Experience Kobe
Beyond the Guidebooks

What made the experience special was Taiga! He was a great host.

Taiga was our tour guide. He took all 8 of us through the trains and recommended the bullet train from Kobe port to Kyoto. He was wonderful, knowledgeable and spoke great English. He was in tune with our family and took the time to teach our kids and us about Japanese culture. while at the shrine he used it as a teaching opportunity to teach our kids about Zen and how one must be flexible in body and mind. I loved that he took time to get to know us. We even had a great at the revolving sushi bar. Kyoto was beautiful and he helped take photos of our family throughout. Thank you Taiga San for the wonderful day!!!

Kobe is not a bustling city when compared to others in the area like Osaka and Kyoto. Having a host that explores Kobe with you is really special. Lovely to go to the herb gardens to see the city from the top, go onto the longest suspension bridge in the world, eat magnificent local sushi, see the earthquake memorial site and even play pachinko! A wonderful day out.

It was a delightful day. We started at the herb gardens. Once we sat down to share a drink and talk, it felt like a day out with a friend. By lunchtime, when we popped into a fantastic sushi place and drank local saki, it definitely felt like it. And our guide assisted with making a dinner booking at a Kobe beef restaurant. The day was just perfect, ending with him showing us how to play pachinko. Fun, insightful and all round a great experience.

Michelle was so knowledgeable, kind, and attentive. She personalized our tour and was a bright light in the experience as she is energetic, fun, and speaks impeccable English.

Michelle was wonderful! I didn't know what to expect with the trip to Kobe as we didn't know much about it compared to the other cities. It was nice to walk with someone who lived in Kobe their entire life, along with time in the US which certainly helped us connect. Got a real feel of the life here. What a wonderful place. Nice living in the mountains and on the water at the same time. Truly beautiful.

Meeting Michelle in Kobe was like catching up with an old friend. She is enthusiastic, full of energy (and interesting fun facts), and catered perfectly to our group including our 9 year old grandson. We requested a guide with great spoken English skills and Michelle certainly delivered. We very much enjoyed walking the city, visiting temples and shrines, looking for the fun and hidden details, and learning about every day life in Kobe. Without Michelle we could not have seen all the things we did on an organised tour or ship shore excursion.

Michelle was wonderful and fun. We were lucky to have her as she was born and raised in Kobe. We were travelers not tourists. She took around Kobe where only the locals went which was great. Thank you Michelle!

Great locations with guide being very knowledgeable. Kyoto is a fantastic place to visit for the culture. Great traditional food.

We loved our experience with Ryan. We had only a short time at Port and we really appreciated him navigating us through Osaka. We loved his knowledge of Japan and he was really focused on our needs

Fantastischer Ausflug mit unserem tollen Guide Ryan, der jeden Wunsch erfüllt hat und durch den auch die Tatsache, dass wir mit Rollstuhl unterwegs waren, kein Problem war. Ein perfektes Erlebnis, an das wir uns immer wieder gerne erinnern. A fantastic trip with our wonderful guide Ryan, who fulfilled our every wish and even made the fact that we were traveling in a wheelchair no problem. A perfect experience that we will always remember fondly.

We decided to upgrade and do the trip to Kyoto by bullet train. Firstly because of time saved in travelling and secondly because I always wanted to try it. Ryan met us at our cruise terminal and we went by taxi to the train station. We went to buy tickets and navigated to our platform. I was relieved Ryan was there to guide us through everything. We took a metro and a regular train before taking the bullet train. We didn’t have reserved seats….sometimes easier than searching for your seat, though we did have to stand sometimes. Ryan took us through some back streets in Kyoto to avoid the crowds and explained the culture. We visited Shrines and Gardens and did a bit of souvenir shopping…he was very patient :). Our time was short as we had to be back on our cruise ship but Ryan had it worked out. We took a taxi to the station and then back in the bullet train and taxi to the port. A short but full day with no anxiety thanks to Ryan.

Very flexible tour. We were able to choose attractions, activity level and places to visit. Having a personal guide helped us travel between train connections as their English was very good. Highly recommend.

