It is the morning sun from the ferry from Kobe to Shodoshima. Shodoshima was also a beautiful island, but it was good that the ferry to and from was also extraordinary.

This is one of the photos I took when I went to Rokkoyama Ranch in early summer. Despite being close to the city of Kobe, the scenery was far from Japan. It was an interesting place where you can interact with various animals in addition to sheep up close.

Million Dollar Night View︎ ⭐ Japan's Three Great Night Views Hyogo Prefecture View of Kobe and Osaka from Mayayama Kiseidai Impressed by the spectacular night view

The "lights" of the cityscape swaying in the "light" of dawn... One of the hidden gem this time is from Ichishoyama, which is famous for the illumination of the Kobe City Emblem. At dusk, the city emblem and the Ikari mark are lit up on the mountains ... I took a picture of the night view from this very symbolic landmark of Kobe to Kobe and the Osaka Plain. With a vantage point, you can see farther than you can imagine. The night view beyond the photo is the Osaka Plain, and the mountains in the background are the Ikoma Mountains. Beyond the mountains is already Nara Prefecture. I was very surprised that Nara could be seen with the naked eye from Kobe. And the location with a good view also shows various "lights". The night sky, which was pitch black at first, gradually became bluer as the approaching sunrise approached, and then the dawn light appeared as if spilling over the eastern horizon. There was no sound, and the lights of the cityscape, which had not yet awakened from sleep, were twinkling in the cool and pleasant breeze. I like both the mysterious light of nature and this warm light of people. The moment you feel both beautiful, you strongly feel that this world is not "nature and people" but "people in nature". This time, we have delivered 😊 a piece from a special hidden gem where you can enjoy such two "lights" at the same time.

In the forest on the ridge of Rokko, I found a secret place where a mysterious anecdote between Mr. Groom and a fox with a white tail remains. This is a place called Mikuniike on Mt. Rokko, which has flourished as a villa area since the Meiji era. I knew from the map that there was a villa of Arthur Hesketh Groom, a trader who came to Kobe in the Meiji era, but I stepped in to find out why Mr. Groome, who loved Japan, Kobe, and Mt. Rokko, built a villa here. Groom was born in Vernon Terrace, a coastal city overlooking the English and French Straits, and came to the Kobe Foreign Settlement in 1868 (Keio 3/Meiji 1st year). In this way, he was involved in the trade of Japan tea and Chinese tea, and eventually in 1895 (Meiji 28), he built a villa named 101 House here on the banks of Mikuni Pond. One day, when Groom hid a lost fox chased by a hunter, he stayed near the villa and fell asleep on Groom's lap. Eventually, after Mr. Groom's passing, a man who said that this fox had moved to his family came to visit him, and the surprised family built a shrine on Mt. Rokko to enshrine the fox. The man who visited had no connection with the Groom family and had a dream (was told by you?). It was said that he had arrived at the Groom family. Because the tail was white, this shrine was named Shirohige Shrine. Actually, I found this Shirahige Shrine first, visited it to learn about its origin, and this time I came to the site of the villa site of Mikuni Pond. Now, when I entered the mountain a little from the bus stop of Mikuni Pond, I heard the sound of a frog like the sound of a cello of a stringed instrument and the murmur of the water flowing smoothly. Soon we reached a path overlooking a large pond through the bushes. There was a small island in the pond, and I could see in the distance how the frog, startled by my presence, jumped to the surface of the water and its ripples spread soundlessly. That's when I was stunned. A short tree stands on the other side of a small island with trees... The surroundings were slightly bright, and I could feel the children of families who had come to hike and running around. I felt like I had seen Mr. Groom as a young child. At that moment, oh, yes! !! I felt convinced. I'm sorry if it's just my imagination, but this is a mountain with the same atmosphere as the waterside of the happy memories that Mr. Groom spent with his family when he was a child... Perhaps this Kobe, which faces the Seto Inland Sea, was very similar to his hometown Vernon Terrace facing the English Channel. The sense of security of hometown... For some reason, I couldn't help but imagine that this was conveyed to the white-tailed fox. Since building his first villa here, Groom has embarked on resort development, tree planting, and mountain trail maintenance on Mt. Rokko. I am sure that this is a power spot where various ideas are excited. This time it was 😊 a piece from a "secret place" surrounded by such healing greenery.

"Kobe Foreign Settlement The Miracle of Building 38" Building No. 38 from the time of the foreign settlement in Chuo-ku, Kobe City, is a very retro Western-style building. The building is accessible from northeast to southwest, where a statue of Nike, the winged goddess of victory, is installed. According to the description below the statue ... Nike is the goddess of "production" and "victory" in Greek mythology, and it is said that since ancient times, it has been attached to the end of the ship as a goddess statue to pray for safe navigation and the realization of dreams. This 38th building is currently owned by the Daimaru Kobe store, but this Nike statue was installed here to pray for the recovery of not only the Kobe store but also the region, likening the building to a ship. In the morning darkness, the rising light shone in from the atrium sky, and the red bricks embedded in the surrounding floors emerged along with the statue of the goddess. Each of these red bricks has many heartfelt messages to Kobe! I feel energized when I come here, and this may 😊 be a real "hidden gem".

