DAY 3
Day 3 at last: a Kobe sightseeing and shopping cruise! Check out popular and noteworthy shops in one go. Fine, modern Japan leather that only Kobe can offer will vividly refresh any preconceptions. And so, once again, welcome to Japan.
Discover Japan leather's new sophistication in Toyooka & Kobe, where a history of craftsmanship lives on [Day 3]
![Discover Japan leather's new sophistication in Toyooka & Kobe, where a history of craftsmanship lives on [Day 3]](https://ho-jl.com/images/2026/11/5a601121-bd99-447a-a356-576f58a127ff.webp)
Toyooka has carried on the craft of bag-making for 1,000 years, while the port city of Kobe is also known as a center of shoemaking. Noteworthy shops have opened in these areas, where sightseeing and shopping are a pleasure. Enjoy some shopping tourism for bags, shoes, and small goods that refine traditional techniques with a fresh sensibility.
Along with Yokohama Chinatown and Nagasaki Shinchi Chinatown, it is one of Japan's three great Chinatowns. As many as 100 shops line an area of about 200 m from east to west and 110 m from north to south. There are also many street stalls selling dim sum, sweets, and more, making it a very lively place.
▼ ATAO's large store that feels like a theme park
11:30 ATAOLAND KOBE
Kobe Kokusai Kaikan catches the eye with its modern exterior. In its retail zone, the popular ATAO Kobe main store has been reborn as a large, theme park–like store, where products from ATAO's sister brands are beautifully displayed.
SHOP INFO
ATAOLAND KOBE
studioatao-blog.jp ↗- Address
- Kokusai Kaikan SOL B1F, 8-1-6 Goko-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo
- Business hours
- 10:00–20:00
- Closed
- Irregular holidays (follows the facility's business days)
▼ Local branded beef: Kobe beef served at its very best
12:30 KOBE PLAISIR
Opened in Sannomiya, Kobe, in 2008 as a restaurant directly operated by JA Zen-Noh Hyogo. Kobe beef, the pride of Hyogo Prefecture, is hugely popular overseas as well. Here, Kobe beef and Hyogo vegetables are served in recipes designed to bring out their very best.
SHOP INFO
KOBE PLAISIR
kobeplaisir-honten.jp ↗- Address
- Hotel the b kobe 1F, 2-11-5 Shimoyamate-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo
- Business hours
- Lunch 11:30–15:00 (last order 14:00) / Dinner 17:00–22:00 (last order 21:00) / Sun only 17:00–21:30 (last order 20:30) ★When the following Monday is a national holiday, Monday dinner is shortened to 17:00–21:30
- Closed
- Mon (open when Monday is a national holiday; closed the following Tue instead)
▼ Leather goods with warmth, born in Kobe's Motomachi
14:00 STUDIO KIICHI
KIICHI is a leather brand from Motomachi, Kobe. Owner and designer Kiichiro Katayama, born into a family of long-established shoe retailers, carries on the skills and knowledge cultivated through Kobe shoemaking and continues to make leather goods with a sense of warmth here in Kobe.
SHOP INFO
STUDIO KIICHI
studiokiichi.com ↗- Address
- 6-7-3 Motomachi-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo (in the Motomachi Shopping Street)
- Business hours
- 11:00–19:00
- Closed
- Wed
▼ Leather goods you nurture by cherishing them over the years
15:00 Sodateru Kawakomono
The atelier opens as a shop on a few days each month; on other days, visits are by appointment only. Besides small leather goods, its shoes, bags, and stationery are popular. Its hands-on leathercraft workshops are also worth checking out.
SHOP INFO
Sodateru Kawakomono
ma-sa.jp ↗- Address
- Moriguchi Building 3F, 6-10-2 Kusunoki-cho, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi
- Business hours
- 14:00–18:00
- Closed
- Irregular holidays (business days are announced on the official website)
▼ A stylish shop with the air of the port city of Kobe
16:30 TSUCHIYA KABAN Kobe Store
The Kobe shop of the popular brand TSUCHIYA KABAN is a fresh, stylish space in a predominantly white palette, befitting the port city of Kobe. Carefully selected bags and small leather goods are lined up in its compact interior.
SHOP INFO
TSUCHIYA KABAN Kobe Store
tsuchiya-kaban.jp ↗- Address
- 1F, 3-14-14 Yamamoto-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo
- Business hours
- 11:00–18:00
- Closed
- Tue (also temporarily closed during the year-end and New Year holidays, among other times)