Angelina was amazing! We had a great tour of Kobe, but even better, she gave us a much better understanding of the people and culture.

Angelica was a fantastic host. She was so personable and informative. We appreciated her organization and flexibility. She was delightful.

Everything about the tour was amazing. Angelica was very knowledgeable, friendly, and very helpful throughout the experience. We really appreciate how flexible the tour was and her passion to show us the best of Kobe. We will definitely visit Kobe again in the future. We recommend this tour for anyone looking for something different!

Enjoyed everything!

We had an absolutely fantastic day exploring the city of Kobe with our guide, Hiromi. From start to finish, she made the experience incredibly informative, engaging, and enjoyable. Her deep knowledge of the city’s history, culture, and hidden gems truly enriched our visit, and she shared everything with such enthusiasm and warmth. Not only was she exceptionally well-prepared, but she also made us feel completely at ease, ensuring that we had a seamless and memorable experience. Her passion for guiding and her attention to detail were evident throughout the entire tour. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide! If you’re planning a visit to Kobe, we highly recommend Hiromi—she will make your trip truly special. Thank you, Hiromi, for an unforgettable day

Hiromi was so knowledgeable and wonderful to be with! She showed us many things only a local person could! We would highly recommend her to others!

Her knowledge of the city and points of interest were amazing! we had an excellent time with her and enjoyed every minute of our experience. She really gave us a lasting memory which we will cherish!

Had lovely tour today with Silva. Silva met us at the designated meeting place at the arranged time. He was a very pleasant man with excellent English. He brought us to the Nunobiki Herb Gardens which we accessed by riding the Rope Way (cable car). This was a very pleasant experience although it is tough going for people with walking difficulties. Next we visited the Ikuta Shrine, a small but pretty Shinto Shrine. We then had a traditional Japanese lunch at a local. Silva went to great lengths to ensure that gluten free was provided for my wife who is gluten intolerant. After this we visited Chinatown followed by some local shopping. Despite the weather being very hot our tour was a delightful experience. Silva was an excellent guide who brought us around at our own pace and provided us with a great local knowledge of Kobe. Thank you Silva.

Silvan was great! He showed me the places I liked and asked all my questions. Gave me brief history on the subjects we visited. Even gave information for anything else I had planned my remaining stay there! They will modify you itinerary to your liking. Thanks soo much!

Silver did an amazing job of showing us the perfect day, even though it started out with a horrible rain storm. Our favorite part of the day was the herb gardens which by the time we got there the rain had stopped. We had a wonderful leisurely experience there with no crowds. We had a great lunch at his favorite local restaurant and he made my sister very happy by finding her a family store that specialized in homemade rice crackers. Her suitcase home was filled with them.

Silva was a fantastic guide, very friendly and personable. Thoroughly knowledgable of the sites and made it a great experience.

Had a WONDERFUL time with Ryota doing a private tour! So easy to talk to and very knowledgeable. Started the day at the port. Highly recommend going up the Kōbe port tower for amazing views. Then on to china town for some shopping and food and to wrap it up, he took us to a BEAUTIFUL Japanese zen garden which was especially amazing since the leaves were changing. Thanks Ryota!

Ryota was so easy to talk to which made the entire tour so much fun. He took us to great locations and then at the end helped us get to another spot we wanted to see. We had such perfect day!

Rio was an excellent and knowledgable guide. He showed off his city in his words and actions. He made our day in Kobe.

This tour in Kobe was fantastic! The cable car ride to the top gave us beautiful views, and the walk down through the botanical gardens with a waterfall stop was unforgettable. We finished at a shopping mall where my wife found the perfect souvenir for our granddaughter. Our guide, Rio, was wonderful — friendly, helpful, and such a pleasure to talk with. He really made the day special. Highly recommend this experience!

We had taken this trip to Osaka with our Granddaughter, we wanted a tour just for her to enjoy, enjoy she did! Our guide Manami had planned a great itinerary, she also got along with our Granddaughter who was sad when our tour ended. I highly recommend this tour.

