Originally Posted by
Concerto
That's a great suggestion, jib71, thank you very much for it. I just hope to find something reasonable around Kansai airport, but a brief look on hotels.com earlier was not very encouraging. I thought that Osaka, being marginally better known than Kobe (in my brain anyway), was probably more deserving of a visit than Kobe. I have always associated Kobe with earthquakes and beef, quite an odd combination. Reading various threads here it seems that Osaka is not a place to get that excited about. But people say the same about Milan, and I love it there! Given the time frame, I think your suggestion represents a very intelligent use of time and less time wasted sitting in buses or trains.
Many thanks to nishimark above, too, it's very good to have that information, especially about the bus.
For sightseeing and having a nice leisurely lunch or whatever, I'd take Kobe over Osaka any day. Kobe is also well known for its bakeries (betcha you didn't know that, huh?) and some of the best bread in Japan can be found in Kobe. Kobeya and Freundlieb are two that come to mind, but there are many others.
Why would Kobe have good Western bakeries? Kobe (together with Yokohama, Nagasaki, and Hakodate) were the only ports open to foreigners in the Meiji Era, and they brought their Western ways with them. The Kitano area has some great old Western houses worth visiting. If time allows, a ride up to Mt Rokko will give you some great views, and you can visit some interesting structures up there. Osaka to me is just a giant concrete jungle with pushy people and great food.