Jan 20, 2014 - 1 min read

Autumn colors in Nunobiki, Kobe

A wonderful hiking trail near Shin-Kobe Station

By Manish Prabhune

Community writer

Autumn colors along the Nunobiki Reservoir

The hiking trail starts at the back of Shin-Kobe station. Start early on an autumn morning and optimize the items you carry, as the one-hour hike is quite steep at some places. You will notice warnings not to leave any plastic bags with leftovers on the trail. Please respect them, as wild boars from the deep forest come searching for the same sometimes.

One of the Nunobiki waterfalls—very beautiful with the autumn colors. You can sit down here and take a small break, since the journey is quite steep from this point on.

An elderly Japanese man taking snaps of the autumn colors, with his partner keeping company. Typically for the Kansai region, the locals are extremely friendly; you can usually strike up a good conversation and have company on the trail.

Beautiful scenery in autumn. However, spring is equally beautiful on this trail.

When I lived in Kobe, I was a regular visitor here, and even now, whenever I visit Kobe, I make it a point to take at least one morning walk here.

Nunobiki Reservoir with the autumn colors just starting. From here it is another 15 minutes to reach Nunobiki Garden at the top.

Yellow maple tree

Hiking trail covered with autumn foliage

Nunobiki Herb Garden is located on the hill just behind Shin-Kobe shinkansen station. To reach the top, most visitors take the Nunobiki Ropeway, but the locals usually use the hiking trail from the backside of the station. The approximately 1-hour hike to the top passes by the Nunobiki Waterfalls, a pond and through wonderful mountain scenery. It becomes so colorful here in autumn and I think the hike is a much better route to enjoy these colors than taking the ropeway.

Was this article helpful?

Help us improve the site

Give Feedback

Manish Prabhune

By Manish Prabhune

Community writer

Following Follow

Thank you for your support!

Your feedback has been sent.