Audio tour · Japan
Kobe
A self guided audio tour of Kobe.
Downloadon the App Store
The app is on the App Store
A self guided audio tour of Kobe.
Kobe opens toward the sea and rises toward forested hills, and the city's character lives in that space between them. The old foreign settlement left behind wide streets and a certain European softness that blends into the surrounding Japanese city in ways that still feel alive rather than preserved. Walking from the waterfront up into the hillside neighborhoods, you sense a city that has always known how to absorb the world and make it its own.
In the app, 25 stops in Kobe are narrated aloud, about 42m of listening across 5 walking routes, in 13 languages, offline once downloaded. Choose a route or build your own, then walk while a calm voice tells you the story of each stop. The app also maps 55 Instagram photo spots, social media photo locations with directions to where you stand for the shot.
The opening lines of a few narrations, straight from the tour.
"When you look at this mosque, you are seeing Japan's first mosque, founded in 1935."
"You might not realize how ancient this place is when you pass by."
"It's one of the major peaks in the Rokkō Mountains, and you'll find it's very popular with hikers."
"Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art."
"You are standing in an animal and flower park on Port Island in Kobe."
"You are standing in a place that tells a complex story about Kobe itself."
Curated orders through the city. Or build your own and press Play All.
A sweeping walk from Kobe's international heart at the Mosque through Ikuta Shrine and the waterfront at Meriken Park all the way to the Art Museum on the eastern shore
A mountain ridge adventure from the peaks of Mount Maya and Kikuseidai through the ancient temple of Tenjoji down to a trio of fine art museums tucked into Kobe's eastern hills
An easy stroll through Kobe's western neighbourhoods taking in the beloved Animal Kingdom, the quiet hillside temple of Nofuku-ji, and the grand Nagata Shrine
A gentle walk linking the celebrated Nishinomiya Shrine to the mysterious Koshikiiwa Shrine and the Kurokawa Institute with its collection of ancient cultures
A short bayside loop from the Asia One Center skyscraper through the Koiso Memorial Museum of Art to the sweeping span of the Higashi Kobe Bridge
Every stop is narrated. Walk them in any order, or follow a route. Open a category to see what is inside.