By ship
A number of ferry services are available from Kobe, including routes to:
Takamatsu: Jumbo Ferry, 078-327-3111. 3 1/2 hours; ¥1,800.
Kitakyushu: Hankyu Ferry, 078-857-1211 (http://www.han9f.co.jp/17...). 12 hours; ¥7,400+.
Oita: Diamond Ferry, 078-857-9525. 12 hours; ¥8,800+. Also stops at Matsuyama.
Beppu: Kansai Kisen, 06-6572-5181 (http://www.kanki.co.jp/fo...). 12 hours; ¥8,800+. Also stops at Matsuyama.
Okinawa: Maruei Ferry, 078-857-3901. 3 days; ¥18,800+. Also stops at Miyazaki.
Shanghai: Japan-China Ferry, 078-321-5791 Japan or 021-6326-4357 China. 45 hours; ¥20,000+.
Tianjin: China Express Line, 03-3537-3107 Japan or 022-2420-5777 China (http://celkobe.co.jp/engl...). 50 hours; ¥22,000+.
By train
The nearest station on Japan's high-speed shinkansen network is at Shin-Kobe station.From Tokyo station, Shin-Kobe is 2 hours, 50 minutes away via Nozomi ¥14670; 3 hours and 20 minutes via Hikari ¥14270; no charge with the Japan Rail Pass. From Shin-Kobe station, take the Seishin Yamate subway line one stop to Sannomiya ¥200. If you are traveling light you can walk as well.
From Osaka, there are several ways to arrive in Sannomiya:
Trains on the Hankyu and Hanshin private lines depart respectively from Hankyu-Umeda and Hanshin-Umeda stations. The Tokkyu ç¹æ¥ express takes roughly half an hour to reach Sannomiya Â¥310.
Hanshin
trains also operate to Kobe from Namba station. Kaisoku Kyuko å¿«éæ¥è¡ trains depart every 20 minutes, reaching Sannomiya in 45 minutes at a cost of ¥400. In some instances you may have to change trains at Amagasaki.The best option via JR is to take the Shin-kaisoku æ°å¿«é - Special Rapid or Kaisoku å¿«é - Rapid service that departs from JR Osaka station, running to Sannomiya in 20 and 26 minutes, respectively ¥390, no charge with the Japan Rail Pass.
From Kyoto, Sannomiya is 50 minutes away from the main train station via Shin-kaisoku ¥1050; no charge with the Japan Rail Pass. You can also make the run to the area in 30 minutes via bullet train, but it is more expensive, and if you have the rail pass, you can only take one train every hour without changing trains the Hikari that runs through to Okayama.
From the central area of Kyoto near Gion and the shopping district, you can reach Sannomiya in 70 minutes via Hankyu limited express, changing once at Juso station ¥600. Hankyu trains depart from the Kawaramachi and Karasuma stations.
Kintetsu trains run from the historical city of Nara to Sannomiya station on the Hanshin line via Namba. Direct trains leave every 20 minutes, reaching Sannomiya in 75 minutes at a cost of ¥940.
By plane
Kobe Airport ç¥æ¸ç©ºæ¸¯, UKB (http://www.kairport.co.jp/), built on reclaimed land in front of the harbor, opened in February of 2006. The airport handles domestic flights only: both Japan Airlines JAL and All Nippon Airways ANA have flights to Kobe from Tokyo Haneda, Sapporo, Sendai, Okinawa, and Kagoshima. ANA also offers service from Niigata, while JAL has flights from Kumamoto. A new low-cost airline, Skymark (http://www.skymark.co.jp/...), is offering cheap flights to and from Tokyo as well as Naha.
From Kobe Airport, the Port Liner light rail runs about every 10 minutes, reaching Sannomiya in less than 20 minutes ¥320 for easy connections to the Japan Rail JR, Hanshin, Hankyu and subway lines. From there, a small trip on the subway will link you to the Shin-Kobe bullet train station ¥200. If coming from Sannomiya to the airport, be sure to board a train marked "Kobe Airport", as some head to the Kita Futo branch line instead.
The nearest international airport is Kansai International Airport. The fastest way to get there is on the Kaijo Access (http://www.kobe-access.co.jp/) high-speed ferry from Kobe Airport, which runs every 45 minutes or so, taking 29 minutes one-way ¥1500. However, if coming from central Kobe, it's nearly as fast and less of a hassle to take the Airport Limousine bus. Airport buses cost ¥2000, and the run to Sannomiya takes 65 to 75 minutes depending on whether the bus travels directly to Sannomiya or stops first on Rokko Island. Alternatively, the JR Rapid Express connecting at Osaka about as fast and more dependable. By JR, the ride costs ¥2410 and lasts 90 minutes, taking the Kanku Kaisoku é¢ç©ºå¿«é rapid to Osaka station and changing there to the Shin-kaisoku æ°å¿«é - Special Rapid that runs to both Sannomiya and Kobe stations.
Finally, if you land at Itami Airport in Osaka, airport buses run to Sannomiya in 40 minutes and cost ¥1020.