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The Independent UK

Kinza Shenn

Hot springs, shrines and sake: This diverse part of Japan is perfect for first-time visitors

Japan Hyogo Kobe (Geopolitical Entity)

Combining city and countryside, the region is often called ‘Japan in miniature’ - (Visit Hyogo)

My friend has a spreadsheet on Japan. Another has a handbound scrapbook ready to pass to the next person planning a trip. It’s the kind of destination that brings out our inner Type A – people plan holidays for years, wanting to fit everything in. But for those of us on a budget or time crunch, the question becomes: how do you distil an entire country into a single trip?

The answer, I discovered, might be Hyogo. This main island prefecture is sometimes touted as “Japan in miniature”, and there’s a geographical reason for its diversity: Hyogo is one of only a handful of prefectures that borders two seas – the Sea of Japan to the north and the Seto Inland Sea to the south.

The result is a striking mix of climates, topographies and cultures, all contained within easy reach of each other. Snowy mountain shrines are a short journey from pristine beaches; the city centre of Kobe is a 15-minute train to Nada, the 14th-century heartland of the country’s sake production, and 30 minutes from Arima, the 1,000-year-old onsen town.

Hyogo is easy to reach from Kyoto and Osaka, and to get around by shinkansen, regional train or car. Along the way, the views were beautiful. Around 20 per cent of its land is designated national park.

My first stop was Kinosaki, a historic hot spring town more remote than Arima but serviced by train and bus. In Kinosaki, you can buy a pass that grants access to each of its seven local springs and wander between them, the shops and restaurants in yukata robes. I was told there are firework and lantern festivals on the canals in August.

Hyogo’s diversity makes it worth visiting in any season (avoiding, perhaps, the wettest months of June and July). There’s the madness of Nada Kenka Matsuri fighting festival in October, while cherry blossoms turn Himeji Castle dream-like in spring. Himeji is Japan’s only castle recognised as a Unesco World Heritage Site and many consider its canopy of flowers some of the country’s most spectacular.

The Koko-en Garden next to Himeji Castle looks spectacular in autumn (Visit Hyogo)

Summer brings life to Hyogo’s two coastlines. Suma beach is liveliest with its quick reach from Kobe, while Takeno beach on the northern coast is prized for its crystalline waters. And yet the locals I spoke to actually recommended late November or December for travel. I was surprised because, when I visited at the end of the year, it was almost dramatically quiet.

But they have good points: the cherry blossom season has grown hard to predict with climate change, while fiery maple leaves – a happy substitute – linger until the very end of autumn. Fresh Matsuba snow crabs arrive daily into towns and cities from nearby ports. Winter is the most inviting time to climb into an onsen. And it’s sake brewing season.

But the locals said that Hyogo remains moderately uncrowded throughout the year – one of its appeals over typical tourist stops. Its destinations are smaller, less extravagant, but perhaps more striking because their ancient pasts are perfectly preserved. Izushi is a case in point: a nostalgic castle town, population just 2,000, nicknamed the “Little Kyoto of Tajima”. On theme for Little Kyoto, its delicacy is sara soba noodles served on tiny plates: five piles per person with a side of broth and toppings.

The tourists I met in Izushi were all Japanese. Many had come to visit the historic Eirakukan Kabuki Theatre; scenes were filmed here for Kokuho, which premiered at Cannes last year.

It’s busier still during the autumn programme, when the country’s most revered kabuki actors travel in to perform for seven nights – all of which, I’m told, are quick to sell out. The wooden theatre has lanterns and antique posters hanging from the bleachers and a scent like old silk.

Walking down the street from the theatre, my guides and I passed the door of an old storehouse, an earthen building, meaning it was constructed with clay-rich soil. Inside was saffron-coloured from the low light of lanterns. It’s a sake brewery – Sasazuru, dating back to the 18th century. We were called in by the staff for a taste.

With whiplash, I was in Kobe the next day. I’d forgotten the feeling of crowds. A trendy retro ambience pervades its shopping district: the malls, markets and coffee houses.

Shisho Shrine is one of the most well-known in Kinosaki (Visit Hyogo)

Down the streets were endless advertisements for Kobe beef. Some of the best is in a basement in Sannomiya: the restaurant Plaisir is directly managed by the Hyogo branch of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives itself. A long walk north took me to the famous Nunobiki Herb Garden and an odd little neighbourhood, Kitano-cho, inspired by old-fashioned European houses. Both offered long views over the city.

There’s a feeling of emoi in Kobe – Japanese slang for an aesthetically satisfying nostalgia that’s hard to put your finger on. It’s a pleasant, bittersweet mood, and it lingered after I left. But for a trip built on a time crunch, nothing felt rushed, and nothing felt missing.

How to do it

Return flights from London Heathrow to Osaka Itami, via Tokyo Haneda, cost from £1,020 with Japan Airlines. The airport bus into Kobe’s Sannomiya station takes 40 minutes and tickets cost from £5.