"View of the sea" This is a staircase to a foreign house called the former Guggenheim House in Shioya, Tarumi-ku, Kobe City. Kitano is the most important place to say Ijinkan in Kobe, but it seems that old Western-style buildings are scattered everywhere and preserved, and I can't help but think that this scenery is all about why the Western-style building was built here. On the way up the slightly steep stairs from the railroad crossing, you will enter a side street and immediately become the entrance to the Western-style building. Just to the right of me is a large garden of a Western-style building, which overlooks the sea in the same way. Even if you don't enter the Western-style building, I feel nostalgic for the view of the sea from this narrow and steep staircase for some reason, and it is one of my favorite places and often stops. This time it was 😊 such a "hidden place" staircase where you can suddenly feel the atmosphere of the life of a family who came from a foreign country in the Meiji era.

Aina Satoyama Park in Kita-ku, Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture A hidden hidden spot that even Kobe citizens do not know It was also the 😀 filming location for the movie "Rurouni Kenshin"

The other day (around mid-April), I photographed the flowers of the otome camellia (otome tsubaki) in the Mt. Rokko of Kobe. This Mt. Rokko area has been designated as the Setonaikai National Park and has been a suitable place for recreation and summer retreat since the Meiji era. Mountain villas and recreation centers have been built here and there in the mountains, and there are sightseeing spots such as Rokko Ranch, which is inspired by a mountain ranch in Switzerland, and Arima Onsen, which is counted as one of the three famous springs of pillow grass. The mountains opened by foreigners in the Kobe Settlement have many katakana names such as Cascade Valley (a valley of many small waterfalls) and Twenty Cross (20 mountain trails), recalling the history of foreigners opening the mountain. By the way, this time the otome camellia was taken at the place of the Japanese name, Otter Pond in Viper Valley. Aside from the Mt. Rokko area where many names from the Edo period remain, such as the Shojo Pond introduced here last year, Otter Pond is ... I wonder if the pond used to be full of otters, and I still look around for signs. The camellia blooming season is almost over, but now the azalea flowers are brightly colored all over the driveway. Animals and plants are rich in nature, Mt. Rokko how about 😊 hiking?

The morning sun shines from the fresh green of spring... Mt. Rokko in Kobe has been redressed! !! The photo is a morning scene taken near the ridge of the Omote Rokko Driveway in mid-April. I climbed the hill on a road bike, but it was a pleasant cycling that felt moderately sweaty (I climbed slowly). Mt. Rokko was opened as a leisure mountain by foreigners in the Meiji era, and Arthur Herkes Groom, who built the first mountain villa, is called the "founder of Mt. Rokko." The first mountain villa was built at a place called Mikuni Pond after climbing the driveway in the photo to the ridge. From there, foreigners and Japan people built mountain villas one after another, forming a village. It seems that there are no mountain villas left from that time now, but you can still see many recreation centers of various companies in the vicinity. Even if you actually climb on a road bike, you can meet foxes, raccoons, woodpeckers, squirrels, moles and monkeys, and you can feel that you have come to nature in a different world from the city. How about 😊 forest bathing for a mental retreat this spring?

The cherry blossom tunnel in Nada Ward, Kobe City, which I post last time. To the north of that tunnel is Maya Cable Station. From here, if you take the cable car and ropeway of the Maya View Line and get off at Hoshi Station, you will immediately see a view spot called Kikuseidai! !! The photo shows the night view of Kobe and Osaka seen from there and the sky that is beginning to be tinted by the sunrise. The altitude is about 700m, and as the name suggests, you can scoop up the star-like night view, and the moment you see it, hah! !! The night view spreads out so much that you can't help but take a breath and look at it. There is also a rental electric assist bicycle called Mayachari at Hoshi Station. (It seems that it is a rental with reservation priority) There are Mt. Rokko ranches within this bike ride away. Why don't you enjoy 😊 the fresh spring air of March?

The cherry blossom season has finally arrived! The photo shows a place called the Cherry Blossom Tunnel in Nada Ward, Kobe City. From the immediate vicinity of Maya Cable Station, about 70 Yoshino cherry trees are planted on a slope of about 400 meters from north to south. This was planted at the same time as the opening of the Maya Cable, and it was in full bloom in a tunnel shape. The photo was taken on April 2 last year, but it seems that this year's flowering will be earlier than usual, and it will be in full bloom on March 27 according to the expected bloom on March 21. At the top of the slope, you can see a little bit of Osaka Bay. If you take the Maya View Line from Maya Cable Station to Hoshi Station, you can also go to Kikuseidai, which is famous for its wonderful night view. Now that you have finally decided to wear a mask, why don't you go through the cherry blossom tunnel and feel 😊 the spring?

Kobe City Sports Park Over ❌ the fence I'm standing in the aisle and aiming with a telephoto! I didn't go inside the fence and take pictures! Follow the rules and follow the manners when shooting! The people involved are working hard to plant them with various thoughts, and the flowers are growing and alive, so don't go into the fence and trample on the rape blossoms!

