The city of Kobe is located in Kansai in Japan, where it
forms the southern end of the greater Osaka area. This is the
administrative center of the Hyōgo prefecture.
The port,
initially named after the Hyōgo prefecture, was one of the first
to be allowed to be used by foreign traders as a result of
American gunboat diplomacy in 1868. The foreign settlement near
the port was created, today called Kyū kyoryū-chi. It was
largely destroyed in 1944/5, and today there are many luxury
shops and expensive office space here. Another foreign quarter
was Kitano-chō, a 10-15 minute walk from Sannomiya station. Some
western merchant houses are still preserved here as museums and
can be visited for an entrance fee (overview). There is a
combined ticket for this.
The name of the Kobe urban
district (神戸区) has appeared since its creation in 1879. In 1889,
it was upgraded to an independent city and over the decades it
was repeatedly incorporated into the city to accommodate the
rapid growth of the industrial site that had become so large
thanks to Kawasaki.
After the First World War, a foreign
community of Russian and Tatar refugees formed. From 1939, the
foreign colony was a place of refuge for those who had fled from
Europe and were unable to travel to third countries. Terrorist
air raids by the US Air Force with incendiary bombs destroyed
57% of the city between February and May 1945. The Hanshin
earthquake in 1995 was the worst in Japan since the war, until
the catastrophe at Fukushima in 2011.
Historically, the city of Kobe does not have much to offer. It is
primarily an extremely modern city.
There is no sign of the
damage from the 1995 earthquake, which claimed several thousand lives.
There is a memorial at the harbor.
1 Hyōgo Prefectural Art Museum (兵庫県立美術館), 1-1-1 Wakinohamakaigandori,
Chũo-ku . Open: Tues.-Sun. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., special exhibitions on
weekends until 8 p.m. Closed 1st-10th. Jan. Price: Adult ¥500.
An
offshoot is the 2 Haradanomori Gallery (兵庫県立美術館 原田の森ギャラリー) in the Oji
district. There are changing exhibitions of very modern art here.
3
Kobe City Museum (神戸市立博物館), 24 Kyomachi, Chũo-ku, 兵庫県神戸市中央区京町24番地 .
Open: 9.30 a.m. - 5.30 p.m., closed Mon.
4 Museum of the Overseas
Chinese (神戸華僑歴史博物館), Chinatown, 兵庫県神戸市中央区海岸通3-1-1 (Minatomotomachi
Subway, No. K03) . 150 years of the history of Chinese emigration, not
only with reference to treaty ports. In the Chinese Chamber of Commerce
building. Open: Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-5 p.m
5 Nishinomiyashi Otani
Memorial Museum (西宮市大谷記念美術館; Kōroen Stop (香櫨園駅), No. HS18) . Originated
from the collection of western, mainly French paintings by Ōtani
Takejirō (no relation to the count), former chairman of Shōwa Electrode
Co. Current focus on landscape painting of the region by contemporary
artists.
At the harbor
No longer used areas near the piers
have been spruced up to become Harborland (ハーバーランド), which also includes
a large shopping center with a cinema complex. It can be reached via the
three interconnected train stations Kōsoku-Kōbe (stop HS35), JR-Kōbe
(JR-A63) or the subway Harborland (K04).
Museum of Maritime and
Port (神戸海洋博物館, Kobe Maritime Museum). Wheelchair accessible. Open: 10
a.m. to 6 p.m., closed on Mondays. Price: ¥ 900.
with Kawasaki Good
Times World (technology of the dominant industrial company).
The most
striking is the 108-meter-high Kōbe Port Tower. At 90 meters there is an
observation deck that rotates once on its axis every 20 minutes with a
tea room and souvenir shop (reopening after renovation expected in
spring 2024). Closer to the water are a Ferris wheel and a clock tower.
On Rokkō Island
Koiso Ryōhei Museum (神戸市立小磯記念美術館; Island
Kitaguchi (No. R04) of the Rokkō Liner). Small museum of this artist who
specialized in botanical drawings and painted in the "western," the Yōga
style of the Shōwa period. Open: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed on Mondays.
Price: temporary exhibitions ¥ 200.
Fashion Museum (神戸ファッション美術館),
2-9-1, Koyocho-naka, Higashinada, 〒658-0032 兵庫県神戸市東灘区向洋町中2-9-1 (Island
Center (No. R05) of the Rokkō Liner). Open: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed on
Mondays, New Year's Day and before exhibitions for their setup. Price:
varies depending on the exhibition.
1 Honganji Kobe Betsuin (本願寺神戸別院), 兵庫県神戸市中央区下山手通8-1-1 (Hanakum, No.
HK17 or Nishi-Motomachi, No. HS34) .
