Hiroshima or Kobe: tricky decision!
 

Hey lads,

Planning to do my 2nd Japan trip next year in May! A three week adventure taking in Tokyo (first three days and last three days), 7 days in Kyushu (Nagasaki, Kagoshima & Beppu) and three days in Osaka. However, I've still got about two days left to fill and I want to do another city in Central Honshu.

In the end I've narrowed it down to Hiroshima and Kobe. I thought of Fukuoka but that means I will have spent something like 10 days in Kyushu already!

Anyway, I hear that both Hiroshima and Kobe has a good nightlife, good Baseball teams (I'm English so anything with a bat and a ball, Baseball, Cricket, Hurling, you name it) and superb sights.

Its a tough question but I thought I'd ask the guys who may have already been to these cities: Hiroshima or Kobe?!

I cant just answer the question easily, so ill write something about the citys (have been to both) and you can decide.

First off all i dont know about any Ballgames, sorry.

Kobe: The nightview from the mountain is really awesome and a must if you are there. I also really liked Kobe Harbour wich has a huge shopping male, nice restaurants with waterviews (beautifull during sunset), gaming arcades and a small "rollercoaster" park. I personally didnt like the nightarea of Sannomiya. I stayed at a friends house, so i dont know how hard it is to find accomodation in Kobe (many people stay in Osaka or Kyoto)

Hiroshima: The Atomic Bomb Museum here is very good and the park very nice on a sunny day. Not to far away are parts of the innercity with shops and restaurants wich is nice but quite standart (for japanese citys with around 1 millionen). I only heard that the nightlife was good, but i havent experienced it (try wikitravel.org?). I stayed at the Jhoppers wich has a really good location and awesome staff!

If i had to choose i would pick Fukuoka first. Fukuoka is (maybe because close to Korea) a bit different from other Japanese citys. You will find foodvendors along the Canal selling food every evening. Canal city is a huge shoppingcomplex wich was really nice. Nightlife is really good and theres lots of different things to do. I also felt like the city was easier to navigate than Kobe (i know its smaller...).

Otherwise i would go for Hiroshima to see the Museum and because i had a nice time in j hoppers. Than i would drive out to Kobe one evening (from the 3 in Osaka), go to the Harbour area, have dinner and watch the sunset and than take a cable car up the mountain.

Good luck with the hard choice ; )

Edit: Oh yeah, dont plan to much time for Nagasaki, one day is more than enough because theres not much to do in the city. Better take some extra time and drive 1 hour south of Kagoshima to do the hot sand bath wich is a unique experience. Kagoshima itself is also a quite nice city and a good backpackers with the most awesome, cheap dinner is the Little Asia. Beppu is also woth some time to enjoy the hotsprings and see some of the hells ( the red one and the blue one where the best!)

I'd spend the 2 days in Hiroshima and make Kobe a day trip when you are in Osaka, you really only need one evening, there isn't much to see except for the port area (personal opinion)

Kobe has a lot of international restaurants, especially mid-eastern, and Sannomiya is nice to walk around at night...in terms of night "life" Osaka is more lively in terms of clubs and bars, but Kobe is cleaner and more calm.

Nice one guys, thanks for the advice! :)