How to hike from Shin-Kobe Station to Kikuseidai Observation Platform

Date published: Apr 21, 2026

I researched a hike from Shin-Kobe Station to Kikuseidai Observation Platform because I wanted to go hiking in Japan, and I also wanted to view Kobe from Kikuseidai Observation Platform (especially around sunset). This hike would combine all of that into one activity. I didn't want the hike to be that long, so I made plans to do a shorter hike starting from the top of Nunobiki Herb Gardens, and I spent a lot of time/energy researching and verifying that this route is even possible. I ultimately decided not to do this hike anyway, but I'm sharing the hiking plan here for others who are considering doing a hike/route/plan similar to this, in hopes that I can save them some time/energy.

View from Kikuseidai Observation Platform (Source: Close enough to scoop up the stars: Kikuseidai, home to one of Japan's top three night views)

To fully hike from Shin-Kobe Station to Kikuseidai Observation Platform, you could follow this AllTrails route. The hike is rated "Hard" with an average duration of ~3 hours. It goes by some local waterfalls (see Nunobiki Falls), around the Nunobiki Herb Gardens, and ends at Kikuseidai Observation Platform. From there, you can either hike back down the same route or take the Maya Viewline (Mt. Maya Cable Car + Ropeway) back down. I planned to take the cable car + ropeway back down to save time/energy.

View from the Mt. Maya gondola (Source: Mt.Maya, Kobe | Japan Travel Guide)

Here's a video following a similar route:

I wanted a shorter hike (to save time for other activities in Kobe), so I planned to skip the initial hike portion (with Nunobiki Falls) by taking the Nunobiki Herb Gardens ropeway up, and then following the hike trail from there until eventually meeting up with the original AllTrails route, and then continuing up towards Kikuseidai Observation Platform. This path isn't obviously advertised; I pieced it together from a few videos showcasing different points along the trail:

• e.g. this video showing the hike entrance at the top of Nunobiki Herb Gardens. They end up turning right (heading back down the mountain) instead of left (towards Kikuseidai Observation Platform)
  • This other AllTrails hike goes past Nunobiki Herb Gardens using the same path that these people took in the video. It checks out since this hike review as well as the people in the video described how sketchy the route is.

    • There is a sketchy path towards the end of the hike that’s hard to find. Instead of taking the path shown on alltrails, I suggest going through the herb garden.

• e.g. this video also shows the same hiking trail entrance from the top of Nunobiki Herb Gardens and how it leads up to Kikuseidai Observation Platform
• e.g. this video shows what the "Mt. Maya" path initially looks like

I considered walking through the gardens while up there. Instead of going to the top of the gardens, walking downwards through the gardens, and then backtracking upwards, I planned to get off the gondola at the ropeway middle station (called Kaze no Oka Intermediate Station) and check out the gardens while going upwards until eventually reaching the top of the gardens where the hiking trail starts. You're allowed to get off at the ropeway middle station, but it's uncommon since people prefer going all the way up and then viewing the gardens while walking downhill. In any case, I decided to skip the gardens altogether to save time for other activities in Kobe. If you're interested in taking this route, you can see the ticket price for going from the bottom station to the middle station here (as of April 2026).

In summary, here is the route that I was planning (~2 hours from the bottom of the Nunobiki Ropeway to Kikuseidai Observation Platform):

To do this hike and get to the top by sunset, I used AI to help with planning: Grok was able to look up the closing time of the Maya Viewline (Maya Cable + Ropeway) and the sunset time on the specific date I planned to visit, and it used that to recommend an optimal time to start the hike and come back down from Kikuseidai Observation Platform (such that you don't miss the last departure and have to hike back down in the dark...). For example, if you want to hike up and see the sunset, you likely have to go on the weekend because the Mt. Maya cable car only extends its hours (to around 9PM) on Friday - Sunday (as of April 21st, 2026).

If you get to the top a bit early, then you can relax at the nearby cafe - it's showcased in videos like this one:

A photo of the cafe area at Kikuseidai Observation Platform (Source: Waterfalls & Incredible Views Hiking in Kobe [Japan Day Trip])

If you're looking for more information on Nunobiki Herb Gardens, Nunobiki Waterfalls, Kikuseidai Observation Platform, and the hiking trails, do Google/YouTube searches using Japanese. Here are the key terms you can use:

• 神戸布引ハーブ園 (Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens)
• 布引の滝 (Nunobiki Waterfalls)
• 掬星台 (Kikuseidai Observation Platform)
• ハイキング (Hiking)
• 摩耶山 (Mt. Maya)

Here's an example of a video that comes up more quickly in searches when using Japanese: 【神戸】都心にこんな絶景が！？新神戸駅近く「布引の滝」で清涼感あふれるアクティビティ・茶屋満喫レビュ～【ロカプラ兵庫】

Ultimately, I decided not to do this hike because it didn't seem that exciting to me relative to other things I wanted do during my limited time in Kobe. I was also already planning to do some hiking near/at Fushimi Inari in Kyoto, so I didn't care that much to do another hike. However, if you're in the area and planning to do a hike like this, hopefully this post was helpful!