2 Nōfuku-ji (能福寺),
兵庫県神戸市兵庫区北逆瀬川町1-39 . The temple, which belongs to the Tendai, traces its
legendary foundation back to the Naar period. There is evidence of a
temple from the second half of the 12th century. It burned down in 1344
and was only rebuilt in 1599 by a samurai who had had enough of Oda
Nobunaga's wars. A Japanese merchant had the large Buddha cast in May
1884 as a statement against the emerging Christianity. During the
Pacific War, the Buddha was melted down and The buildings suffered
severe damage. The main hall, a new building from 1954, collapsed in the
1995 earthquake and was rebuilt in 1997. The current large Buddha was
completed in 1991, the small shrine Tōshō Inaridō in 2016. The temple is
the 23rd station of the “new Saigoku pilgrimage route,” as one of the
temple treasures is an 11-headed Kannon from the Heian period. Open:
daily 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m.
3 Suma-dera (上野山福祥寺; JR-Suma station (12
min. walk) or by private train to Sumadera, then 5 min.). Buddhist
temple complex with historical buildings, cultural relics, statues and
well-kept gardens. Part of the pilgrimage routes “18 Shingon Temples of
Motoyama” and “new Saigoku route of the Kannon.” Open: 8.30 a.m. to 5/6
p.m. Price: free.
4 Ikuta Shrine (生田神社), 兵庫県神戸市中央区下山手通1丁目2 -1 .
The shrine traces its legendary foundation back to the 3rd century
(elsewhere). It was moved in the 8th century, and fragrant camphor trees
were planted in the area. The move is commemorated by the annual Matsuri
on April 14th. The current halls are built in the style of the Edo
period. An important battle of the Gempei- War took place in the
immediate vicinity. During the autumn festival (akimatsuri), two Noh
plays, Ebira and Ikuta Atsumori, are performed near the shrine. Open: 9
a.m. to 5 p.m.
5 Kanteibyō (関帝廟). One of the few Chinese temples in
Japan. As in all open ports, numerous coolies migrated from that country
in the 19th century and concentrated in a separate district. This is not
a Buddhist place, but a place dedicated to the deified general Guan Yu
(2nd/3rd century) . Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
6 Shree Mahavir Swami Bhagwan (バグワン・マハビールスワミ・ジェイン寺院). Jain temple.
Open: prayer times Sunday 12 p.m. to 3 p.m.; menstruating women not
welcome.
7 Kobe Mosque (神戸モスク). The mosque, which was begun in 1928,
was completed and inaugurated in October 1935. It is the oldest mosque
on Japanese soil.
Rokkō-san is the name given to the chain of hills consisting of the
peaks Futatabi (463 m, north of the city center), Maya (698 m) and Rokkō
(northeast of the city center), which closes off Kobe towards the
interior and which is a local recreation area and green lung for the
city. At over 16km, the Rokkō tunnel built for the Shinkansen under the
massif is one of the longest railway tunnels in Japan. On clear nights,
you can get a good view of the brightly lit cities of the Kansai region
from the peaks.
Worth seeing , aside from the scenery, are from
west to east:
Nunobiki Herb Garden (accessible by cable car). Open: 10am-5pm; fall
and spring weekends and all summer until 8.30pm. Price: ¥ 1800 including
cable car there and back.
At the Ichigahara reservoir (市ヶ原堰堤) you can
swim in rock pools. There is also a campsite here.
Foreigners'
Cemetery (Gajin bōchi). If you want, you can visit the cemetery as a
classic One example of the latent xenophobia of the Japanese is that it
is located in a beautiful landscape, far away from the city (470 meters
up on the slope), and on the other hand it is – as it says on the
English city map – “secret.” In concrete terms, this does not just mean
that only in the summer on weekends there is a bus going in that
direction once an hour, but that once you have found the entrance, which
is poorly signposted by Japanese standards, you are not allowed in. No,
the cemetery is only open to "mourning relatives" Monday to Saturday
Open from 9am to 4pm. After ringing the bell at the gate, a gardener
will come and lead you to the desired grave. Before you are allowed out
again, you have to write your name, degree of relationship and religion
in the guest book! Despite everything, the tourist information office
has produced a special brochure.
Municipal Arboretum (神戸市立森林植物園; bus
stop 森林植物園前 in front of the main entrance. From Kita-Suzurandai station
(10 Min.), alternatively bus 25 on weekends March to November from
Sannomiya bus station stop 4, once an hour. Or line 22/211 Sannomiya
Yamate ⇔ Sakuramoricho Bus Center (30 min. + 20 min. on foot) or in
summer also bus from) . Extensive forest botanical garden. Particularly
worth seeing when the hydrangeas are in bloom in June/July and in autumn
when the maple leaves change colour in October-November. Café at the
main entrance. Open: 9am-5pm. Price: ¥300.
