We Created a Video of Kobe, Hyogo

  Recently, the New York Times started a section on their website called “Show Us Your City.” Viewers can grab a camera, make a video of them giving a tour of their hometown, submit it to the New York Times, and they post it up on their website.

  We figured it would be a great way to introduce our prefecture to a wider audience. We also didn’t have a video for Sannomiya, so we said why not, and decided to give it a shot! We had a few locations to choose from, but we decided to go with Sannomiya. It’s the busiest area in Hyogo, and it’s also close to our office, in case we have to retake some footage since we’re total beginners. I think it ended up being a good call.

Kobe Luminarie Lights Up Kobe’s Winter

  This year marks the 16th anniversary of the Kobe Luminarie. The festival is held between December 2nd to December 12th at the Old Foreign Settlement and Higashi-Yuenchi in Chuo-ku, Kobe.
  The festival began in December of 1995 in memory of the lives that were lost during the Great Hanshin Awaji Earthquake, but now, this popular winter festival represents the hopes and bright futures of the people of Kobe.

    

 Illuminating Arches

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