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The Okura is the full-service Kobe night. A heated indoor pool, a sauna, a gym and eight restaurants and bars, per the hotel, about 0.2 miles from Naka Pier by our pins.
It ties the Oriental on points and loses the tie by a few hundred feet. The pool isn’t free — ¥3,300 with the sauna, ¥5,500 with the gym — and the ¥3,800 Ariake breakfast comes with some rates, not all.
If your ship is at Kobe Port Terminal, this is the better base of the two: the free Sannomiya shuttle puts you two Port Liner stops from the gangway.
Book it if
- You want a swim and a sauna the night before
- You’d like a room that looks at the ships
- Your ship is at Kobe Port Terminal and you want the Sannomiya shuttle
Look elsewhere if
- You want the pool included in the room
- You need breakfast confirmed in the rate
- You’re driving and need to leave the car
Your night before, from here
From check-in to the gangway, using only what Hotel Okura Kobe publishes and our own map estimates.
Eight places to eat or drink, per the hotel: Sazanka teppanyaki, Toh-ka-lin, Camellia, Yamazato, Hamaiso sushi, Nishiki tempura, the Ariake buffet and Main Bar Emerald.
No ride to the ship is listed, and for Naka Pier you won’t need one: our pins put the terminal about 0.2 miles (350 m) away. For Kobe Port Terminal, about 0.6 miles (950 m), take a taxi or the hotel shuttle to Sannomiya and the Port Liner two stops.
The Ariake buffet serves breakfast 07:00 to 10:00: ¥3,800 for adults, ¥1,900 for ages 4 to 12, free under 4, per the hotel. Whether it comes with your room depends on the rate. In-room American breakfast runs 6:00 to 11:00.
For Naka Pier, walk: about 0.2 miles (350 m) by our pins, roughly six minutes. For Kobe Port Terminal, about 0.6 miles (950 m), take a cab with the bags.
The hotel prints ¥400 per 30 minutes and no overnight or cruise rate. Don’t plan on leaving a car here for the week.
Night-Before Score: 42 of 100
Points come only from the hotel’s own site (kobe.hotelokura.co.jp); the hub explains how the Night-Before Score works.
Getting here, and on to the ship
The Okura is the tall one by the Port Tower. By our pins it’s about 17 miles (28 km) from Kansai in a straight line; the hotel calls it a 65-minute drive, and 20 minutes from Kobe Airport.
No airport shuttle. The hotel links KATE’s bus to Sannomiya (¥2,200, about 65 minutes per KATE) and runs a free shuttle from MINT KOBE, by JR Sannomiya, until about 21:50.
No ride to the ship is listed, and for Naka Pier you won’t need one: our pins put the terminal about 0.2 miles (350 m) away. For Kobe Port Terminal, about 0.6 miles (950 m), take a taxi or the hotel shuttle to Sannomiya and the Port Liner two stops.
From KIX without a hotel shuttle
KATE’s limousine bus runs Kansai to Tempozan for ¥1,800 and to Kobe Sannomiya for ¥2,200; the Bay Shuttle ferry to Kobe Airport is ¥1,880.
The hotel prints ¥400 per 30 minutes and no overnight or cruise rate. Don’t plan on leaving a car here for the week.
Parking for your stay: ¥400 per 30 minutes, per the hotel.
No ride to the ship is listed, and for Naka Pier you won’t need one: our pins put the terminal about 0.2 miles (350 m) away. For Kobe Port Terminal, about 0.6 miles (950 m), take a taxi or the hotel shuttle to Sannomiya and the Port Liner two stops.
Flying in the morning you sail? Not off a long-haul flight with a same-day sailing; the airport page has the landing check.
Which terminal
Your documents sayNaka Pier’s terminal is the one beside the Port Tower, a few minutes’ walk south; Kobe Port Terminal, for large ships, is up the Shinko Pier side about 0.6 miles away. Check the berth on your documents, not the itinerary label.
Source: city.kobe.lg.jpDistance
~0.2 mi to Naka PierAbout 0.2 miles (350 m) from our Naka Pier pin in a straight line, roughly six minutes on foot by our estimate. Kobe Port Terminal is about 0.6 miles (950 m). Both are our estimates, not the hotel’s.
Airport bus
Free Sannomiya shuttleThe hotel links KATE’s Sannomiya bus, ¥2,200 per KATE, and its own free shuttle from MINT KOBE by JR Sannomiya, roughly every 20 minutes from about 8:30 to 21:50.
Source: kobe.hotelokura.co.jpParking while you sail
Cruise parking
Cruise parking unconfirmedThe hotel prints ¥400 per 30 minutes and no overnight or cruise rate. Don’t plan on leaving a car here for the week.
In town
Terminal car parks, no cruise rateKobe Port Terminal’s car park charges ¥160 an hour, ¥960 a day at most, around the clock, per the City of Kobe — but no source we read says you can leave a car there for a voyage, and spaces can’t be reserved. We found no cruise parking published at Tempozan.
