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Arrival, information and getting around
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Shinkansen
trains
stop at Shin-Kobe station at the foot of Rokko-san, around 1km north of Sannomiya Station in downtown Kobe. As well as JR trains, those on the Hankyu and Hanshin lines also stop at Sannomiya Station, and are the cheaper way of connecting with Osaka and Kyoto to the east if you're not using a JR pass.
The fastest way of getting directly to Kobe from Kansai International airport (KIX) is by jet-foil boat . The thirty-minute journey across Osaka Bay to the Kobe City Air Terminal (KCAT) on Port Island, costs ?2200. From KCAT, take a bus to Sannomiya Station. Ferries from Shikoku, Kyushu and Awaji-shima arrive at Naka Pier next to the Port Tower, ten minutes' walk south of Motomachi Station, and at Rokko Island Ferry Terminal, east of the city. From here you can take the Rokko Liner monorail to JR Sumiyoshi or Hanshin Uozaki stations. The main tourist information office (daily 9am-7pm; tel 078/322-0222) is south of Sannomiya Station on Flower Road. It's well stocked with English maps and leaflets and is always staffed by English speakers. There's also an information counter inside Shin-Kobe Station and one at the top of Kitana-zaka, the main slope leading up to the Kitano area. For more general information on what's happening around Kobe, pick up a copy of the magazine Kansai Time Out , which has full listings of local events.
Being less than 3km wide, Kobe is a great city for
walking
around. About the only reason for using the subway is to go from Shin-Kobe to Sannomiya Station (?200). If you feel like taking things easy, hop on the
city loop
(?250 per ride, or ?650 for a day pass), a tourist bus which runs a regular circuit around Kobe's main sights. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Japan,
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