Kōbe City Gardens Hotel — Hotel in Kobe

We arrived by ship into Kobe and spent our first night in Japan at this hotel. I was really pleased with our choice of location.I took the ships shuttle bus to mid-town and enquired how to find this hotel from there. I was pleasantly surprised when we only had to travel one stop by train from Motomachi station to the next stop Kobe station. This was on the JR line but we didn't want to start our JR pass until the next day so the fare was 120 yen for the one stop. It was literally a 5 minute walk out of the station to the front door of the hotel(with luggage) This is an excellent budget hotel.Toiletries, gowns( although uber small in size), slippers, electric jug, tea service along with a fridge are all in the room. A laundromat and powder is available too. Reception speak great English and were very helpful-just what we needed. There is a good supermarket at the station where you can purchase lots of ready-made, ready to eat food as is the norm in Japan. We bought beer and a bottle of wine there too. The bed was really comfortable but be sure to ask for a non smoking room when booking if applicable. Sannomiya station is the change station to the Shin-Kobe ( Shinkansen bullet train line) This is a new clean hotel that I wouldn't hesitate revisiting and just perfect if you don't want to spend a fortune on accommodation and have just left a cruise. The following day we ventured to Himeji Castle for a day trip. Its a great destination to start your Japan visit and only 40 minutes by train from Kobe station. Its 970 yen each way if you don't have the JR pass At Hemiji walk out of the station and look to the far end of the street where you will see the beautiful white castle in the distance The white Egret-like main keep is a world heritage site and well worth a visit Its an easy flat walk to get there from...

Having not visited Kobe before I assumed that Kobe station would be the place to stay to access the sights, I now know that I should have stayed near Sannomiya station for this. The area around Kobe station is much quieter but has very easy access to Harbour Land, the station is easy to get to and the hotel only 1 street from the station.

The hotel itself is quite dated but still functional, the staff were pleasant and capable. The philosophy when building the rooms seems to have been to maximise the capacity, the floor plan looks like someone trying to ram in as many rooms as they can at the expense of the individual rooms.

When in the room the bed is slightly too small to be comfortable, the desk slightly too large to get past and the floor space slightly lacking to open your bags.

The bathroom is quite old and has a large step up to enter making a bit of a hazard if you forget/are half asleep and in the dark. The shower has two taps rather than a combined one so getting water that does not burn/freeze can be frustrating and the temperature fluctuates when in use.

The price was reasonable but I doubt I would book again under similar...

The hotel is located about five minutes from Kobe Station. It's a little hard to see from the street although there is a sign in Japanese and two trees outside which might help. Look up for a huge TOYOKO INN KOBE sign for another hotel further along the street on your right then you will know you have taken the correct one. Exit Kobe Station and take the road the furthest to your left.||Basically, for the price it is adequate. There is free coffee in the lobby but no breakfast. The rooms are fairly small and a little old, but clean. It is a quiet hotel and quality of sleep is good. The WiFi is free and works well. There are cheaper hotels around but if you are looking for no-frills convenience, then this one is as good as any. You can reach Sannomiya Station in around five minutes. This is the central station for all travel in and around Kobe. There are plenty of complimentary pamphlets at the front desk including maps of Kobe and information on its many...