The evening and the morning
The evening
Food or bar on siteEight places to eat or drink, per the hotel: Sazanka teppanyaki, Toh-ka-lin, Camellia, Yamazato, Hamaiso sushi, Nishiki tempura, the Ariake buffet and Main Bar Emerald.
Breakfast
Breakfast: ¥3,800The Ariake buffet serves breakfast 07:00 to 10:00: ¥3,800 for adults, ¥1,900 for ages 4 to 12, free under 4, per the hotel. Whether it comes with your room depends on the rate. In-room American breakfast runs 6:00 to 11:00.
Address
Kobe · Meriken Park2-1 Hatoba-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Hyogo 650-8560
Hotel website
The fine print, in one place
Times, fees, rooms and the small stuff, from Hotel Okura Kobe and the sources named under each fact. We couldn’t confirm whether the ariake buffet is in your rate, accessible rooms, pets in rooms (dog boarding is listed separately), so ask when you book.
Check-in and check-out
Breakfast
The Ariake buffet serves breakfast 07:00 to 10:00: ¥3,800 for adults, ¥1,900 for ages 4 to 12, free under 4, per the hotel. Whether it comes with your room depends on the rate. In-room American breakfast runs 6:00 to 11:00.
Parking for your stay
¥400 per 30 minutes, per the hotel
Pool
A heated indoor pool, 7:00 to 21:00, and an outdoor 25 m pool in summer, per the hotel. Hotel guests pay ¥3,300 for pool and sauna, or ¥5,500 with the gym.
Pets
Not stated on the pages we read.
Food and drink on site
- AriakeBuffet; breakfast 07:00–10:00
- CamelliaCasual dining
- HamaisoSushi
- Main Bar EmeraldBar
Rooms
468 rooms on floors 6 to 33, per the hotel. Some face the port, with the Port Tower and cruise ships in view; others face the city or the Rokko mountains.
Accessibility
The pages we read don’t detail accessible rooms, so ask before you book one. A clinic on the 7th floor keeps weekday and Saturday-morning hours, per the hotel.
On site
- GymYes
- Sauna or spaYes
- Family roomsYes
- Pets allowedNot stated
Also worth knowing
- A free shuttle from MINT KOBE, by JR Sannomiya, about every 20 minutes, 8:30 to 21:50, per the hotel
- Dog boarding is listed as a service, with no details
- Indoor pool and sauna closed on 2nd Mondays and about 10 days in June, per the hotel
- Swim caps are free to rent and swimsuits ¥550, per the hotel
- The gym is for guests 20 and over; under-13s swim with a guardian, per the hotel
Before you book
Worth knowing
- Pool and sauna cost ¥3,300 for hotel guests, per the hotel.
- Check-in 15:00, check-out 12:00, per the hotel; some plans differ.
- Parking is ¥400 per 30 minutes, per the hotel.
What we couldn’t confirm
- Whether the Ariake buffet is in your rate
- Accessible rooms
- Pets in rooms (dog boarding is listed separately)
Sources for this page: the hotel’s own site (kobe.hotelokura.co.jp). All read October 2026; each fact names its own source. Distances are straight lines between our own map pins, measured to the hotel’s own city’s terminal.
Worth a look alongside it
Before you book Hotel Okura Kobe: the Osaka/Kobe cruise guide and Osaka/Kobe as a port of call.
A swim, a harbour view, a short walk to Naka Pier.
Tell us your sail date and we’ll check Hotel Okura Kobe for the night before. No payment on the form.
Hotel Okura Kobe FAQ
How far is Hotel Okura Kobe from the cruise terminal?
About 0.2 miles (350 m) from our Naka Pier pin in a straight line, and about 0.6 miles (950 m) from Kobe Port Terminal’s. Those are our estimates.
Does Hotel Okura Kobe have a pool?
Yes: a heated indoor pool, 7:00 to 21:00, and an outdoor pool in summer, per the hotel. Guests pay ¥3,300 for pool and sauna.
Is there a shuttle from Sannomiya to Hotel Okura Kobe?
Yes, free, from MINT KOBE by JR Sannomiya, about every 20 minutes from 8:30 to 21:50, per the hotel.
Is breakfast included at Hotel Okura Kobe?
It depends on the rate. The Ariake buffet runs 07:00 to 10:00 at ¥3,800 for adults and ¥1,900 for ages 4 to 12, and under-4s eat free, per the hotel.
What time is check-out at Hotel Okura Kobe?
12:00, with check-in at 15:00, per the hotel. Some plans have their own times.
Can children use the pool at Hotel Okura Kobe?
Yes. Under-13s need a guardian at the indoor pool, and the gym is for guests 20 and over, per the hotel.
Booking the cruise too?
Tell us the sailing and we’ll line up Hotel Okura Kobe, the ride to the ship and the cruise itself. No fee, no obligation.
Got it — thank you.
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