Mount Maya over abandoned hotel to Nunobiki Waterfall

What?
Mount Maya (摩耶山) is a 699 meters high mountain dotted with various ruins. Historically the Tenjoji-temple was located right near the top for many centuries until it was apparently burnt down by a pyromaniac. Currently an open space dotted by foundations is all that remains. More famous though are the ruins of the Maya Hotel (摩耶ホテル) which has opened, shut down, reopened and shut down again for many times in the last decades and has been a favorite of many urbex explorers. The area is dotted with hiking courses and one of them leads from the top of Mount Maya over the Tengu Trail (天狗道) to the Nunobiki Herb Garden (布引ハーブ園) and Nunobiki Waterfall (布引滝).
Where?
Mount Maya is one of the peaks in the Rokko Mountain Range (六甲山系) right outside the Kobe city center (神戸市) in Hyogo Prefecture (兵庫県). It’s extremely easy to access through various trailheads, but if you feel lazier or without time taking one of the cable cars is also an option. I took the trailhead near the JR Rokko Station (JRろっこ駅) towards the Cascade Valley (杣谷道) but cut off on an uncharted trail towards the Maya Hotel. From there I continued to the top of Mount Maya and looped towards JR Shin-Kobe Station (JR新神戸駅) over the Nunobiki Herb Garden and Waterfall.
URL
Gaijinpot Atlas Obscura

I have always been fascinated by the many urbex locations in Japan. I arrived here when spots such as Nara Dreamland still existed, and when Gunkanjima was still only accessible to adventurers like my colleague, who spent a night alone on the island. Back then, also the ruins of the Maya art-deco Hotel ranked among the asolute treasures for urbex explorers, and given its proximity it always itched to go and see what it looked like.
But honestly, I am a bit of a coward and never really dared entering these buildings. It took me until now to actually visit the hotel, but by now the hotel is guarded by camera’s around the clock, and the authenticity of the place has apparently been compromised by many, many groups entering the premises for photoshoots and the like. Nevertheless I was still looking forward to incorporate this spot in my hike up Mount Maya.

I started really early, as I wanted to have this part of the hike done before 8am when the nearby cable car station would open. As the ruins of the hotel are connected with the station, it would be pretty annoying to have staff tell you off for taking an uncharted route. A small sign states though that you can circle the ruins to the station, but the closed gates suggest that no one is really happy about such a scenario.
I found the uncharted trail pretty quickly and was again surprised about the toughness of the Rokko Mountains. They are not high, but they sure are steep. I felt like I was walking up a wall, straight up vertically. My pace was extremely slow and I kind of wondered if I was going to be able to complete my whole loop. But seeing the walls of the hotel appear through the trees reenergized me. No, I didn’t enter the building, but I did take my time to circle it and take in the eerie atmosphere. When I was done I crossed the still unmanned cable car station and followed steep stone stairs towards the ruins of Tenjoji-temple.
Truth to be told, the route upwards wasn’t very fascinating despite the many historical points. Even arriving at the top was a bit anticlimactic as there wasn’t a view to speak of, and the only thing welcoming me was an ugly relay station.

Getting inside wouldn't be difficult, but I didn't.

Overgrown and decrepit.

Would you get any money if you bring the empty bottles back?

How the hotel used to look like.

But the descent really made things good. The Tengu trail was fun with rocky steps, sandy stones and occasionally impressive views on the surrounding mountains and Kobe in the distance. By now it was around 9 am and other hikers started to cross my path. Eventually I arrived at the Nunobiki Herb Garden just before opening time, fearlessly walking through the park while I was supposed to walk around it. A friendly caretaker kindly redirected me to the trail, but after a few minutes I just ended up at almost the same spot near yet another cable car station.
From here on I felt the end of my loop was near, but I still wanted to visit the Nunobiki Waterfall. I didn’t expect much of it as I categorized it as somewhat similar to the Mino Waterfall or the Yoro Falls. But while probably as artificial as the Mino Falls, the Nunobiki one is far more impressive and beautiful. All in all, a very nice closer of a rather satisfying hike.