On Maya-san (摩耶山, accessible by cable car, at the station of which the restaurant 702 offers good views, you will find the 5 Maya Botanical Garden (摩耶自然観察園) and the Tenjō-ji Temple (摩耶山天上寺)
The highest of the three peaks offers:
House of Nature (神戸市立自然の家).
Nature is brought closer to children and young people in a way that is
suitable for them. Open: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Rokkō-san Pasture. A "farm"
with a pet zoo and also a restaurant. 125 ha site.
Alpine Botanical
Garden (六甲高山植物園). Open: Fri-Wed 10am-5pm.
Mt. Rokkō Visitor
Center (六甲山ビジターセンター)
Hiking trails are marked on and around the three peaks.
Cable
cars
Four cable cars lead up:
The gondola to the Nunobiki herb
garden starts near Shin-Kobe station.
On the lake side, the
funicular from Rokkō Cable Shita Station (六甲ケーブル下駅) (city buses 16, 106)
to Rokkōsancho (六甲山上駅), which overcomes a height difference of 493m in
ten minutes. It operates from 7.10am-9pm every 20 minutes.
Alternatively, there is a funicular from A bus runs from the end of
March to the end of November.
The Miya Viewline operates Wed.-Mon.
from 10 a.m. to 5.40 p.m. from the Maya cable car station (摩耶ケーブル駅)
(buses from JR-Nada and Sannomiya) and combines a funicular railway to
Niji no eki in the lower section, then the cable car continues to
Kikusaidei Park. From there you can hike or take the bus to Rokkōsan
Pasture.
From Arima Onsen you can reach the landside gondolas of the
Rokkō-Arima cable car to Rokkō Sancho near the onsen. Operating hours
are daily from 7.30 a.m. to 5.10 p.m. There is a three-week break every
year from mid-February for maintenance.
Buses
From the Rokkō
funicular Yamagami Station, the gateway to Mt. Rokkō, a bus runs via the
Rokkōsan Patsure and the Mayazan Tenjoji Temple to the Maya Ropeway
Yamagami Station (here is also the “Maya View Line Dream Walk”). The
“Rokkō-Maya Sky Shuttle Bus” runs on weekdays, and a Hankyu Bus also
runs on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
The city bus 16
goes to Rokkōsancho.
Road
As the name suggests, the Rokkō Toll
Road, Highway 16, is subject to tolls.
The Omote Rokkō Driveway
(表六甲ドライブウェイ) is a mountain road with many serpentines that is rarely
used by cars and is therefore suitable for cyclists, leading through
beautiful countryside. If you start at the “Rokkō Cable Shita Station”
you turn off at the beginning of the Rokkō Toll Road. Even inexperienced
hikers should be able to manage the route to the Hachimaki viewpoint
(鉢巻展望台) in an hour.
There are several accommodations in the village of Rokkō-san,
including:
Rokkō-san YMCA, Kitarokko-875 Rokkōsancho. Tel.:
+81788910050. Check-in: 3:00 p.m. Check-out: 11:00 a.m.
Yamazakura
(山桜), Minamirokko-1034-90 Rokkōsancho. Tel.: +819096285556.
Hotel
Geihinkan (ホテル神戸六甲迎賓館), 1034-8 Minamirokko, Rokkōsan-chō (pick-up from
Hankyu Rokkō station / JR Rokkōmichi station on request). Tel.:
+81788911239. Price: luxury class.
Shiawasenomura
You can
treat yourself to a very Japanese-style "relaxation," especially with
children, in the "Happiness Village" Shiawasenomura. For example, cherry
blossom tours are organized (beginning of April). The surrounding area
offers relaxation in nature close to the big city. You can get there in
40 minutes with bus 66 from the Sannomiya-center-gai-higashiguchi stop
(in front of the Marui department store). If you are driving, you can
use the parking lot at the Shirakawa motorway exit.
You can do
sports here in the Shiawasenomura pool with its thermal spring, in the
fine art of Japanese archery or on the tennis courts right next door.
If you want to stay overnight, you can choose between two campsites
and a minshuku.
Kobe is a port city, so there is no room for beaches in the town
area. At best, you can go into the water on the artificial sand beach in
the West Park on the airport island.
Otherwise, the promenades
with artificial sand are Shioya Beach (塩屋海岸) 6 and 8.5 kilometers to the
west. You can get there from Suma Station (須磨駅) (JR-A68) or the
Sumaurakoen stop (須磨浦公園駅) (SY07). The latter is also the starting point
of the Sumaura Ropeway cable car, which goes up Mount Hachibuse. There
is an observation tower there. You come down in a kind of basket on the
Carlator slide. A chairlift goes up the other side of the mountain,
which is in operation Wed-Mon 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. A combined ticket for
everything costs ¥1800 in 2022, single trips from ¥550.