Our guide, Manami, was wonderful! She contacted us ahead of time and worked through an itinerary with us, coming up with creative ideas to make our day memorable, based on the interests of our kids. Highly recommend!

We had an amazing experience with Manami for our half day tour of Kobe. She has lived in the Kobe area for 29 years and she really knows the area well. She met us at the Shin-Kobe station right on time, and she gave us some choices what we wanted to see. We told Manami we wanted to experience Kobe from a local's perspective and, of course, Kobe beef. She took us to a small town of Arima known for its natural springs. We went to a spa where my family of 5 got to experience the feet treatment by small fish removing impurities from the skin. The family loved it! Then we walked through the town looking at all the specialty shops and stopped to get Arima soda, matcha ice cream, and Arima crackers. This was exactly what we were hoping for in a Kobe tour. Manami took us to a restaurant where we ate Kobe beef prepared hibachi style. Manami is very kind, friendly. She speaks English well. We really enjoyed our tour of Kobe.

Our guide was lovely and chill and helped us to do the itinerary that was right for us. Thankyou :)

This was a terrific experience with my wife. My family has a remote nineteenth century connection with Kobe and has always been of interest. "Max" was able to tailor the day to our interests. It was a very unseasonably warm autumn day and the broad brimmed hat was essential. There's not a not of tree cover.

Our tour guide, Max, made this tour an unforgettable one. We learned a lot about Japan, its people, the food, and the city of Kobe from him. We look forward to coming back soon!

Max was an excellent guide. The places he took us to and the food he chose and had us try (and the beer!) were all very delicious. We felt more like locals and learned a lot in this specific tour out of all the ones we participated in. If you want to know more about Kobe and even other cities in Japan, he’s your guide!

This was a great tour, a good way to explore Kobe! We were only 2 people in our group so Max our guide planned it on the fly and took us to different places. Max was very informative and helpful. Thank you!

Hamu was an excellent host and guide, very motivated and eager to please, making it very easy to travel with little time and little knowledge of the language. Actually, I enjoyed everything; a trip to always remember.

Hamu was an excellent tour guide! Although I booked a short tour, we managed to cover a lot of ground and see everything I hoped for. Hamu also shared fantastic recommendations for things to explore on my own, which made my experience even better!

We would never have managed to do so much in such a short time had it not been for Manu. She organised everything around what we had suggested. She was most informative and gave us what was the best 4 hours we’ve had in Japan. Thank you Manu for a lovely experience.

Hamu was fabulous! Wonderful English and knows the area really well. She very much loves what she does as she has so much history and cultural knowledge of the area.

Our guide Giken was a lovely fellow who knows his way around Kobe. He is very flexible so be sure to let him know if there is something you wish to see. He also takes great photos

our guide Giken was great

Very enjoyable, saw lots of sights, history, local food, games, shopping and saki tasting Our guide was very knowledgeable and friendly.

Our guide was amazing and really accommodated our interests. We found some amazing out-of-the-way locals spots that we never would have found on our own. City UnScipted guides are highly recommended.

We had the most wonderful experience exploring Kobe thanks to our amazing tour guide, Kako. From the moment we met, it was clear how much care and passion she put into sharing her city with us. What truly touched us, though, was the kindness shown beyond the tour itself. As a heartfelt gesture, Kami’s 10-year-old daughter made us beautiful origami flowers — delicate, colorful, and full of love. It was such a sweet and personal touch that we’ll never forget. It reminded us that travel isn’t just about the places you see, but the people you meet. If you’re visiting Kobe, we wholeheartedly recommend this tour guide. You’ll not only learn so much about the city but also leave with memories full of warmth and connection.

Reka was absolutely amazing! We had so much fun and tried/leaned so many new things. It was incredible to feel so comfortable while so far from home and we truly felt like we got the most of our time in Kobe with our locals help.

Our experience was wonderful. Our guide was polite, professional and knowledgeable. Our group of five, traveled by train with our guide to our destination city. He led us on a thoughtful tour and provided us with historical information. We enjoyed a very special lunch that was quite memorable and delicious. Overall, a great day with our guide, Nari.