We went to Kobe! It’s an easy 45 min ride from Osaka on the train, and there’s plenty to do to fill at least a day trip. We did the obvious (and gaijin) thing and ate the beef, then ventured up the nearby mountain.

Terrible ketchup and not nearly enough fries for this Frenchman, but the burger was good.

We decided to head up the fancy ropeway in Kobe, which took us up the mountain to an herb garden, forest, and waterfall. It was 1400 Yen per person to ride round-trip, but we decided to just pay 900 Yen to go one-way (up).

The private gondola was really fancy, the kind you’d find at a ritzy ski resort back home. And Nunobiki Herb Garden was incredible! Herbs, flowers, butterflies, Japanese hummingbird moths, ice cream, and a foot bath!

The walk down took about 2 hours, including the foot bath, meandering, and tons of photo ops. With plenty of evening left, we headed back to Osaka for a tsukemen dinner, our Japan staple.