Location: Kobe
Top Things to do in Kobe
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What to do and see in Kobe, Kinki: The Best Historic Sites
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. Ishoan
2. The English House
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 61 reviews
Built in 1907 following a design by a British architect. The house is ornamented with William Morris fabric, proponent of the Arts and Crafts movement and also named the father of modern design. The furniture and accessories date back from the 17th century Baroque to the19thcenturyVictorian era. At night, the house becomes an English Pub called “KING OF KINGS”, where you can enjoy top quality alcoholic beverages from all over the world. On the second floor there is a faithful reconstruction of Sherlock Holmes’s room as it appeared in Musgrave Ritual, the 20th work of the Sherlock Holmes series.
3. Kazamidori no Yakata
4. Choueke Family Residence
5. House of Line
6. Kobe Kitano Museum (Ijinkan)
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!