Port Island Sports Center (ポートアイランドスポーツセンター). Indoor pool with 25 m
pool; outdoor pool with 50 m pool open June to September, ice rink Nov
to March. Open: Thurs.-Tues. 12:00-20:30. Price: Swimming: ¥65. Ice
skating ¥1400, shoe rental if necessary.
Daikobe Golf Club
(大神戸ゴルフ倶楽部), Tomokiyo-157 Hasetanicho, Nishi-ku. Open: 7:00-16:30.
Price: Green fee varies depending on the season ¥ 6400-13000.
By plane
The nearest international airport is Kansai Airport near
Osaka. There are regular direct bus connections and the fast ferry
Kobe–Kanku Bay Shuttle between both airports and further to Sumoto on
Awaji-shima.
Kobe Airport (神戸空港, IATA: UKB; Port Liner trains.
Direct buses to Shin-Kobe. Ferries at the “Kobe Airport Maritime Access
Terminal”). Opened in 2006. Apart from a few charter flights, only
domestic flights. Hub of the low-cost airline Skymark since 2010. The
terminal has four gates. A maximum of 30 departures are permitted per
day.
By train
Sannomiya. The main train station where private
and JR lines meet. In the surrounding area there are several hundred
meters of (shopping) passages underground that connect these stops with
Motomachi station.
Here are:
Sannomiya JR-West (三ノ宮駅) , the
actual “main station.” City tourist information on the south side of the
east exit, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Adjacent to it is the Port-Liner, to the
airport. (Buses also run between exits A16 and A23.)
Sannomiya subway
(三宮駅). Stop number: S03
Hankyū Kobe-Sannomiya (神戸三宮駅) , stop number:
HK16
Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae (三宮・花時計前駅) . Stop number: K01 on the
“green” subway line.
Shinkansen
Shin-Kōbe (新神戸駅; subway
station of the same name). You can get here on the San'yō Shinkansen
(Shin-Osaka to Hakata). There is a tourist information office in the
station.
By bus
Sannomiya bus station (三宮駅バスのりば; station exit
A16 or A23, ground floor of the Mint high-rise).
The buses from
Willer towards Matsuyama and the Kantō region stop at Koka Shotengai-mae
(高架商店街前), 150m from exit 西口4 or 西口4 of Kobe-Sannomiya.
By road
Kōbe is on the following toll highways:
Hanshin Expressway No. 7, the
North Kobe route.
Chūgoku Expressway, which connects Osaka with
Shimonoseki.
Shin-Meishin Expressway.
By ship
The passenger
port near the city has four quays. From west to east:
Local
recreation area, with public toilet, café. At the beginning is the átoa
aquarium (daily 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.), part of the port museum. Next to it
is the Felissimo chocolate museum, which is aimed at sales.
Generally
used.
Inland Japanese (car) ferries to Shōdoshima (3 hours),
Takamatsu (4-4½ hours) and Miyazaki on Kyūshū.
Cruise ships and the
ferry to Shanghai depart here from the “Port Terminal” (神戸ポートターミナル).
Stop for the Portliner, which starts at Sannomiya station.
At the
end of the pier is the harbor bridge (神戸大橋), which leads to the harbor
island (Port Island), which is also accessible via the Portliner. Here
you will find, among other things, the multi-purpose stadium World
Memorial Hall (神戸ポートアイランドホール) (Shiminhiroba stop), where concerts are
also held. At the Keisan Kagaku Center stop (No. P08) is the Animal
Kingdom Zoo (Fri.-Wed. 10 a.m.-4 p.m.). Another bridge leads to the
airport island.
Ferry Sunflower Kōbe Port (フェリーさんふらわあ神戸港のりば,
Higashikobe Port), 3 Chome-1-1 Koyochohigashi, Higashinada-ku (northeast
tip of Rokkō Island. 600m to Iceland stop Kitaguchi (No. R04) of the
Rokkō liner.). A-Line ferries to Shinmoji (新門司, Kitakyushu, Ōita (east
coast of Kyushu) and Niihamahigashi (on Shikoku).
The central transport hub is the area around the Sannomiya and
Motomachi (元町) stations described above.
Trains
The Kansai
Thru Pass is valid on the private trains and the subway.
JR West
offers various route network maps for the Kansai region.
The
Hankyū Railway also operates under the name Shintetsu. In addition to
the routes to Osaka, it also operates the regional trains:
to the
suburb of Sanda (三田駅)
Arima Line to the onsen of the same name.
