Audio walking guides in Kobe
Photo: Manish Prabhune · CC BY 4.0
These are self-guided audio walks around Kobe. You pick a route, put one earbud in, and the guide talks you through it stop by stop — what you are looking at, and why it is there. There is no group to keep up with and no meeting time. 10 walks covering Kitano, The Port & the Earthquake, Nada, The Akashi Strait Bridge, Suma, Kobe Beef, Nankinmachi & the Heart of Kobe, Takarazuka and more, 283 minutes of narration in total.
Start your free guideA free account is needed before a guide plays. Hear a minute first if you would rather try it than sign up for it.
Every walk in Kobe
Kitano: The Foreign Hill
The street you are climbing is Kitano-zaka. Plane trees, cafés, a steepening gradient, and — if you turn round — the sea appearing behind you between the buildings.…
The Port & the Earthquake
Begin in the vermilion courtyard of Ikuta Shrine, which is wedged between department stores a few minutes from Sannomiya station, and which is the reason this city has…
Nada: The Sake Coast
The strip you are walking into — between the mountains and the expressway, low buildings, delivery lorries, not obviously beautiful — brews more sake than anywhere else on…
Mount Rokkō & the Ten-Million-Dollar View
Here is one of the strangest short walks in Japan, and I want you to appreciate the absurdity of it before we start. Behind the platforms of a…
The Akashi Strait Bridge
Stand underneath it first, because photographs do not convey the scale of this thing at all. The towers of the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge are just under three hundred…
Suma: The Beach of the Heike
This looks like an ordinary city beach, and in most respects it is. Sand, families, an aquarium, a railway line running along behind it, apartment blocks, a park.…
Kobe Beef: The Most Famous Meat on Earth
Say the word Kobe almost anywhere in the world and, as often as not, the next word people think of is beef. It is one of the most…
Nankinmachi & the Heart of Kobe
Start under the ornamental gate, because Nankinmachi announces itself properly: a red and gold Chinese gate at each of the entrances, lanterns strung overhead, and a lane about…
Takarazuka: The All-Female Stage
You are standing in a pleasant town in the hills north of Kobe and Osaka, and it is the home of one of the strangest, most successful and…
Arima: The Oldest Hot Spring
You are standing in a mountain valley directly behind Kobe — over the ridge of Mount Rokkō, whose night view has its own guide in this app —…
Questions about walking Kobe
What is the best self-guided walking tour in Kobe?
It depends how long you have. Kitano: The Foreign Hill (32 minutes, 5 stops) starts at Kitano-zaka slope and is the one most people begin with. The Port & the Earthquake covers a different part of the city in about 34 minutes. All 10 walks in Kobe are listed on this page with their length and starting point.
Do I need to book a walking tour in Kobe?
No. Every wanderaudio walk is self-guided, so there is nothing to book and no departure time. You start whenever you arrive, and you can stop halfway and pick it up the next day.
How much do the Kobe audio guides cost?
Your first guide is free. You make a free account before it plays, with an email address or a Google login, and no card. After that a single guide is $4.99, a 30-guide pass, spendable on any guides in any cities, is $29.99, and every guide in Japan is $59.99. It is a one-off payment, not a subscription.
Are these tours in English?
Yes, all 10 Kobe walks are narrated in English. Other languages are not available yet.
Can I do these walks alone?
Yes — that is what they are built for. There is no group and no guide waiting for you, so walking alone works exactly the same as walking with someone. You choose the pace and the order.