Kobe port

[Shelley G]

How easy is it to get a taxi at the port to take us to the Sannomiya Mall? Do taxis take Visa or is it cash only? Thanks

[RetiredandTravel]

Quite a few establishments in Japan only take cash, including taxis.  We always had cash just in case  Never been to Kobe port.

 

See link

 

"Many taxis accept payment by credit card, and an increasing number accept payment by IC card, such as Suica. Stickers on the door often indicate accepted payment methods. When paying in cash, try to avoid paying small amounts with large bills. Tipping is not done in Japan."

 

https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2021.html

 

[sabrefan]

• I assume that you are visiting Kobe is via Regent Explorer? If this is the case, Regent should be providing free shuttle bus to a central downtown area. I would suggest calling Regent customer service and try to find out where the drop off and pick up will be in Kobe.

[papaflamingo]

20 hours ago, Shelley G said:

How easy is it to get a taxi at the port to take us to the Sannomiya Mall? Do taxis take Visa or is it cash only? Thanks

We just got off Explorer a week ago in Tokyo.  We did not go to Kobe, but the ship did offer money exchange for yen if you wanted.  So that MIGHT be an option if the shuttle doesn't drop you close enough to where you want to go.  

[fudgbug]

In Kobe now.  The shuttle will take you to the Motomachi shopping Street.

[GMIAC]

6 hours ago, fudgbug said:

In Kobe now.  The shuttle will take you to the Motomachi shopping Street.

How are the shore excursions? We just booked, for our March, 2025 sailing, the Highlights of Osaka tour for one day, and the Highlights of Kyoto for the next. Are these good tours which cover most of the must-sees?

[labonnevie]

We did the Highlights of Osaka in April. It was a good tour, but be aware there is a long drive to/from the places visited. Recommend. 
The next day we did Glories of Mt. Rokko, which was just ok, so can’t recommend the Highlights tour pro or con. 

[cwn]

Osaka was destroyed basically and has been rebuilt. Either do a second tour to Kyoto and see something different, there is so much to see… we spent 5 days and didn’t see all we wanted to. If they offer a trip to Himeji castle in Himeji, do it. It is a fabulous wooden castle. It is an easy short rain ride a little south and is wonderfully restored. It is easy to take the trains in Japan and you could do this on your own in part of a day. All signage is in Japanese and English. It is very easy to buy tickets at the station you can see schedules on line and the rains run on time!

[GMIAC]

1 hour ago, labonnevie said:

We did the Highlights of Osaka in April. It was a good tour, but be aware there is a long drive to/from the places visited. Recommend. 
The next day we did Glories of Mt. Rokko, which was just ok, so can’t recommend the Highlights tour pro or con. 

 

 

29 minutes ago, cwn said:

Osaka was destroyed basically and has been rebuilt. Either do a second tour to Kyoto and see something different, there is so much to see… we spent 5 days and didn’t see all we wanted to. If they offer a trip to Himeji castle in Himeji, do it. It is a fabulous wooden castle. It is an easy short rain ride a little south and is wonderfully restored. It is easy to take the trains in Japan and you could do this on your own in part of a day. All signage is in Japanese and English. It is very easy to buy tickets at the station you can see schedules on line and the rains run on time!

I'm not afraid to do touring and trains on my own, but I do want to see Osaka Castle, so I might just have to suck it up and stick to the tour that's offered. 

[cwn]

1 hour ago, GMIAC said:

 

 

I'm not afraid to do touring and trains on my own, but I do want to see Osaka Castle, so I might just have to suck it up and stick to the tour that's offered. 

We travel on our own without a guide usually, just using trains, taxis arranged from hotel, port or street corner even then on Regent…they just don’t always have a tour to what we want to eat.

 

The trains in Japan are really easy to navigate by yourself. But we have also used local guides in Japan and other places when on a cruise. Osaka castle is very nice but is new, built to look old. Himeji is a wonderful old small town, the castle is as original as it can be for its age and within sight and walking distance of the train station..… so you can’t get lost. When we went we were on at tight schedule Ship to ship about 3-4 hours. We were at the castle when it opened (ship was docked in Osaka). On the way back I was hungry so I bought an egg salad sandwich at the Himeji train station to my husband’s horror!  Best sandwich I have ever eaten so ftasty and fresh, good bread!!! And I lived to tell about it! If you want to do something different than the ship’s Osaka tour, look on line for Tours by Locals or the Japanese version. These groups are a great way to see the special things and safely. We have used them in Japan and Korea.

