We took a day trip out to Kobe for their mountainside botanical garden. The trip from Osaka waa super easy, just a 1 hour 20 minute train ride with 2 transfers, basically like getting to Queens from Brooklyn. It was so very worth it: the garden is in full bloom and absolutely stunning.
The garden is designed to look and feel like a European village, from the cute little houses to the lush fields of flowers and tulips. There were various types of gardens, from nice-smelling or edible flowers, to cooking and medicinal plants and plants from around the world.
We took a gondola to the top of the garden, then wound our way down. The path was a steep downhill descent with plenty to see along the way, including an overlook with no fencing or barrier of any kind, for an incredible view of Kobe in the distance below.
We got the one-way ticket, and ended up walking all the way back the mountain. We were supposed to end up back at the visitor’s center and gift shop, but somehow completely skipped it. Instead, we walked down through a tiny mountainside village. Fantastic day trip, very much worth visiting from Osaka.
Located at: 1 Chome-4-3 Kitanocho, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0002
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