The 400m connecting line of the Namboku Line.
Subway
There are
three lines:
Seishin-Yamate, also “Midori no U-Line”, i.e. “the green
line”. Stop numbers “S…”
Kaigan (“coastal line”) or Yumekamome. Stop
numbers “K…”
Hokushin Line, 7.5 km long but only the two end stops:
Tanigami in Kita-ku (connection to the Arima Line) and Shin-Kobe (all
trains go through to the Seishin-Yamate).
Port-Liner and
Rokkō-Liner
The operator of the Port-Liner also owns one route of the
Rokkō-Liner 六甲ライナー. It starts at the JR Sumiyoshi station (住吉駅) and
leads to the Marine Park on Rokkō Island. There are two zones on this,
max. ¥ 250. Stop numbers “R…”
The Port-Liner (ポートライナー) is the
line between Sannomiya via the harbor island to the airport. When it
opened in 1981, this was the world's first driverless railway line.
There is a four-level zone tariff. The longest route costs ¥340 in 2022.
Day tickets for both routes are available individually or together.
All stops, except R03, are wheelchair accessible and have toilets.
Buses
In the city area, there are municipal buses and private
buses from the Hankyū company, which also operates railway lines.
There are two tourist circular routes. One in the city, one in the
port area. Hop-on-hop-off tickets for one day cost ¥700, 2 days ¥1000
(2022).
Shinki Bus (神姫バス) also runs to many places in the region.
Harbor tours
45-minute harbor tours take place with the Kōbe Sea
Bus. Departures daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the hour from Naka Pier
Kamomeria. A special timetable applies for night and party trips.
There are also combination tickets for visits to the Port Tower, Ferris
wheel and the Maritime Museum.
Two larger, covered shopping streets in the center are
1 Kōbe
Sannomiya Center-Gai (神戸三宮センター街)
2 Kōbe Motomachi Shoten-Gai
One specialty is Kobe beef, which is a synonym for regional Wagyu. It
is said that you can only get the real top-quality Kobe beef in Kobe.
There are a few restaurants that serve Kobe beef. You usually choose
between the tenderloin (hire) and the sirloin (rusu), with the sirloin
being a bit fattier and therefore juicier. The more refined cut,
however, is the softer tenderloin. It is prepared in front of you on the
teppan without any additional fat. The price for such a steak (130-150
g) is around 6000-9000 yen in the best case, which is a bargain compared
to Germany. The Japanese also like to eat their meat in a stew (nabe)
that is simmered at the table.
Wanto Burger (ワントバーガー), 3-10-6
Shimoyamatedori, Chũo-ku. Homemade burgers made from regular beef or
Kobe or Wagyu beef. If you don't like jazz, you'll find the background
music annoying. Open: Tues.-Sat. 10 a.m.-8 p.m., Sun. until 5 p.m.
Price: Basic price ¥ 1350-3970 + per sauce and ingredient; fries ¥ 380.
The snack bars and restaurants in the Nankai-gai of Chinatown (南京町)
bring a touch of exoticism. Gyoza are very popular, ramen is served in
pork broth with lots of salt or soy sauce.
The high proportion of
Westerners in the area for many years has been reflected in the local
cuisine as yoshoku, "Western cuisine", in that you can get croquettes,
which are oval and flat and fried in tempura flour, as well as sweet
baked toasts that are intended to imitate French. Shortly after the
Pacific War, the head of the Kazamidori Confectionery (風見鶏本舗) (3-5-5
Kitanocho, Chũo-ku; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.) apparently got a cheesecake
recipe from an American occupier, for which the shop is still known
today.
Akashi-yaki is the regional variation of tako-yaki, pieces
of octopus covered in egg batter. Here you eat them without sticky
sauce, but just dip them briefly in broth.
Bokkake Yakisoba was a
poor man's meal, as beef intestines and konjaku are added as fillings.
Popular regional rice dishes (meshi) are:
Sobameshi a taste
aberration in which yakisoba mi rice is fried together on a teppan.
Taimeshi is a rice pot with a small sea bream (Japanese tai) on top.
Takomeshi where the rice is cooked with pieces of dried octopus. The
rather small squid caught off Akashi are considered the best.
Sake
In the Edo period (1603–1867) the current Nada-ku district became known
for its sake breweries. Even today, most of Japan's sake production
comes from there.
Konan-zuke company museum (Muko no Sato; Hanshin
Shinzaike station (5 minutes on foot) or JR Rokkōmichi station, 15
minutes on foot). On the site of the former main store of this large
sake brewery. With sales room (no tasting). The new building of the
building destroyed in the 1995 earthquake also includes a Japanese
garden. Open: 9.30 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed on public holidays.
