Top Hyogo Prefecture Cultural Tours

Discovering a new city, especially one like beautiful Kobe, is exciting but it's even more fun when you get to do it with a friend by your side. That is exactly what it will feel like as you explore Kobe with one of our hosts from the area. Visit Ikuta Shrine, one of Japan's oldest Shinto shrines, or amble up Mt. Rokko. You could also venture beyond Mount Rokko to the outdoor hot springs of Arima Onsen. Kobe is a hive of activity, from fine dining to downtown shopping, animal petting, so get ready for an adventure. adventure awaits. Within 24 hours after booking you'll receive a short questionnaire about your personality and interests. Based on your responses, you'll be assigned a like-minded host. Your host will communicate with you directly to suggest an itinerary to help you discover what makes the city unique. You will also agree on a meeting time and place. Your itinerary is flexible, so during the experience, you can always change your mind about what you want to do.

This is a virtual tour using Zoom, online conference system. This unique 1h tour brings you to one of the most beautiful and popular cities in Japan, Kobe and surrounding hot spring resort, Arima. The friendly host will make your experience more interactive. We use not only photos or videos but also handmade materials or actual goods from guides' living room, that makes you feel livelier. You can ask them anything about Japan, Kobe and other popular tourists spots by chat or by talk session between and after the tour. This tour will provide helpful hints for your future trip to Japan. PLEASE NOTE the tour time is Japan standard time. Make adjustment to your time when booking. We'll send you Zoom URL invitation and you can enter the room easily.

Customize your sightseeing itinerary on this private walking tour of Kobe, Japan’s historic port city. Choose from multiple options, including a scenic cruise along Kobe Bay, a visit to the top of panoramic Kobe Port Tower, and admission to Kawasaki World, a transportation-themed museum. Tours include free time for lunch, so you can grab a bite of the city’s famed Kobe steak.

"Himeji Castle" and "Enkyoji Temple", both of which have a history of more than 1,000 years, are World Heritage Sites that must not be missed when you visit Himeji. The attraction of Himeji castle is its pure white walls, which are called the most beautiful castle in Japan. Also, the inside of the castle still has the equipment used for warfare 400 years ago, when the samurai lived there. You also can't help but feel a sense of historical romance when you see the dignified appearance of the castle. The tour at Himeji Castle alone would be enough to satisfy you, but afterward, we will take a bus and a ropeway to Engyoji Temple on Mt.Shosya. The temple is one of the largest temples in Japan and has many cultural assets designated by the government. Once you step into Mt. Shosha, you will be overwhelmed by the serene mountains and feel a sense of purity.

Make the most of a short time on land with this private shore excursion to Kobe. Instead of rushing around with a large group, slow down and appreciate the quieter side of Kobe. Visit the Herb Gardens, the Nunobiki Ropeway, and more. Sake lovers will enjoy checking out a sake brewery, to learn more about this Japanese drink. Foodies can also opt to dine at a restaurant serving Kobe beef.

City tours are great for first-time visits but often have rigid itineraries and tight schedules. This tour offers the chance to design a completely custom family-friendly itinerary with a local host assigned to you based on your interests. Highlights can include riding a cable car up Mount Rokko, visiting Arima Onsen Hot Springs, or checking out the Oji Zoo. Once the tour begins, you’re free to change destinations as you see fit.

Learn more about Himeji Castle than would be possible on your own. This small-group tour introduces you to the rich history of Himeji Castle, as well as Japanese culture. You'll explore the castle interiors, as well as its Japanese-style garden, and get photographs from a viewing observatory. Your tour also includes a tea ceremony experience for an authentic taste of Japanese culture.

This is a great pick for first-time visitors to Kobe or those wanting to explore its highlights in a day. Save time itinerary planning and join a guide on an adventure that showcases a mix of nature spots, shrines, museums, and great shopping and foodie spots. Highlights along the way include Nunobiki Falls, Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, Ikuta Shrine, and Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum.

You’ll spend the day with one of our hosts discovering the true nature of Kobe - and there is plenty of nature to see, the city is wedged between sweeping coastlines and vast mountain ranges after all. Explore the thriving Kobe Motomachi Shopping Street and indulge in authentic cuisine in Nankinmachi, Kobe’s Chinatown. Scale the Kobe Port Tower, where you can see the city's sweeping skyline highlighted by the neon, and discover hidden gems along the way, like the smaller shrines and historic streets that many visitors miss - but not you! Within 24 hours after booking you'll receive a short questionnaire about your personality and interests. Based on your responses, you'll be assigned a like-minded host. Your host will communicate with you directly to suggest an itinerary to help you discover what makes the city unique. You will also agree on a meeting time and place. Your itinerary is flexible, so during the experience, you can always change your mind about what you want to do.

