Restaurants and Hotels Guide Book “Michelin Guide Kyoto Osaka Kobe 2011”

   Have you ever heard of the Michelin Guide? It’s a guide book for exceptional restaurants and hotels, created by the French tire company, Michelin. It was originally created as a guide distributed free of charge to motorists to make their travels easier and more enjoyable. For the first time in history, restaurants in Kobe were published on this world-famous gourmet guide book.

Michelin Guide Kyoto Osaka Kobe 2011

San’in Kaigan Geopark Officially Accepted!

     On Sunday, October 3, 2010, San’in Kaigan Geopark was accepted as an official member of the Global UNESCO Network of Geoparks.

　　There are already three other official geoparks in Japan; Toya Lake-Usu Mountain Geopark, Itoi River Geopark, and Shimabara Peninsula Geopark making San’in Kaigan Geopark the fourth official member in the country.

South Awaji Tour

Recently, I had the opportunity to go to South Awaji with Hyogo volunteer guides on a training tour. About 60 people came on this overnight tour, and it was a huge success.

On the first day, we climbed Mt. Mikuma and visited Onokoro Shrine, but the highlight of the day was going to Miyako-bijin sake brewery to learn about and taste their sake, as well as to see the Umibotaru for the first time.

                                      Mikuma Mountain tour with the volunteer guide members

Learning the History of Sake in Nishinomiya

Hello everyone! The other day I visited the city of Nishinomiya, which is located in the southeastern part of Hyogo prefecture, and it is conveniently located about 15 minutes by train from Kobe and Osaka.

Nishinomiya is famous for its’ sake breweries, and Imazu Brewery and Nishinomiya Brewery, are two of the five famous breweries in Japan.

                                                                 Nishinomiya Shrine

The Oldest Hot Springs in Japan: Arima Hot Springs

Arima Hot Springs in Kobe is the oldest hot springs in Japan. During the Edo period, it was given the title "Nishiozeki," the highest rank given to the best hot springs in Japan.

                                         One of the main hot springs in Arima: Tenjin hot spring

Fall in Tamba—The Season of Art and Delicacies

In Tamba’s mountainous region, chestnuts, Matsutake mushrooms, and black beans are some of the popular seasonal delicacies.

There’s an old saying, “Ten-takaku-uma-koeru-aki” which means, fall is a season when the sky is clear and the horses grow large. So food has always been a very big part of fall in Japan.

Today, we’re going to introduce the northern part of Hyogo. Located right beside Kyoto prefecture, The Tamba region offers a variety of events to celebrate this wonderful season.

Hyogo and The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

The view of Kobe Port

City of Kobe is the busiest city in Hyogo prefecture. It only takes about 20 minutes on the Special Rapid train from Osaka, and it’s got everything you need, from shopping and dinning to relaxing. Known as one of the most stylish cities in Japan, if you’re into art and fashion, this is the right place for you. Kobe is also ranked as one of Japan's best cities to live in.