Japan June 2011 - Day 2 - Kobe

Kobe - what a great place! Not sure if we just happened to have a great day so we were in especially good moods, but man - today was awesome. We trained it into Kobe at 12 after catching the 20 minute trainride from Osaka Station to Sannomiya Station in Kobe (with a JR pass you don't have to book a seat for this, just hop on). Before that we had waited around Osaka for the department stores to open so I could feast on some strawberry shortcake that I had been craving for over a year as well as some other goodies, and then we grabbed some macarons and jumped onto the train.

Since we arrived quite early and we had eaten too much, we decided to drop our bags off to the hotel instead of chucking them into the station lockers. We had booked at Kobe Meriken Park Hotel so not a walking distance from central Kobe, but luckily the hotel had a free shuttle bus that left from JR Sannomiya Station. After checking in and heading back to Sannomiya we followed some instructions I had gathered from the internet on how to find a good kobe beef restaurant. For lunch we went to Mouriya Honten which was north of Sannomiya Station on Ikuta Street, opposite Tokyu Hands.

We had been to some beef restaurants in Tokyo before so in comparison this was quite small and subdued. We chose a Sirloin Kobe Lunch Set for 8,500 and a Special Beef Lunch Set for 4,500. Mouriya chefs were not what I was used to, they cooked up all the meal set with little flair and chit chat and that was that. Not sure if it was because we were there for lunch or they were always like this. I do like the way some of the other chefs show off their skills on the grill as if they were the descendants of samurai and instead of a sword they have a knife and spatula. The beef was also quite a large cut, but a thin cut. I prefer the cut to be smaller and thicker as it seems to melt more in the mouth that way. Overall though the meal was delicious - however after we had dinner at Kagura I certainly know where I will be going next time!

Mouriya Honton Kobe Beef

Front of Mouriya Honton - just across the road from Tokyu Hands

There is also an A-1 on the same street as Tokyu Hands

For dinner we went to Kagura and it was just incredible. I must admit Shinjuku Mon cher ton ton is still the best I have been to, but Kagura was also amazing. The setting was much more polished and impressive than Mouriya. They had a number of teppan grills in a main room, as well as some private dining rooms. The quality of the food was also much better, again I am not sure if it was because we were having dinner here and not lunch. Prices also reflected the steeper dinner prices. The cuts of meat were just the thickness I like and I certainly got the melt in your mouth experience. The staff there were also super lovely and much more entertaining & talkative than our lunchtime chefs.

Kagura Steak House, Sannomiya Kobe

Beef Tataki entree

Last touch before serving our Kobe Beef

Our teppan chef preparing the fried rice

Our dinner at Kagura came to ¥25,000 for two which included a ¥14,091 'Gyu' set of 120g Kobe Beef, beef tataki entree, soup, pickles, garlic rice, green tea icecream and coffee or tea; a ¥7,508 'Kagura' set which was 120g premium Japanese Beef and all the above as well as seafood teppanyaki and drinks (beer, umeshu).

At the end of dinner they also pulled out a basket of 'dress up' headgear for us to wear and take a photo with! It is all kooky japanese fun within a classy fine dining environment which makes it all the more endearing. It is a little hard to find so here is a map and some instructions!

View Larger Map

Kagura is south of Kobe Sannomiya Station across the street to the right of this Cafe Nescafe

Entrance to Kagura, you have to go up the elevator

Starbucks on the corner, Kagura is past here just on the right

Kobe Merikan Park is a huge hotel, right on the edge of the water and resembles a cruise ship about to set sail. It has nice comfortable rooms, each with views over the harbour, and many restaurants and cafes to choose from. It certainly isn't a central location for tourists, but the free shuttle bus does make it a bit easier to get to and from the hotel.

view from Kobe Merikan Park Hotel

Kobe Merikan Park Foyer

view from our room balcony in Kobe Merikan Park

One of my buffet breakfast selections - the green tea bread is yummy!

Kobe Beef!

We were recommended a number of restaurants, and instead of just giving you the details of the ones we went to, here are all the ones we chose from:

Mouriya Honten Restaurant
Lunch: from ¥5,300 to ¥9,800ea
Dinner: goes up to ¥14,700ea
North of Sannomiya Station, Kobe
www.mouriya.co.jp/en/head/index.html

Kagura Steak House
South of Sannomiya Station, Kobe

http://www.kagura.net/

A1 Steak House
North of Sannomiya Station, Kobe

Shin Kobe Wakkoqu
Lunch: ¥3,990 - ¥5,000
Dinner: up to ¥13,700
Inside Shin Kobe Oriental Mall, near Shin Kobe Station
Open 11.45am - 10.30pm
http://www.wakkoqu.com/english/shin-kobe.html


Kobe Sake!

We didn't have enough time to check it out, but Eastern Kobe has it's own Sake District - Nada. Eating beef then visiting this sake district sounds to me like a perfect day.

You will have to head to Sumiyoshi Station on the Hanshin line, and most of the breweries are a short walk from the station. The train tickets will cost around ¥180 and the trip will take over 10 minutes.

More information can be found here: http://www.phontron.com/en/nada/index.php
and here: http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3556.html
and here: http://www.feel-kobe.jp/guidemap/pdf/nada.pdf


Accommodation

Hotel: Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel
Price: ¥14,000 Double Room
Location: 5-6 Hatobacho. Chuo-ku. Kobe 650-0042
Additional: Including buffet brekkie, and free shuttle bus to Sannomiya station.
Web: http://www.kobe-orientalhotel.co.jp/english/index.php
Booking: Online directly through website http://www.kobe-orientalhotel.co.jp/english/index.php.