Mount Maya Kikuseidai
摩耶山掬星台
A 700-meter observation deck, one of Japan’s three great night views, where the lights of Kobe and Osaka Bay seem close enough to scoop up like stars.
Kikuseidai (Star-Scooping Terrace) lies near the summit of Mount Maya (702 meters, in the western part of the Rokko Range). It is a broad open-air viewing platform facing south, and its name means you can scoop up stars with your hands. From here, the lights of Kobe city, Kobe Port, Osaka Bay, all the way to Osaka and Kansai Airport are known as the “ten-million-dollar night view.” It is counted among Japan’s three great night views, alongside Hakodate’s Mount Hakodate and Nagasaki’s Mount Inasa. Compared with Rokko Garden Terrace, Kikuseidai looks directly onto the city center and harbor, so the density and layering of the lights are better, and it is the closest of the three to the urban area. Getting there: from Sannomiya, take Kobe City Bus No. 18 to “Maya Ropeway Lower Station” (about 25 minutes). Transfer to the Maya Cable Car (about 5 minutes) up to Niji Station, then change to the Maya Ropeway (about 5 minutes) up to Hoshi Station. Exit there and you are at Kikuseidai. The round-trip ropeway fare is about 1,560 yen. You can also take the Rokko Maya Sky Shuttle Bus from the Rokko direction. The observation deck has the Maya★Shimmering Path, a night-glowing walkway whose paint lights up after dark, along with the Oteru café and vending machines. Nearby are Mayasan Tenjō-ji Temple, which offers another angle, and the ruins of the former Maya Kanko Hotel, open for guided tours only. Arrive about 30 minutes before sunset to see the whole progression from daytime and sunset to blue hour and the night view. The view is clearest in autumn and winter, when the air is dry. Allow 1.5 to 2 hours, including the cable car. Notes: the summit is more than 5°C colder than the city and windy, so bring a warm jacket for the night. The cable cars close on Tuesdays (except holidays and summer), and operating hours change with the seasons (summer weekends until around 21:00, winter about 17:30 to 20:00). The observation deck gets crowded before the last car, so queue early. Buses run infrequently, so check timetables in advance. Night views are not visible in rain or fog, so check the summit’s live camera before setting out.
Opening hours
Maya Cable Car approx. 10:00–17:30/21:00 (varies by season); closed Tuesdays
Nearby sights
- Kobe Nunobiki Herb Gardens & Ropeway
- Nunobiki Falls
- Kobe Oji Zoo
- Kitano Ijinkan
- Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution
- Ikuta Shrine
- Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art
- Kobe Former Foreign Settlement