North of Kobe

Thanks to Kobe's mountain backdrop, hiking is a popular local pastime. From Shin-Kobe Station it's a short climb to the Nunobiki Falls. For a good mountain day hike, try going up Rokko-san; from Hankyu Kobe Line Rokko Station you can take a bus or taxi to Rokko Cable-Shita cable-car station (shita means “down,” or “bottom”). From there you can either hike all the way up the mountain or take the cable car partway. You may see wild boar—harmless unless provoked—in the forested mountains.