Having worked in Kobe for 5 years, I always wondered where the best spots for hanami in Kobe and sakura in Kobe were. Many of my colleagues always say that they always just end up going to Kyoto, but I recently just found this place that seems to be rather popular with locals. I want to share it with you today!
If you happen to be in Sannomiya, take the local JR one station east to Nada Station. This is the same station you will use to go to Oji Zoo and the Art Museum in Kobe.
Once you get out of the gates, go to the South Gate.
The North Gates just outside the station (towards Oji Zoo) also have some sakura - and they are fairly beautifully lined up, but nowhere as nice as the ones I will direct you to next.
Here are some of the ones at the North Gate:
Anyway, let's not get distracted. Let's go down the South Gate down what is called "Museum Road". This is a stretch of path that leads you to the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, and the HAT Kobe area. We aren't going all the way down there, but we are following this stretch of road just a tad bit.
You should come to your first intersection with a Family Mart.
If you turn right here, there should be a "park" - basically a paved pedestrian-only path that should only have a few benches and a few sakura trees. Walk down this path.
Don't be fooled by the lack of sakura trees just yet. Keep walking!
If you are lucky to encounter the sakura at peak season and you keep walking, this is the scenery you should be met with after 5-10 minutes:
This area does lack the background scenery Kyoto offers, but if you are just looking for a weekday hanami spot with some friends or you just want some nice photos to impress family and friends with while you're in Kobe, this is a nice place to do it. I do hear it does get quite crowded over the weekend, but there's no place in Japan with sakura that'll be empty in the city (wishful thinking haha).
And if you want to check out Oji Zoo, they also open up the Zoo for night sakura. Definitely check out their website for when that will happen during the time you want to go.
Hope that helps someone looking for cherry blossoms in Kobe!