I think we expected more from this famous site -several fairly plain temples (or shrines, which are not fancy left us disappointed).. Immigration in Kobe was a nightmare as it took 3 hours to get off the ship (due tour missing the Port of Nagasaki where they had been expecting us, and had many Immigration officials on duty)...in Kobe they had only a couple of Immigration officers trying to handle ...
It took till after noon to get through Japanese Customs which was just ridiculous. We had planned to take the train to Kyoto but didn't have enough time by the time we got through customs. We walked to the Earthquake/Tsunami Disaster Museum which turned out to be just absolutely excellent! Highly recommend that to anyone. ...
Kobe is very accessible. It's great to walk around the downtown and China Town areas. We also took a 30 minute subway-train ride to charming mountain village which is a spa-town where local crafts abound. ...