Despite it not being especially renowned as a tourist destination, I was pretty excited to visit Kobe as it marked the point at which I was leaving Japan’s typical tourist trail and heading west into parts unknown (to me). It’s also one of Japan’s largest cities so naturally I was curious about it. I had timed my visit well to coincide with the annual city festival so I was looking forward to a couple of interesting days here.

Kobe’s most iconic sight is the red Harbour Tower. However to my dismay, it was completely obscured by scaffolding on my visit which is such a shame! The city is still distinctive however due to its location wedged between the waters of Osaka bay and the X mountains. This meant it was easy to find incredible views over the city by heading into the hills. Looking down on 40 storey skyscrapers from a viewpoint or cafe is always a bit mind-boggling.

The city festival happened unabated all around the tower; I was surprised by the heavy rock music blasting from the stages around the harbour. Food and drink stands proliferated in many different neighbourhoods and I witnessed lots of different kinds of performances, from the adorable – some 3 year olds attempting a synchronised dance (to low levels of success) – to the technically amazing – a guy doing cartwheels one after the other all the way down the road, as well as a dancing marching band which I was obsessed with.

Kobe had a couple of other eclectic tourist sites. One such place was the foreign neighbourhood, which was made up of a number of somewhat tacky houses each themed after a different western country. I think they have legitimate origins but have since become bizarre tourist traps and caricatures of the country they represent, and each one charges about £10 to go inside. Consequently, I didn’t enter any of them. I was a little intrigued by the English house, which boasted having an authentic British pub inside, but I think it was closed at the moment I passed it. What a pity.

Kobe is actually rather famous for its beef as well as its jazz scene. However I kinda dropped the ball on both. I didn’t eat the beef or visit any jazz bars. Nevertheless, I had a pleasant stay here. The highlight for me was definitely watching the sunset over the city with a couple of conbini beers after hiking up the Venus Bridge Terrace. It was one of the best views I’d come across so far in Japan. In fact, I was beginning to realise any view that took in a dramatic view over a large body of water was a winner for me, as would prove apparent in my next few destinations. But I’ll get to that next time.