Rokko Mountain

Mount Rokko rises steeply behind Kobe, providing the city with a dramatic mountain backdrop visible from the harbour. At 931 metres, it is not the highest mountain in the Kansai region, but its accessibility from central Kobe — cable car from Rokko Station on the Hankyu Rokko Line — and the views it provides over Osaka Bay make it one of the most-visited mountains in Japan.

The summit area has a golf course, a botanical garden, and an observation point with panoramic views down over Kobe, Osaka, and on clear days across the bay to the Kii Peninsula. A network of hiking trails crosses the range, connecting to Arima Onsen on the north side. The trail from the Arima side takes about 90 minutes and allows you to combine mountain hiking with the hot spring resort.

things to do sight wildlife
A story
The English-speaking merchant community that settled in Kobe from the 1860s introduced mountain hiking as a leisure activity on the Rokko range — one of the reasons Mount Rokko became accessible by cable car and ropeway in the early 20th century was to serve foreign residents who had developed Japanese hiking as a sport. The Rokko range now has an extensive network of trails that attracts millions of Japanese walkers each year.