Hakutsuru Brewery Company Museum (白鶴酒造資料館), 4-5-5 Sumiyoshi Minamimachi,
Higashinada-ku (Hanshin-Sumiyoshi stop, 5 min. walk; JR-Sumiyoshi, 15
min.). Open: 9.30am-4.30pm, closed at O-Bon and winter break
mid-December to late March. Price: free.
The Shotengai on the west side of Hankyū Station is full of small bars and izakayas.
The "German School Kobe International" (神戸ドイツ学院) is on Rokko Island.
During the 1995 earthquake, which was made worse by the waves being
reflected by the Rokko massif, soil liquefaction occurred on Rokko
Island, which caused houses to sink by up to one meter, making it
unsafe. Since 1995, just 2 km south of Rokko Island, in Osaka Bay, the
residual waste processed in waste incineration plants from 195 cities
across the entire Kinki region has been deposited in a square area
called Phoenix, demarcated by dams.
Bathhouses
Mori Onsen
(森温泉), 1-15-4 Moriminamimachi, Higashinada-ku (Kōnan-Yamate train
station). Comparatively well-equipped sento with sauna. Open: 2
p.m.-midnight. Price: ¥ 450 + sauna ¥ 160.
Ninomiya Onsen (二宮温泉),
4-2-18 Ninomiyacho, Chũo-ku. Open: 2 p.m.-10 a.m. (sic!). Price: ¥ 450 +
sauna ¥ 150.
“Sauna” Jin (ひのきと米ぬか酵素風呂～仁～), 6-3-10 Kitanagasadori,
Chũo-ku (at the west exit of Hanakuma Station). Sweat bath in a mixture
of fermented cypress rice bran which releases enzymes. This is said to
strengthen the immune system and banish fatigue. Open: 10 a.m. to 7
p.m., closed on Tuesdays. Price: ¥ 3850.
To use the Wi2 300 hotspots, you must register for a KOBE Free Wi-Fi Card (directory) by presenting your passport and then log in to the browser with your ID and password. You then have access for 168 hours, i.e. 7 days.
Kōbe is located on the northern side of Osaka Bay (see also Seto
Inland Sea). The city area is divided by the Rokkō mountain ridge
(height up to 931 m) into a densely populated strip (approx. 40 km long
and 2–7 km wide) directly on the coast and a more rural part in the
north (Kita-ku and Nishi-ku districts) with so-called New Towns
(satellite towns). The city merges seamlessly into the neighboring
cities of Akashi in the west and Ashiya in the east and is thus part of
the large urban Kobe-Osaka-Kyōto metropolitan area. Due to the natural
barrier on the land side of the city, as in the other cities bordering
the bay, land was reclaimed from the sea by artificial embankments a
long time ago. Examples of this are the artificial islands of Port
Island, Rokkō Island and the new Kobe airport.
Several small
rivers cross the city of Kobe on their way from Rokkō to the sea. There
are no large natural freshwater areas, but there are a few reservoirs in
the mountains. The largest of these is the Tsukuhara-ko in the Nishi-ku
district.
Three continental plates (Eurasian Plate, Philippine Plate and
Pacific Plate) meet off the east coast of Japan. As in the rest of
Japan, there are several seismically active faults in the Kobe area.
On May 22, 1925, several violent earthquakes shook the region. The
epicenter of the earthquake was near the fishing village of Toyo-oka,
which was completely destroyed and killed around 5,000 people. After
about 70 years of relative calm in the central area of Kinki, an
earthquake measuring 7.2 on the Richter scale (Mj7.3 on the new JMA
magnitude scale) occurred on January 17, 1995 at 5:46 a.m. local time.
This caused tremors with a maximum intensity of 7 on the JMA scale
widely used in Japan. The epicenter was close to the city in the Akashi
Strait, so that the distance between the pillars of the Akashi Kaikyō
Bridge, which was under construction at the time, was increased by
almost a meter due to the quake. As a result of the quake, 6,433 people
died, 43,792 were injured and 300,000 were left homeless. Large areas of
the city were destroyed. The damage was the greatest ever from an
earthquake (estimated at around €100 billion), and the Hanshin highway,
a highway that was considered earthquake-proof at the time, also
collapsed. Because the earthquake affected not only the city of Kobe but
also the Hanshin region, it is also called the Great Hanshin Earthquake
(or the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake).
Kobe is located in the subtropical climate zone with a fully humid
climate. The average annual temperature is around 16 degrees Celsius.
The warmest months are July and August with an average temperature of
around 27 degrees Celsius. The coldest months are January and February
with an average of five degrees Celsius.
