Kobe Private Driving Tour: English Speaking Driver Only, No Guide

On January 17, 1995 at 5:46 am, the city of Kobe was hit by the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake, resulting in the death of more than 5000 people and the destruction of tens of thousands of homes. The Earthquake Memorial Museum, part of the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (人と防災未来センター, Hito to Bōsai Mirai Center), was opened in 2002 to commemorate the tragic event and to educate visitors about earthquakes and disaster prevention. The museum includes a large screen theater with realistic images of the earthquake's destructiveness, a documentary film about the recovery process, lots of information about the earthquake and various interactive games about disaster prevention.

Shin-Kobe Ropeway (新神戸ロープウェー) is one of three services that lifts tourists up the southern slopes of the Rokko mountain chain. The ropeway departs from next to Shin-Kobe Station, Kobe's shinkansen station. As it ascends, it passes by the Nunobiki Waterfall and the Nunobiki Herb Garden, giving a nice aerial view of both. The highlight of the ride lies in the observation deck located just beside the top station, which offers spectacular views of Kobe and is a popular night view spot. 1500 yen (round trip and admission to herb garden) 950 yen (one way and admission to herb garden) 900 yen (round trip after 17:00) 9:30 to 17:00 (until 20:30 on weekends, national holidays, and July 20 to August 31); admission ends 15 minutes before closing time

Mount Rokko (六甲山, Rokkōsan, 931 meters) is the highest peak in the Rokko mountain range, which provides the pleasant green backdrop to the city of Kobe. Panoramic views of the heavily urbanized Hanshin region (Kobe and Osaka) can be enjoyed from the mountain and are particularly spectacular around sunset.

Nunobiki Herb Garden, one of Japan's largest herb gardens with hundreds of herb species and seasonal flowers. A glasshouse in the garden makes growing flowers and fruits such as guavas and papayas possible throughout the yea

You can hike down from the rope way station to visit the falls up close!

The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is, with a length of almost four kilometers, the world's longest suspension bridge. Opened in 1998, it spans the Akashi Strait (Akashi Kaikyo) between Kobe and Awaji Island and is part of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, one of three expressways which connect Honshu with Shikoku. The Bridge Exhibition Center at the foot of the Kobe side of the bridge provides well-presented information about the planning and construction of the bridge and about other suspension bridges around the world, although the detailed explanations are available in Japanese only.

Kitano-cho (北野町, Kitanochō) is a city district at the foot of the Rokko mountain range where many foreign merchants and diplomats settled after the Port of Kobe was opened to foreign trade in the second half of the 19th century. More than a dozen of the former mansions, known as Ijinkan, remain in the area and are open to the public as museums. Most of the houses charge an admission fee between 550 to 750 yen, while combination tickets are available to see multiple houses. The entire district is pleasant to walk through and offers a variety of cafes, restaurants and boutiques, making it a favorite among young Japanese couples