Kobe is known worldwide for its eponymous beef, but there’s more to this city’s food scene than this prized meat. On this private tour, you’ll be matched with a food-loving local host who will devise a food-focused itinerary that suits your taste and eating style. Sample multiple foods, as well as beer, sake, and Japanese soft drinks.

In the north, the mountain. In the south, the sea... In the middle, you! Visiting this so beautiful city. We will discover together Kobe, from the north to the south. History, fashion and modernity are melting in this so picturesque city.

Arima Onsen (hot spring) is famous as the oldest hot spring resort in Japan. The high quality of the spring water still attracts people, and many tourists from Japan and abroad come to spend a relaxing time in the old-fashioned streets. In this tour, you can experience the deeper Arima culture by strolling around the hot spring town. There are two main types of onsen sources in Arima Onsen: the reddish-brown "Kinsen" (Gold hot spring) and the carbonated "Ginsen" (silver hot spring). It is said to be very rare to find two hot springs with completely different ingredients gushing out in the same area. At some of the spots, you can see the source gushing out, touch it, and drink it. We will introduce you to the mechanism of the source, and visit stores that sell Japan's first cider, which developed from carbonated water, and specialty rice crackers, to show you all the charm of Arima Onsen. Join this tour of the highlights of Arima Onsen and experience Japan's hot spring culture!

Cruise passengers with limited time on land will enjoy the convenience of this private tour of Nara from Osaka or Kobe. Learn all about Japanese history and culture at this ancient capital, full of UNESCO-listed temples and shrines, traditional Japanese gardens, and one of the biggest Buddha statues in the country. You’ll be picked up from the port or your hotel and returned there at the end of the day.

Kobe is one of Japan's most fashionable areas and known for having an unusual mix of cultures. This walking tour will take you to some of the must-visit places in Kobe alongside a private guide who will help you to better understand Kobe’s cultural background. Kobe's diverse culture is rooted in its history as a cosmopolitan city that has always adopted and developed new things. Kobe has prospered since the Middle Ages as a key point for domestic shipping, but its role as a residential area was limited and, consequently, there was no indigenous culture to speak of. The opening of the country to the outside world in 1853 led to the establishment of foreign settlements and the influx of Western culture. It absorbed and mixed the foreign cultures that came in with the opening of the country, and nurtured its own unique culture. Today, the city thrives as one of the leading international cities in Japan, thanks to its abundant flow of international cultural exchange.

Kobe is known as an international port city, but it is also known as a place that reminds us of nature and conveys traditions. This tour will take you to see the craftsmanship and cultures nurtured in Kobe, as well as the nature that shows its expression in each of the four seasons. First, you will visit Nunobiki Falls, known as one of the three most sacred waterfalls in Japan, where you can feel the majestic activity of nature. At the Takenaka Carpentry Tools Museum, you can experience and learn about the carpentry techniques that have supported the development of Japan. At the end of the tour, you will visit the Sorakueb Garden, a quaint place with a perfect blend of nature, tradition, and Japanese and Western culture. We will provide you with a day to rediscover the charm of Kobe by experiencing the nature and traditions scattered throughout the city.

Together with the professional guide, you will visit the most charming places in the city. Why is the fascinating Himeji Castle a national treasure and a registered UNESCO World Heritage Site? Himeji Castle is hands down, the best-preserved feudal castle in the entire country. You will have a chance to explore the city while hearing fascinating facts and legends. Himeji is home to some exciting attractions that could turn a regular vacation into an extraordinary one. There’s something very relaxing about walking the streets of Himeji. Enkyoji with a history of more than 1000 years, a traditional temple, a cultural property designated by the country. You will be surprised how many stories are hidden in the streets, buildings, and corners of Himeji. Your charming guide will tell you what is special and unique about living in this city. Perfect for those who are visiting the city for the first time and want to get the most of it!

Take the train to Kyoto with your local host, and discover another side of Japanese culture in its 8th-century capital. Explore the cobbled streets of traditional entertainment district Gion, see the famous flame-colored tunnel of Fushimi Inari Shrine, or visit the Arashiyama bamboo grove in western Kyoto. At dusk, when the city’s iconic paper lanterns are lit, you could even spot a mesmerizing geisha floating through the streets. Whatever you decide, you’ll discover more than just the Kyoto in your guidebook. Within 24 hours after booking you'll receive a short questionnaire about your personality and interests. Based on your responses, you'll be assigned a like-minded host. Your host will communicate with you directly to suggest an itinerary to help you discover what makes the city unique. You will also agree on a meeting time and place. Your itinerary is flexible, so during the experience, you can always change your mind about what you want to do.