The average annual
rainfall is around 1,316 millimeters. Most of the rainfall falls in the
rainy season in June (average 218 mm) and in September (average 170 mm),
while the least in December with an average of just 38 millimeters. The
typhoon season begins in September, which is responsible for the heavy
rainfall in late summer.
The relatively high humidity (average 68
percent) is particularly difficult in summer. From June to September,
the average relative humidity is between 70 and 80 percent.
It is assumed that the name Kōbe is derived from the spelled Kambe.
Kambe were certain families who had to pay all their taxes to a certain
shrine - here the Ikuta Shrine. This Kambe settlement Kambe-mura is said
to have been pronounced Kōbe-mura over time.
The port of Kōbe
developed early on due to its good location. In the Nara period (710-784
AD), trading ships from China and other countries docked at the Owada no
Tomari. Ever since the capital was briefly moved from Heian-kyō to
Fukuhara-kyō in what is now Hyōgo-ku, military conflicts (especially
between the Heike and the Genji) were increasingly fought here, such as
the Battle of Ichi-no-Tani in 1184.
The port later developed into
one of the most important in Japan. It is said that the famous unifier
of the empire, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, often came here to visit the hot
springs of Arima Onsen.
In the Edo period (1603–1867), what is
now the Nada-ku district became known for its sake breweries. Even
today, most of Japan's sake production comes from there.
When
Japan opened up to the world under pressure from America during the
Meiji Restoration, 1868 marked the start of Kobe's development into an
international port city. Many Americans and Europeans came to Kobe and
established themselves in what is now Kyū kyoryū-chi (former foreign
settlement) near the port and in Kitano. Western goods and Western
culture came to Japan through the many traders. Kobe is considered the
birthplace of cinema and jazz in Japan. In 1899, the extraterritorial
rights of the European colonial powers from the unequal treaties and the
foreigners' quarter as such were abolished.
Today (2005) around
44,500 foreigners from more than 115 nations live in Kobe, which is
almost 3% of the population (of which more than 50% are Korean).
When the prefectures were established during the Meiji Restoration in
1868, the later city became the seat of the prefectural administration
of Hyōgo, which expanded to five provinces when the prefectures were
consolidated in the following years. During the reactivation and
reorganization of the districts in Hyōgo in 1879, the port of Hyōgo
(兵庫津), the city of Kobe (神戸町) and the village of Sakamoto (坂本村) from the
Yatabe district (later Muko) were merged to form the Kobe urban district
(神戸区, Kobe-ku). This and two other villages became the current
county-free city of Kobe (Kōbe-shi) on April 1, 1889 with the
introduction of the modern Japanese municipal system. In 1922, Kobe
became one of the "six major cities", and in 1956 it became a major city
by government decree with expanded self-government. In 1931, the city
was divided into eight administrative districts. After many
incorporations (1941, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1955, 1958) and several
reorganizations (1945, 1946, 1973, 1980, 1982), there have been nine
districts since 1982.
The University of Kobe was founded in 1902.
During the Second World War, the city was bombed several times with
napalm bombs by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) between
February 1945 and August 1945. The attacks destroyed around 57% of the
city and left almost 6,300 dead and 15,800 injured. The attacks burned
down 18.6–22.8 km2 of the city and left 452,059 people homeless (see air
raids on Kobe).
After the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, many
buildings had to be rebuilt, which meant that Kobe now has a modern
appearance in most districts. The port, which was the largest in Asia
and the second largest in the world until the earthquake, lost its
position to Nagoya because many companies had to move to other ports due
to the earthquake and only partially returned.
Former Vice Mayor Kizō Hisamoto has been Mayor of Kobe since 2013. In
2021, when the mayoral election coincided with the national lower house
election, he was re-elected for a third term with the support of the
LDP, KDP, Kōmeitō and DVP with a two-thirds majority against four
challengers.
Since 2023, the city council (Kōbe-shikai) has had
65 regular members, who are elected in the city districts by
non-transferable single vote. In the last election in April 2023, the
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) remained the strongest party with 17
seats, and the Ishin no Kai became the second strongest force with 15
seats.
The city districts of Kobe elect 23 representatives to the
86-member Hyōgo Prefectural Parliament as two- or three-mandate
constituencies.
For the national lower house, Kōbe is located in
the constituencies Hyōgo 1 to 4; the latter is largely outside the city,
the other three entirely in Kōbe. In the 2021 lower house election, the
constituencies Hyōgo 3 and 4 went to the Liberal Democrats, constituency
2 to the Kōmeitō, and constituency 1 to the KDP.
The city symbol of Kōbe - two overlapping semicircles - symbolize the fan-like shape of the two ports of Kōbe and Hyōgo. The symbol is also derived from the Japanese character カ (katakana), which appeared in the former name カウベ. It was introduced in 1907 and can be seen in many places today.
