Transportation
by air (Kansai airport KIX)
The closest international airport is Kansai (KIX).
There is an Airport limousine bus
from KIX to Kobe Sannomiya (about 2100 Yen, 65 minutes). Buy the ticket before you board,
from the vending machine near the bus stop.
Bus timetable.
Map of Sannomiya area.
by air (Narita airport NRT - Tokyo international airport)
Take the Narita Express train to Tokyo station (about 53 mins, 3000 Yen).
Then take the Shinkansen train.
from KEK
Take a bus to Tsukuba centre (timetable).
From here take the Tsukuba Express train to
Akihabara station (about 1150 Yen, 50 minutes).
Then take the JR Yamanote line train to Tokyo station (2 stops), from where you can get a Shinkansen train.
More details here.
Map of Tokyo train/metro system.
from Tokyo, Kyoto etc by Shinkansen train
The Shinkansen "Tokaido-Sanyo" line has stops at both Shin-Osaka and Shin-Kobe.
From Tokyo to Shin-Osaka takes around 2h40m and costs around 14000 Yen.
Timetables and fares.
Shin-Osaka station to Rokko-michi station
Take a JR train (direction Himeji) to JR Rokko-michi station (about 40 minutes).
The fastest trains on the JR line ("special rapid service") do NOT stop at Rokko-michi station.
Shin-Kobe station to Sannomiya station
Take the subway ("Seishin-yamate" line) to Sannomiya, 1 stop, about 2 minutes.
Or a 10 minute walk downhill (see map).
Kobe Sannomiya to Hankyu Rokko/Rokko-michi stations
The Hankyu and JR train lines have regular services from Sannomiya to Rokko (Hankyu, direction Umeda) and
Rokko-michi (JR, direction Osaka) stations (about 10 minutes, 160 Yen (JR)/180 Yen (Hankyu)).
The Hankyu line station (Hankyu Rokko) is slightly closer to the university campus.
The fastest trains on the JR line ("special rapid service") do NOT stop at Rokko-michi station.
The fastest trains on the Hankyu line ("limited express") do NOT stop at Rokko station.
Hankyu Rokko/Rokko-michi stations to the university campus
Kobe city bus no. 36 goes from both stations to the university campus (direction "Tsurukabuto Danchi").
Please get off at the "Shindai-Bun-Ri-No-Gakubu-Mae" stop
(this means "in front of Kobe university, Faculties of literature,
science, and agriculture").
Cost is 200 Yen, duration about 15 minutes.
Alternatively, taxis are available (around 1000 Yen), or it's a steep (uphill!) 20-30 minute walk.
map of Rokko area
More travel details here.