This private and customizable tour for Kobe is perfect for guests who would like to have their own itinerary planned based on their interests and preferences, allowing guests to experience the city at their own pace.

We will visit Tamba-Sasayama City which is located in the middle-eastern part of Hyogo Prefecture, an hour and a half by train from Osaka and Kobe. Surrounded by mountains on all sides, the city has nurtured a unique culture in its natural environment. In the castle town surrounding Sasayama Castle, traditional architecture, such as houses where samurai lived, is still preserved. You will also visit the Tamba Toji Sake Brewery Memorial Hall, and the Homei Shuzo Sake Brewery. In the city, there is also a pottery museum showcasing traditional Japanese art and craftsmanship.

We introduce a great tour that will allow you to enjoy the history and traditions of Japan. The Hanshin area is accessible within 1hour from major cities in the Kansai region such as Kyoto, Osaka, and Hyogo. The area has developed as a castle town. Thus, you can find many historical sites left in the area, including the restored castle and the townscape from those days. On the other hand, there are areas where sake production is thriving. It is also famous as one of Japan's representative sake brewing areas because it has historically supported the development of sake. In this tour, you will visit four different towns in the Hanshin region. Your tour guide will take you to must-see spots and other spots where you can feel the charm of the region's history, Buddhist culture, and entertainment. We recommend this tour for those who want to learn about traditional Japanese culture and local attractions.

Himeji Castle is one of the 12 Japanese castles well conserved with their wooden keeps. This Castle History starts from 1346 and we can see it as it was in 1618. Nearby the castle, Engyo-ji temple, on Mount Shosha, has got a thousand years long history. Some scene from "The last Samurai" movie were taken there. When we go back to Kobe, we can visit the Great Bridge of Akashi Kaikyo then Gigantor, statue of a robot, symbols of the revival of Japan, its technological genius and its pop culture.

Take the train to Osaka with your local host to soak up the city’s history at Osaka Castle and Sumiyoshi-taisha – one of the oldest shrines in Japan – or dive into its kaleidoscopic modern culture in the central entertainment districts of Dōtonbori and Namba, where animatronic signs and buzzing restaurants line the canals. Maybe you’ll experience Osaka’s food culture, feasting on takoyaki at a ramshackle izakaya in Hozenji Yokocho alleyway, or simply grabbing street eats in retro shopping district Shinsekai on your way to Tsūtenkaku Tower. Within 24 hours after booking you'll receive a short questionnaire about your personality and interests. Based on your responses, you'll be assigned a like-minded host. Your host will communicate with you directly to suggest an itinerary to help you discover what makes the city unique. You will also agree on a meeting time and place. Your itinerary is flexible, so during the experience, you can always change your mind about what you want to do.

Hike Mt. Rokko with a National Licensed Guide Interpreter, who is also a tea ceremony instructor. The walk includes visits to Buddhist temples and a waterfall. The highlights of the tour are "Zen Meditation" and "Tea Ceremony" experience out in nature. You can feel the Japanese traditional philosophy of "Being one with nature" throughout the tour. ・5 hours of hiking at Mt. Rokko, one of the most famous mountains in Japan, located close to Kyoto and Osaka. ・Stopping at attractive places: unexplored temples and a representative waterfall in Kobe. ・Experiences of “Zen Meditation” and “Tea Ceremony”! You can feel the Japanese traditional philosophy of “Being one with nature”. ・Tea ceremony master, who is also a National Licensed Guide Interpreter, will guide you. ・You will have an unforgettable trip of off-the-beaten-track Japan that other tourists cannot have.

An exclusive tour for all the romantics of the world! Together with the professional local guide, you will visit the most romantic places in the city. What are some of the most romantic places to take your loved one during a day out in Kobe? The city is filled with spots that are great for couples, including ones with romantic nightscapes. You will feel spellbound in a charming atmosphere. What is considered as one of the best places to have a date in the city? Where can you make lovely photos? You will be surprised how many historical love stories are hidden in the streets, buildings, parks of the city. From heartbreaking and tragic, to the hilarious or spicy ones. What is so special about the Nankingmach spot? Why is it considered a favorite spot for couples? What is the most famous historical couple in Japan? What does the view of Mount Rokku have to offer to couples? This tour is especially recommended in the Saint Valentine period!