Take a walk through the old castle town of Tatsuno たつの市 in west Hyogo. As this ancient samurai town unwinds at the base of Tatsuno Castle, you can discover nice little cafes, shops, shrines and unique places such as the Soy Sauce Museum. Tatsuno is a 500 year old town and many of the traditional buildings remain. This area is popular during the spring time as cherry blossoms line the street.
Tatsuno takes about 1 hour to drive to from central Kobe. By train catch the JR Kishin line from Himeji Station to Hon-Tatsuno Station, from here it is about 1.5 km walk to the main area.
Here is a handy google map of the different sightseeing places in Tatsuno (Japanese).
