The night panorama from Mount Rokko is one of the most beautiful in Japan; cable car or bus from Sannomiya ~1.500 ¥ round trip.
Mount Rokko, at 931 metres above sea level, is the natural backdrop of Kobe and one of the best night viewpoints in all of Japan. The view from the summit at nightfall —when the lights of Kobe, Osaka and Osaka Bay stretch to the horizon— is included in the select group of the "ten best night views of Japan" and in the "three million dollars in lights". The most popular access is by cable car from the Rokko-san Cable station, reachable by bus from Hankyu Rokko. The cable car takes ten minutes and costs 600 ¥ per leg. At the summit you will find the Rokko Garden Terrace (restaurants and terraces), the Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden, an ice rink in winter and, in summer, the Rokko Shidare light festival. The Rokko Arboretum has its own admission (~600 ¥). Go up at dawn to see Osaka Bay with morning mist or at dusk to see both transitions. Combine it with the Nunobiki Herb Garden if you go down on the Nunobiki cable car (a different descent from the ascent).