Kobe City Sports Park Over ❌ the fence I'm standing in the aisle and aiming with a telephoto! I didn't go inside the fence and take pictures! Follow the rules and follow the manners when shooting!

Kobe City Sports Park Over ❌ the fence Even though the fence is low and poster is posted, there are quite a few people who easily straddle the rope and go inside and step on rape blossoms to be photographed or invaded during the tripod thing, and I understand that they want to take good photos, but it is a very bad manners place and flowers are alive. Follow the rules and follow the manners when shooting!

Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo 🐼 Every year during the cherry blossom season, I used to see the cherry blossoms in the courtyard of the Hunter House with my mom's handmade lunch box, but I couldn't visit due to the corona vortex, so I want to 😌 see the cherry blossoms at this place again with my family this year.

Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo 🐼 In the courtyard of the Hunter House Everyone shoots from here, but although you can get a panoramic view of the building, there are not many cherry blossoms, so I personally like 😌 to take pictures of the cherry blossom frame and the hunter's house from the outside with a telephoto.

Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo 🐼 Cherry Blossom Frame

Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo Hunter House and cherry blossom frame My personal favorite composition 😌

The Suma coast in spring is quiet and beautiful.

This spring, Kobe resumed accepting large international cruise ships for the first time in three years. Acceptance that had been interrupted in the Coronavirus pandemic ... The Seven Seas Explorer, which boasts approximately 55,000 tons of port arrivals, will be at the forefront of the reopening. Docked next to the Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel, it is a majestic but very beautiful cruise ship that overwhelms others. If you get closer, you won't know which is the boat and which is the hotel. There is also a movie theater on board. You want to get on board and travel around the world, but this ship is enough to enjoy just looking at it. If you like huge structures and ships, how about it? The Seven Seas Explorer will depart today, March 12, but will arrive and anchor on March 16~17 and March 30~31, respectively.

Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo The view of the cherry blossoms from the first floor of the Hunter House is also recommended 😌. Personally, I like the view of the cherry blossoms and the Ferris wheel at the amusement park from the second floor. Maybe it's only now that I see that scene...

Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo I look forward 😌 to going there every year At the Hunter House

Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo Favorite composition 😌 Everyone is photographing the Hunter House from the courtyard of the Hunter House, but that would only be the same photo as if the cherry blossoms did not enter. I dare to shoot with this composition with a telephoto lens from the outside of the fence alone outside the Hunter House. The beautiful cherry blossoms are blooming, so I want to make the venerable building look gorgeous. However, with this composition, the outside fence is captured, so a good telephoto lens is required.

Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo Well,😋 the giraffes here always eat cherry blossoms in spring.

Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo The view from the Hunter House I like this scene and it is a place of memories that my parents took me to visit every year with my family, but to be honest, it is very sad because there is a problem with the scenery when a multi-story parking lot can be built in the view from here.

Kobe Municipal Oji Zoo A place of childhood memories It is 😭 very unfortunate and sad that this scene may also be abandoned in the future due to the university attraction issue.

Series "Kobe, rediscovered" Today, the ninth stage, we will deliver the Port Tower, a symbol of Kobe, which is also called the beauty of the steel tower. Its height is 108 meters, and the hyperboloid tower with a smooth constriction in the center is illuminated to unleash its crimson beauty into the sea, sky, city and mountains. Currently, renovation work is underway, and an open observation facility will be installed on the roof of the highest place. When it is completed, you can expect a night view while blowing in the fragrant sea breeze and a view of the blue sea shining in the sunlight, and I am very much looking forward to it! !! It seems that the reopening will be in the spring of 2024, and it is completely covered now, but after sunset, projection mapping will be projected and you can enjoy the production.

"Kobe, rediscovered" Today, the eighth stage of the series, we will deliver the view from the Kikuseidai of Mt. Maya. In the vicinity of the previous "Kobe Sakura Tunnel", which climbed uphill, there is a Maya Cable station. This cable car and the Maya ropeway further up are called the Maya View Line, and you can reach the top of Mt. Maya by connecting the two. There is an observatory called Kuseidai (本星台), and below you can see a 10 million dollar night view from downtown Kobe to Osaka Bay and the city of Osaka on the opposite bank. The word "scooping up the stars" means "scooping up the stars," and the name comes from the fact that the countless lights of the night view are likened to stars, and you can look down at the stars that you can scoop with your hands. This photo was taken just before dawn, when the eastern sky was beginning to be tinted with sunrise, and I tried to scoop up the stars that fell from the night sky to the ground, but instead I was buried in the stars. The summit is about 700m above sea level and there is a temperature difference from the city, and the air is very fresh! !! On this day, I climbed the driveway, and it seems that you can ride the Maya View Line with a bicycle using a bicycle bag. You can also rent an electric assist bicycle at the top, and you can go to Rokko Ranch.

Kobe Sannomiya Ferry Terminal. You can go to Miyazaki from here, and the view from the observation deck is very nice.