One of the best ways to enjoy what a port has to offer is by taking a ship that cruises around the harbor. Especially at night when the buildings that line Kobe Port are all lit up, your time on the cruise ship is extra romantic and pleasant. Currently, there are three main companies that offer different cruising experiences. Choose the one that best suits your travel style, hop on, and enjoy!
Table of Contents
- Kobe Cruise Concerto (神戸船の旅 コンチェルト)
- Kobe Seabus Fantasy (神戸シーバス boh boh KOBE)
- Kobe Bay Cruise (神戸ベイクルーズ)
Kobe Cruise Concerto (神戸船の旅 コンチェルト)
For those who love cruises, book your seat for one of Concerto’s luxury cruises and enjoy the view of the port city of Kobe from the sea.
Accompanied by nice live music, the beautiful contrast between the blue sea, the white city, and the green mountains against the backdrop of Mt. Rokkō is sure to be the highlight of your trip to Kobe!
Note: If you don’t book a dining plan, you won’t be allowed to be in the cruise dining area (which forms most of the deck). You can only stay in the lobby or the outdoor sundeck areas with limited seating.
Regarding the menu, the cruise does not cater to a vegetarian diet. Your best shot is to book the Tea Cruise in the afternoon to request them to prepare dessert without eggs for you.
Important: Please note that you cannot bring your food onboard.
Kobe Cruise Concerto’s Cruising Session and Price
There is more than one dining plan to choose from for each of the cruise sessions, each with a different price tag. For more information, please refer to the official website HERE. You can change the language to English.
Tip: You can make an easy reservation and see other traveler’s review about the cruise HERE!
Booking for Concerto Cruise and What Happens on the Day
- Booking can be made by filling out their online form HERE.
- As the form is in Japanese only, you can translate it by Google Chrome’s translation function at the right of the address bar.
- If you need assistance, you can contact us HERE, and we will try to assist.
- You can also ask the staff at your hotel’s reception to make a reservation on your behalf by calling them at +81-78-945-8424.
- On the other hand, if the day which you plan to take the cruise does not fall on a weekend or a public holiday, you can simply also head straight to their ticket counter on the day as it is likely they won’t be fully booked out.
- If you want to cancel within a week before your cruise’s departure date, you will be charged a cancellation fee.
- Please check in at the reception counter on the ground floor of Kobe Harborland Umie Mosaic at least 30 minutes before your cruise’s departure time.
- Payments are made when you check in. You can choose to pay by cash or credit card.
How to Get to Kobe Cruise Concerto
To get to their ticket counter inside Kobe Harborland Umie Mosaic, it is
- A 3-minute walk from Kobe City Loops Bus’s Harborland (MOSAIC) (ハーバーランド（モザイク前）) stop
- A 10-minute walk from JR Kobe Station (神戸駅)
- A 10-minute walk from Kobe Municipal Subway’s Harborland Station (ハーバーランド駅)
- A 15-minute walk from Hankyū, Hanshin, Sanyō Electric Railway’s Kōsoku Kōbe Station (高速神戸駅)
Click HERE to return to the list of attractions in Kobe.
Kobe Seabus Fantasy (神戸シーバス boh boh KOBE)
If you want a more budget-friendly cruise experience, then the Kobe Sea Bus Fantasy is the choice!
- This new cruise ship just went into service in 2020.
- You get to choose from a 60-minute or a 90-minute cruise.
- When you are hungry, you can head to the cafe on the first floor for some drinks and snacks (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ.
- Please refer to HERE for the cruise map.
For their operating schedule, please refer to the calendar on their website HERE.
Kobe Seabus Fantasy’s Pricing
Please refer to their website HERE, which includes combo tickets with a few attractions at the port.
How to Get to Kobe Seabus Fantasy
To get to their ticket counter, it is
- Just next to Kobe City Loops Bus’s Kamomeria (かもめりあ) stop
- A 13-minute walk from JR Kobe Station (神戸駅) and a 15-minute walk from JR Motomachi Station (元町駅)
- A 7-minute walk from Kobe Municipal Subway’s Minato Motomachi Station (みなと元町駅)
- A 15-minute walk from Hankyū, Hanshin, Sanyō Electric Railway’s Kōsoku Kōbe Station (高速神戸駅)
Click HERE to return to the list of attractions in Kobe.
Kobe Bay Cruise (神戸ベイクルーズ)
For an even shorter and simpler cruise along Kobe Port, all cruises operated by Kobe Bay Cruise last between 40 and 45 minutes.
Their cruise ship, Royal Princess (ロイヤルプリンセス), departs on an hourly basis from 10:45 am to 4:45 pm.
You might have heard of the Gozabune Atakemaru (御座船安宅丸), which was cruising Tokyo Bay. This ship was built with the motif of the giant ship “Ayake Maru” built under the order of the third shogun Iemitsu of the Edo Shogunate. After its service at Tokyo Bay was terminated, it is now servicing at Kobe Port!
For more information, please refer to their official website HERE and translate the webpage by Google Chrome’s transaction function at the right of the address bar.
Kobe Bay Cruise’s Cost and Access Information
To get to their ticket counter, it is
- Just next to Kobe City Loops Bus’s Kamomeria (かもめりあ) stop
- A 15-minute walk from JR Kobe Station (神戸駅) and a 13-minute walk from JR Motomachi Station (元町駅)
- A 7-minute walk from Kobe Municipal Subway’s Minato Motomachi Station (みなと元町駅)
- A 15-minute walk from Hankyū, Hanshin, Sanyō Electric Railway’s Kōsoku Kōbe Station (高速神戸駅)
Explore Other Places to Go and Hidden Gems in Kobe
The port city of Kobe has many other popular attractions and hidden gems worth exploring. For example, for those who love nature, the Nunobiki Falls, ranked the same as the Kegon Falls in Nikkō National Park, is probably the next spot you want to visit.
The Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge in the photo to the right has bridge climbing tours for those who are looking for some magnificent views and thrill!
To find out more about this amazing city, please refer to our article on Kobe (=ﾟωﾟ)ﾉ.