70% of the companies in Kobe are in the tertiary sector (service sector), 30% in the secondary sector (manufacturing industry) and less than 1% in the primary sector (primary production). In 1998, the important port handled 8% of all Japanese foreign trade in terms of value, making it the third most important port after the ports of Yokohama and Tokyo (11% each). Thanks to the port, heavy industry is also located here, such as Kawasaki Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries with large industrial plants and shipyards (submarine construction). Important industrial products are ships, trains, iron and steel, motorcycles, rubber, shoes (around 60% of Japanese production until the 1995 earthquake), machines; typical goods are sake, wine, pastries and sweets (see Karl Joseph Wilhelm Juchheim) and the exquisite Kobe beef. Kobe has a dominant position in the pearl trade.
Sannomiya station is the transport hub of Kobe. All local trains and
almost all long-distance trains except the Shinkansen stop here.
The "downtown" of Kobe lies between the JR stations Kobe and Sannomiya.
So if you want to go to the center, it's best to get off at Motomachi or
Sannomiya. Due to the topography, the routes of the three railway
companies Japan Railway (JR), Hanshin and Hankyū between Kobe and Osaka
are similar: they meet in Sannomiya and Umeda and compete with each
other in terms of travel time and price (see train accident in
Amagasaki).
The subway network was opened in 1977. It currently
consists of two lines (see Kobe subway).
A fully automatic people
mover (Port Liner) connects Sannomiya with the artificial island of Port
Island and with the new Kobe airport. Rokkō Island can be reached with a
second people mover (Rokkō Liner), which connects the island with JR
Sumiyoshi Station and Hanshin Uozaki Station.
Awaji Island and
Shikoku can be reached by car and bus via the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge.
There is also a ferry service to Awaji Island from Akashi.
Railway: Like all cities in Japan, Kobe has excellent transport
connections. Due to the new route under the entire Rokkō massif,
Shin-Kobe Shinkansen station was built about 1 km from Sannomiya Station
and can be reached on foot and by subway. The travel times with the
fastest Nozomi Shinkansen are: to Tokyo 2:50, Fukuoka 2:20, Hiroshima
1:15, Nagoya 1:08 and to Kyoto 0:30.
Air traffic: On February 16,
2006, the controversial new Kobe Airport on an artificial island south
of Kobe was put into operation, although even the neighboring Kansai
Airport has not solved its capacity problems even in the 10th year.
Kansai International can be reached from Sannomiya by airport bus in
about 70 minutes, by train in about 90 minutes. From Kobe Airport, you
can get to Kansai Airport in 30 minutes by high-speed ferry.
Shipping: There are shipping connections to Shikoku, Kyushu, Okinawa, as
well as Shanghai and Tianjin in the People's Republic of China.
Bus traffic: Regular buses run from Sannomiya to Tokyo, Kyushu and
Shikoku.
There are 17 universities and 8 other colleges in Kobe. There are
also 83 technical schools, 61 high schools, 104 middle schools, 175
primary schools, 10 schools for the disabled and 156 crèches. Due to the
relatively high number of foreigners, there are also 9 international
schools here (as of 2004).
Public universities
Kobe
University, founded in 1902, around 16,000 students, one of the oldest
and largest state universities in Japan
Hyogo Prefectural
University, founded in 2004, resulting from the merger of Kobe
University of Commerce, Himeji Institute of Technology, and the College
of Nursing Art and Science, Hyogo
Kobe City University of Foreign
Studies, founded in 1946, around 2,000 students
Kobe City College
of Nursing, founded in 1996, around 400 students
Konan University
Konan Women's University
Kobe Kaisei College
(Women's University)
Gakuin University Kobe
Kobe Design University
Kobe International University
Shoin Women's University Kobe
Shinwa Women's University, Kobe
Kōbe Pharmaceutical University
Kōbe Yamate University
University of Marketing and Distribution
Sciences
Marist Brothers International School (Montessori-12), in Suma-ku,
founded in 1951
Canadian Academy (K-12), on Rokkō Island, founded in
1913
St. Michael’s International School, a small British elementary
school in Sannomiya, founded in 1946
German School Kobe – European
School, in Nada-ku, founded in 1909, English branch since 2001
Mikage
International Preschool in Higashinada-ku and Ashiya International
School in Ashiya, founded in 1963
Ecole Francaise du Kansai, in
Higashinada-ku (Mikage Elementary School)
Norwegian School, in
Higashinada-ku
Kobe Zhonghua Tongwen School (China), in Chūō-ku
Hyōgo Chōsen Gakuen (Korea), in Chūō-ku