Arima Onsen, Kobe Port Tower, Kobe beef, Mount Rokko, Shin-Kobe Ropeway, Chinatown, sake breweries – these aren’t the only attractions Kobe has to offer.

Kitano-cho is a district/neighborhood right at the foot of Mount Rokko. This was once home to foreign merchants and diplomats who settled in Japan after Kobe Port was open to overseas trade in the 19th century. The England House, France House, Italian House, Chinese Consulate, Dutch House… Kitano-cho itself is quite the sight to see with these different houses that portray varying cultural customs and traditions. And of course, can’t forget about the trick art museum! ≪Kobe Mysterious Consulate of Trick Art≫ that is.

I found out about the museum from a famous Taiwanese model who’d visited Kobe on her recent vacation and I just knew we had to go as well. I’d always seen pictures of trick art pieces online and it’d been on my bucket list to actually visit a trick art museum so I was super stoked. My dad, on the other hand, wasn’t too convinced this would be worth the visit, but rest assured, he enjoyed it more than I did.

As mentioned already, the museum is in the Kitano-cho area and is a 10-minute walk west of Shin-Kobe Station or a 15-minute walk north of Kitanozaka from Sannomiya Station. Admission was ¥800 (~$9 CAD) per person. It is open year-round and the hours are 9:30AM – 6:00PM from April to September and 9:30AM – 5:00PM from October to March.

Disclaimer: Prepare for some ugly silly faces.

Kobe Original Series

神戸牛のステーキ (Kobe Beef Steak)

There was another piece that was my favorite, you can see it in my Japan vlog right at 5:11-5:14. It looks like an ordinary painting, but when you view it from different angles, the painting comes to life and becomes 3D.

Waterless Aquarium Series

カジキ釣り (Catching Blue Marlin)

幸せのバブリング  (Happy Bubbles)

Someone’s been squatting.

Illusions – Brain Training Series

動く雲 (Moving Clouds) – Stare at the swirl for one minute then look at the painting and the clouds will move.

Another one that I really liked was the never-ending canal. Somehow I didn’t get a picture of it, but it’s a basically painting that illustrates water running through canals along countryside terrains. Now the odd thing is that you cannot see where the canal begins and you cannot find where it ends either. It simply keeps flowing. My dad and I had our eyes fixed on the painting for minutes and we were just absolutely amazed.

Famous Artwork Series

More wall squats.