Have fun. Japan is a great country to visit so much to see and so different for us!!!

[papaflamingo]

23 hours ago, GMIAC said:

How are the shore excursions? We just booked, for our March, 2025 sailing, the Highlights of Osaka tour for one day, and the Highlights of Kyoto for the next. Are these good tours which cover most of the must-sees?

We docked in Osaka overnight earlier this month.  Did "Highlights of Kyoto" and also "Osaka Castle and Namba On Your Own,"

For "Osaka Castle and Namba On Your Own," we enjoyed seeing the Castle. It's a multi-level museum and quite interesting historically but you don't have enough time to read everything so I chose the stuff that looked most interesting inside to read.  Go to the top floor and work your way down. The top floor has wonderful views.  The grounds are pretty "cool" too so try to leave a little bit of time to walk around the grounds. 

Namba is basically an area of shopping with some very interesting facades on the shops and eateries. Lots of great street food places so pretty good place to wander and sample dishes.  

"Highlights of Kyoto" we toured the Nijo-Jo Castle, and Golden Pavilion.  Both beautiful and worth seeing (at least we thought so).  One word of advice... you can go into the. Nijo-Jo castle at your own expense (it was only a few dollars).  But it takes a while to go through.  We enjoyed seeing the inside, but the Japanese royalty was not like European royalty.  The Japanese furnishings are mostly non-existent unlike the over ornate European castles.  Lots of symbolic and beautiful wall paintings, and different floor levels for "power."  Anyway, it takes time to go through the castle, partly because once you start you have to go through the whole thing and it can slow down as people read the descriptions of the rooms and there is no early "escape."  Problem was, the gardens are extensive and beautiful (even though they weren't in bloom when we were there).  We would have liked more time to wander the gardens.  So you pretty much have to make a choice of either castle interior and minimal garden time, or spending your time in the gardens. 

As for the Golden Pavilion, that was spectacular to look at!  You don't go in it, but it's. a spectacular sight and the path around it and through the park area is beautiful and makes for some wonderful pictures.  

Anyway, that was out take on the two tours. We enjoyed them and for us, seemed to be about what the description says. 

Also keep in mind, we did the tours from Osaka, not Kyoto so docking in Kyoto might change them some. 

[GMIAC]

17 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

We docked in Osaka overnight earlier this month.  Did "Highlights of Kyoto" and also "Osaka Castle and Namba On Your Own,"

For "Osaka Castle and Namba On Your Own," we enjoyed seeing the Castle....

Thanks for the tips. I watch Gary Bembridge's Tips for Travelers YouTube channel a lot, and he recently took the Explorer itinerary that we're going to do next March. He advised to carefully choose a good mix of castles, gardens, landscapes, museums, etc., so everything doesn't start looking alike from port to port. 

Edited March 22 by GMIAC

[RetiredandTravel]

We also did the "Highlights of Kyoto" which delivered what was promised.  We felt Kyoto was the highlight of our Japan/Korea cruise and in hindsight wish we had gone with a full day private tour.  There was a ton of Kyoto that we missed and the venues like the Golden Pavillion were so crowded that the tour guide was virtually of no value.  It wasn't her fault there were just too many people to address a group of 40-50 people.

 

 

[RachelG]

it is really easy to get a taxi at the port.  They also run a shuttle to downtown, but we wanted to go to a particular restaurant that wasn't downtown.  We just got off the ship, and there was a desk with some ladies giving tourist info (and this was in the evening)  They called for a taxi.  The restaurant called a taxi for us to go back to the ship.  We paid cash. 

[labonnevie]

4 hours ago, GMIAC said:

Thanks for the tips. I watch Gary Bembridge's Tips for Travelers YouTube channel a lot, and he recently took the Explorer itinerary that we're going to do next March. He advised to carefully choose a good mix of castles, gardens, landscapes, museums, etc., so everything doesn't start looking alike from port to port. 

I would second this recommendation. During our 14 day cruise in April, we saw so many castles, gardens and shrines that they all ran together. Looking at pictures upon return home, it was hard to tell which castle/garden we were viewing. If redoing this cruise, I would look for other tours to break up the sameness. 

