Top 5 Art Galleries in Hyogo Prefecture

7-2 Shinkocho, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0041, Japan

“Beautiful place, I was blown away by the atmosphere and the variety of animals. The mix of art and aquarium is amazing. It is really something unique and I would definitely not mind going there again. They have a bunch of animals, there is even a section where they have the turtles walking around freely. So don’t trip over them. Some enclosures, however, seem a little bit small. Especially the one up on the roof. Though that is an ongoing problem with zoos in general.”

289 Hatadagumi, Sumoto, Hyogo 656-2533, Japan

“Hi everyone! I’m going to write about Awaji Monkey Center (MC) and compare it with Arashiyama Monkey Park (MP) hoping that it’ll help you plan your trip. First off, I support animal shelters and rescue groups and I don’t go to zoos. Awaji MC is not a zoo, it’s a place where monkeys live in the wild and us humans are just allowed to come and see them. Awaji MC does not interfere in any way: they do not treat injuries or administer medications, they do not assist monkeys. They track them using GPS collars for research purposes and give them healthy snack like yams (satsumaimo), bananas, pressed barley (oshi mugi) but other than that there’s no intervention. The good news that the monkeys are self sufficient as they support each other and raise babies together, and they all look very healthy including those that are quite old now. In that regard Awaji MC follows the same approach as Arashiyama Monkey park. Their role is supporting natural life cycle and observing. Now let me compare Awaji MC and Arashiyama Monkey Park. The most important difference is the size of the facility. Awaji MC is a 5 min walk. From the parking lot next to the sea you walk a short loop for 5 min and that’s all you get. There’s a small monkey onsen and a small snack area, and then a steep hill where monkeys jump around and climb trees. As around 300 monkeys live there, you’ll see a lot of monkeys and you’ll be able to see all sorts of communication patterns. It’s December now and there are a lot of babies that were born in summer, very cute and fun to watch. They’re all extremely docile. Here and there fights occur, but nothing too violent, and there are no monkeys that are injured or very sick. As the area is so small, you’ll be surrounded by monkeys. The monkeys are really friendly to each other and people. There are several very old monkeys that are still quite genki, one monkey with a bad eye, and this year there’s a baby monkey that was born with a birth defect, no hands. Of course this baby won my heart. Her name is Nina. She has arms but no hands. She’s learned to walk like a human using her legs and she can climb and play. It’s hard for her because hands are very important for monkey well-being but her future looks promising because the colony is generally very supportive. The staff said that Nina is eating well and she can play with other babies and moms so she should be ok. Gambatte, Nina! Arashiyama MP is much bigger. From the parking lot you’ll have to climb hills and it’ll take about 40 min. The MP is located on the mountain top, but you’ll start seeing monkeys 10 min before you reach it. There are a lot of monkeys living there too, they’re just scattered around more. There’s a feeding area so monkeys hang around there. You’ll see families and babies. No monkey onsen. You can buy healthy snacks and feed the monkeys, you’ll go inside a house with wire protected windows to do that. The view is fantastic. There are benches and those view binoculars for ¥100. The view area ends as a steep hill but there are cool trees where monkeys sleep, groom and play. I guess, I’d go Awaji MC if: you are based in Kobe or around (Akashi Kaikyo bridge costs! It’s almost ¥2,000 one way) and you have small kids: no hiking, just come and go. I’d go to Arashiyama MP if you’re based in Kobe (same travel time), Osaka or Kyoto, and you want to hike a little bit and see the view. You can also go to other famous Kyoto places after that. SUMMARY Animal sanctuaries where we humans can just observe animals without caging them is the best way to see animals, and both Awaji MC and Arashiyama MP provide an excellent opportunity to do that. Attached are the photos from Awaji MC. Enjoy your trip!”

407-2 Nishigaichi, Sayo, Sayo District, Hyogo 679-5313, Japan

“The visit was a phenomenal experience. I went there in September with my japanese friend to visit an old professor of his who works there. Eberybody was very friendly and helpful. They showed us around everywhere. The explanations at the beginning where of course in japanese but because I dont understand any of it, he explained it for me once again in quite fluent english. Same with the astronomical viewings. The event is at 7 pm. It was quite crowded that evening because of a school trip but although we watched the moon, Mars, saturn and the double stars. Plus we had a second, though small telescope outside to shorten the waiting period. The telescope is incredibly big, one of the biggest worldwide as I understood and it is indeed impressive. Once got the right direction, the parc is quite easy to find. I can only recommend. Even for foreigners! Nothing is directly translated in english but you can communicate and I promise you are very welcome. Give it a try!”

Izushicho Uchimachi, Toyooka, Hyogo 668-0214, Japan

“soba was delicious”

2425番2号 Kusumoto, Awaji, Hyogo 656-2301, Japan

“Came here in the evening, since it was open, the whole park was barely lit while the attractions were open the whole place is eerily deserted with everything so dark and spaced out. Do not visit after dark. Attractions definitely felt small compared to large theme parks, would not recommend, unless you are an absolute hard-core fan of the shows”

Japan, 〒560-0036 Hyogo, Itami, Hotarugaike Nishimachi, 3−555 ターミナルビル 4F 大阪国際空港

“Good wifi up here for live streaming”

2-8 Hatobacho, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0042, Japan

“Casual dining with or without set menu. Unlimited breads with set menu. Interesting place with lots of visuals on the second floor”

2 Chome-3-16 Kitanocho, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0002, Japan

“We are developing the Sherlock Holmes series. The design is British-style, so you might even feel like a detective!”

1087-1 Wadayamacho Tamaki, Asago, Hyogo 669-5213, Japan

“The quality of the spring water is good and the jet bath is powerful. The open-air bath has a wide variety of options and is very comfortable. It's also nice that you don't need a 100 yen coin. However, perhaps because business has been tough lately, the website has disappeared, the restaurant is closed, and the lighting in the in-house bath is dim. (I feel like the restaurant just happened to be closed.) The hot water is very good, so I hope you continue using it.”

596 Chiyodamachi, Himeji, Hyogo 670-0993, Japan

“We went early for a lunch sitting without a reservation. The staff were really accommodating and gave us a seat at the teppanyaki seating. The food was amazing, and the chef spoke English which was great. Would definitely come back if I was to visit Himeji again.”

1-chome-4-8 Mizudocho, Amagasaki, Hyogo 661-0026, Japan

“good”