Hi — I’m Tabiiku. I travel around Japan with my daughter on the principle that experience is the best thing you can give a child. This trip combined two things just outside Kobe: a full day at Rokkosan Athletic Park GREENIA, and a night at Nature Live Rokko, a five-room hotel up on the mountain. One of them I have reservations about. The other was one of the best stays we have had.
Getting there
From Tokyo, take the Shinkansen to Shin-Kobe and then drive about 30 to 40 minutes. We used a Times car share. Be warned that once you come off the expressway the mountain road is relentlessly winding — if anyone in your car gets motion sick, take something before you set off rather than partway up.
Rokkosan Athletic Park GREENIA
My honest verdict on GREENIA is mixed: parts of it are excellent, and parts of it are badly run. Here is what I would tell a friend before they went.
- Arrive at least ten minutes before opening and aim for the first car park. It fills fast.
- Buy entry tickets online in advance.
- Forest Adventure also has to be bought in advance.
- The zipline is first-come, first-served on the day — head straight for the desk the moment you are through the gate.
- Bring cash for the zipline. Cards are not accepted.
The Forest Adventure and zipline sections were the weak point. Picture forty people lined up at the start of a high ropes course all at once, and you have the idea. Getting everyone into harnesses and through the practice run takes thirty to forty-five minutes, and by a clear margin this was the least satisfying part of the day. The whole thing runs to more than an hour and a half, so bring a bottle of water with you.
The part that made the trip was the water obstacle course — the Wonder Amenbo area. My daughter played there for over two hours and would happily have stayed longer. It is genuinely difficult, so bring shoes you do not mind soaking and a full change of clothes. I would say children below around school year three will struggle with a lot of it.
Nature Live Rokko
And now the good part. Nature Live Rokko was a very high-satisfaction stay from start to finish.
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It starts in the car park: a member of staff is waiting for you and drives you up to the hotel. Check-in was quick and easy, and while it was happening they were already suggesting what we might want to do.
The arrival activity is a proper one. You saw a log with a handsaw, split it with an axe, and build a fire. Once it is going you toast financiers over it and drink something cold while you wait. My daughter took it extremely seriously.
The rooms are large, and the balcony on the upper floor has a hammock strung across it. My daughter claimed it on arrival and stayed there until dinner.
Dinner is built around your child. My daughter became the “little chef”: with a member of staff guiding her, she did the seasoning, prepped the ajillo and generally ran the show, while we watched from the sofa. When she had finished the meal she was presented with a wooden chef’s certificate, which is now on her wall.
After dinner you can toast marshmallows over the fire and look at the moon through a telescope. The staff were happy to bend the schedule to suit us, usually prefaced with a conspiratorial “don’t tell anyone”.
Breakfast is served in the Bird Nest: freshly baked bread, soup and salad. Afterwards there is a treasure-hunt-style activity, and while you make a photo stand they take a family photo on an instant camera and give it to you to take home.
Even the drive back down to the car park came with a “shall I take a photo for you?”. That attention to the guest ran through everything.
With only five rooms, the hotel can operate at a level of care that larger places simply cannot match, and you feel it everywhere. It is somewhere I would genuinely like to go back to. If you are visiting Kobe or Osaka with children and want one night that is completely different from a city hotel, this is the one.
Book Nature Live Rokko
Check rates and availability on Agoda
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