Just ten minutes away from Kobe by ropeway, Nunobiki Herb Gardens offers a spectacular view of the city. Comprising of 12 spacious gardens, visitors can enjoy 75,000 herbs and 200 kinds of flowers that bloom all throughout the year. There’s also a greenhouse, fragrance museum, restaurants, gift shops, and footbaths. And along the way, you can visit the beautiful Nunobiki Falls.
Kobe is conveniently located less than hour from Osaka and Kyoto, making it a great day-trip destination for visitors to either city. Best known for its mouth-watering beef, Kobe has plenty of other great attractions, too, like its historic Chinatown and waterfront Harborland. In early spring, I decided to go check out the Nunobiki Herb Gardens to (hopefully) catch some early spring blooms.
Nunobiki Herb Gardens sits on the side of Mount Maya, one of the main peaks of the Rokko range north of Kobe City. You can hike up to it via a mountain trail that passes the Nunobiki Falls. It takes about an hour to get to the south gate. If you prefer a more relaxing time, there’s also a ropeway that takes visitors up.
The entrance to the ropeway, or the Bottom Station, is located right outside Shin-Kobe station. The ropeway makes two stops on the way up and down from the Bottom Station: at the Mid Station, which is at the bottom of the gardens, and the Top Station, which is the highest point of the gardens. So, you can decide how much you want to walk and how much you want to spend: there’s one-way and round-trip tickets for the ropeway.
From inside the cable car, you get some pretty amazing views. It was a bit hazy when I went up, but I could still see some of Wakayama faintly in the distance. I took the ropeway all the way to the Top Station to grab a snack and check out one of the gift shops. This area of the gardens is known as the Welcome Garden and is designed to look like Wartburg, an ancient castle in Germany. The vibe reminded me a bit of Huis Ten Bosch in Nagasaki.
The gift shop, while small, sells a variety of herbal and aromatic goods, including essential oils and unique blend teas. There’s also a fragrance museum and concert hall nearby. After exploring the area for a bit, I slowly made my way down through the gardens via the many meandering paths. I passed a herb garden, lavender garden, and a kitchen, or potager, garden.
As I wandered down, I couldn’t help but think I was too early to see the gardens in their full splendor. I did spot a few blossoms. They looked like apricot, although it’s possible they were early cherry—it’s sometimes hard to tell. But then I came across the Glasshouse, which is undoubtedly the best part of Nunobiki.
The Glasshouse sits on the edge of a hill, overlooking the city below. Not only does it boast amazing views from its terrace, the inside is also a treat, filled with Cape primrose, hibiscus, bougainvillea, and fuchsia. You can soak in one of the footbaths while you look out onto the sea, or enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, or a light meal, at the café .
There’s also a section of the Glasshouse which looks sort of like a museum, with reproduced scenes of a house, like a kitchen and living room. I’m not really sure what the point of it is, but the dry flowers and herbs are really pretty to look at.
There’s more to explore after the Glasshouse, including the Four Seasons Garden and Waterfall Patio. But it was only once I reached the Kaze no Oka Lawn, which has hammock chairs you can chill in, that I finally found what I was really looking for: the garden’s famed lavender soft cream. I’ve tried a few of Japan’s “exotic” flavors, like sesame, lychee, wisteria, and sweet potato, but this one might just be my favorite. Subtle, yet delicious.
After enjoying more of the view along with my ice-cream, it was time to head back down the mountain. I decided to take the trail this time and go check out the Nunobiki Falls.
Nunobiki Falls is a collection of four waterfalls: Ontaki, Mentaki, Meotodaki and Tsutsumigadaki. Ontaki is the most famous at 43 m (141 ft) high. It’s considered one of the three great waterfalls of Japan, along with Nachi Falls in Wakayama and Kegon Falls in Tochigi.
Having never been to Kobe before, I was struck by how close this incredible scenery was to the bustling Shin-Kobe station. I could’ve never guessed there was a forest trail within steps from it’s exit. Well, now we know.
Visit Nunobiki Herbs Gardens
Nunobiki has different hours of operation and ticket prices depending on the season and time of day, so be sure to check the website. The ropeway entrance is a short walk from JR Shin-Kobe Station on the Hokushin Line.
