Kobe City (神戸市) in Hyogo Prefecture is the smallest city in the Osaka-Kyoto-Kobe metropolis. Kobe City's place in modern history was established in 1868 when it was one of the first cities in Japan to be opened for foreign trade and residence. The heritage of this influx of foreign residents and trade is noticeable throughout the city. This is especially apparent in the Kitano and Nankinmachi (China Town) districts.

From the city center at Sannomiya, it is a brisk walk or quick ride to most sights in this very compact and hilly city. JR Shin-Kobe, the shinakansen station, is about a 15 minute walk north of Sannomiya. Kobe is a delight to travel around as it is one of Japan's most varied and scenic cities. It also has a superb public transit system. Kobe is popular with domestic visitors because of sights like the Ijinkan (Foreigner's Houses). Even for the international traveller, these areas are worth a look. They are well preserved witnesses to the early mixing of the Japan with other cultures.

The premium on flat land led to the construction of Port Island and Rokko Island in Osaka Harbor. Kobe Airport was built by reclaiming additional land south of Port Island.

Kobe is often claimed to be the highest rated city in Japan by expatriates to live in.

Tourism

Arima Spa (Onsen)

Located high on top of Mt. Rokko in Kobe's Kita Ward is the onsen town called Arima. The town has a number of public hot springs and traditional hotels. The most scenic (and expensive) way to reach the area is by cable car up the mountain and ropeway across to it.

Kitano - Ijinkan

Kobe's Kitano district is famous for its western-style buildings that were built to house traders, diplomats and their families after Kobe was opened foreign trade and residence. A number of interesting museums and historic buildings are located in this area. Admission varies from free to around 500 yen.

Kobe Harborland

Kobe's new large-scale trendy shopping area splits the city's shopping focus from Sannomiya to west and across the water from Merikin Park. The highlights are Canal Garden and thee trendier Mosaic (Mozaiku). There is a fair sized Ferris wheel by the ocean at Mosaic Garden. Easily reached on the city loop bus or by walking from Harborland Station (Subway - Kaigan Line) or JR Kobe Station.

Kobe Luminarie
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Error message

  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$gallery in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Attempt to read property "data" on null in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: foreach() argument must be of type array|object, null given in ae_gallery_image_by_info_name() (line 234 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • Warning: Undefined property: stdClass::$loc in ae_get_page_info() (line 179 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
  • TypeError: property_exists(): Argument #1 ($object_or_class) must be of type object|string, null given in property_exists() (line 179 of /var/www/japan_apike_ca/sites/all/modules/japan_struct/japan_struct.module).
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