[frantic36]

8 hours ago, papaflamingo said:

Go to the top floor and work your way down. The top floor has wonderful views.  The grounds are pretty "cool" too so try to leave a little bit of time to walk around the grounds. 

 

Thanks for this tip as we are doing just the castle on our first day as we arrive port at 12MD. Since we are only doing the castle if you chose to could you advise the guide and stay longer and just catch a taxi back or is that not done?

 

Also thanks for the Highlights of Kyoto information. Like @GMIAC we watched Gary Bembridge's review on the Explorer Japan itinerary and have tried to make sure we have a mix of tour types.

[papaflamingo]

21 hours ago, GMIAC said:

He advised to carefully choose a good mix of castles, gardens, landscapes, museums, etc., so everything doesn't start looking alike from port to port. 

That is EXCELLENT advise! 

[papaflamingo]

13 hours ago, frantic36 said:

if you chose to could you advise the guide and stay longer and just catch a taxi back or is that not done?

 

Hmmm... not sure how easy this would be.  But I imagine if you want to stay longer and find your own way back to the port that there is no particular reason why you can't do so.  Just ask the guide and see what he or she says.  

[frantic36]

58 minutes ago, papaflamingo said:

Hmmm... not sure how easy this would be.  But I imagine if you want to stay longer and find your own way back to the port that there is no particular reason why you can't do so.  Just ask the guide and see what he or she says.  

Good advice and we will just be flexible. It isn't an issue as we have plans to go back to Japan in 2026. Your description of Namba made me intrigued to check it out before returning to the ship.

[RetiredandTravel]

We are also big fans of Gary Bembridge's videos. 

 

One other consideration is Hiroshima if you are going there.  The museum is a must see IMO but when we went all the tour buses and school kids decended on the museum at the same time, people were 5-6 deep and we could hardly move.  The museum experience could have been a lot better without the huge crowds. We usually go with the included tours but this is another situation where we might use a private tour for a 1/2 day to get there before the crowds  Maybe a taxi is available but our guide was excellent, like all the guides in Japan, and outside the museum in the park and on the bridge the guide offered great information.

 

Japan is wonderful enjoy!!

 

[GMIAC]

59 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

We are also big fans of Gary Bembridge's videos. 

 

One other consideration is Hiroshima if you are going there.  The museum is a must see IMO but when we went all the tour buses and school kids decended on the museum at the same time, people were 5-6 deep and we could hardly move.  The museum experience could have been a lot better without the huge crowds. We usually go with the included tours but this is another situation where we might use a private tour for a 1/2 day to get there before the crowds  Maybe a taxi is available but our guide was excellent, like all the guides in Japan, and outside the museum in the park and on the bridge the guide offered great information.

 

Japan is wonderful enjoy!!

 

We faced a conundrum while planning our Hiroshima day (10am - 6pm). The Highlights of Hiroshima tour (Dome, memorial, memorial garden), 12:45-4:45, doesn't include the museum, which we really want to see. So we'll have to do that on our own. Would it be better to visit the museum before or after the excursion? What time did you encounter the crowds?

[RetiredandTravel]

It was AM so I'll say 10:30-11, there were already multiple buses there.  The museum is a must IMO to really appreciate the impact.  This is a guess but I'd try to get there early (before school kids & cruise tours), it looks like it opens at 7:30.

 

https://hpmmuseum.jp/?lang=eng

[GMIAC]

16 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

It was AM so I'll say 10:30-11, there were already multiple buses there.  The museum is a must IMO to really appreciate the impact.  This is a guess but I'd try to get there early (before school kids & cruise tours), it looks like it opens at 7:30.

 

https://hpmmuseum.jp/?lang=eng

Our port times are 10am-9pm that day, and the museum is open until 7pm. So maybe it'd be better to do the museum after the tour ends at 4:45? Maybe many of the crowds will have dissipated by then. 

[RetiredandTravel]

I would guess after school might help.

 

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+179446

[GMIAC]

2 minutes ago, RetiredandTravel said:

I would guess after school might help.

 

https://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+179446

Thanks. Also, it looks like they're going to online ticketing with timed entry starting in March, so that would be perfect.