewing Co., Ltd., we have opened our old sake brewhouse in its original form to the public as the Sake Brewery Museum. Our hope in doing so is to give visitors a feel of the tradition of sake making that has been carried down through the ages and to broadly and deeply convey the "heart of Japan" to the sake making world.
Reviewed By SmurfFat - Singapore, Singapore
Very informative exhibits you may press the button and select English language. We enjoy the free museum and free sake sampling.
5. Kobe City Museum (Kobe Shiritsu Hakubutsukan)
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 181 reviews
6. Kiku-Masamune Shuzo Kinenkan
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 94 reviews
7. UROKO HOUSE & OBSERVATION GALLERY
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 134 reviews
The residence with most Western influence of the Kitano Ijinkan houses in Kobe. Covered in a natural stone called slate, its resemblance to the scales of a fish gave the house the nickname of “UROKO HOUSE” (House of the Scales). Not only in the outside, the whole building has a distinctive elaborated design that makes it part of the National Designated Registered Cultural Properties of Japan. The building holds a collection of renowned porcelain including “Royal Worcester”, “Meissen” and “Royal Copenhagen”. There are also handmade glassware exhibitions. The sunroom, with views of the Port of Kobe, is said to be where traders watched over their boats entering and leaving the port when the Port was opened. In the garden there is a “Calydonian Boar” (nicknamed Porcellino), which is believed to bring you good luck if you rub its snout. Next to UROKO HOUSE lies the “OBSERVATION GALLERY” where many modern, Japanese paintings are exhibited.
Reviewed By sharonhW264WM - Las Vegas, United States
Originally built near the harbor, this magnificent mansion was transferred to its current location on the hillside to serve as a posh residence for foreigners. It looks like a castle and was named the “Fish Scale House” because its walls are made of small, round, overlapping slate tiles that resemble fish scales. It was the first to open to the public and is the best known and most splendid of the Ijinkan (Western style) houses remaining in the Kitano-Yamate district. The period furniture was authentic, but most impressive was the outstanding collection of fine European porcelain (Meissen, Royal Copenhagen, Royal Worcester, and others) displayed. The balcony provided amazing views of Kobe through beautiful lead glass windows, and displayed a wonderful dragon sleigh and an antique music box that played lovely classical music. The Uroko Museum of Art next door provided interesting models of various Ijinkan houses. It was definitely worth the steep walk up the hill to see this wonderful mansion!
8. UCC Coffee Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 241 reviews
UCC is the largest coffee manufacturing company in Japan. The museum showcases information that demonstrates wonderful life produced by coffee. You will find information on the history,cultivation and culture of coffee, as well as how to make and enjoy coffee. You can connect your smartphone to the Free WiFi and can access to the Exhibit Audio Guide which is vailable in English, Chinese and Korean. We also have some exciting coffee experiences for you, for example, on our Tasting Time, you can taste two small cups of different coffees for free. After you finish learning through all exhibit rooms, please challenge our very difficult Coffee Quiz on computer! If you would like to find more information about this museum, please visit our official web site. We hope you enjoy your stay.
9. Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 190 reviews
Reviewed By Budjetsetter - Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
A stroll around the building and its interiors is in itself a tour of architectural beauty. Designed by famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando, the museum speaks of Japanese and foreign modern art in their finest. Many sculptures adorn the premises often set against the mountain and the sea backdrops in the north and in the south, respectively. There are many spots of great photography. Inside, among the most notable and a late added building between the three original buildings is a dedicated Tadao Ando Gallery filled with very informative narrative of his life and works. It feels like a Tadao Ando shrine once you get inside!
10. Arima Toy Museum
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 46 reviews
Reviewed By shelleyw172 - Brisbane, Australia
Our Japanese friends took us to this toy museum today when it was pouring with rain on a Sunday Osaka. Fabulous crafty shopping street for adults and a beautiful beautiful toy museum with a whole floor of blocks and toys for children to play with couldn’t ask for a better Japanese children’s experience. Would suit children 4-12. But lovely displays for adults to look at also.
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