Kobe? |
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| Kobe (神戸) | ||||
| Country | Japan | |||
| Region | Kansai | |||
| Prefecture | Hyogo Prefecture | |||
| Area | 551.40km² | |||
| Population | 1,521,164 as of 2005 |
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| Density | 2759 | |||
| Mayor | Tatsuo Yada | |||
| City symbols | Tree: | sasanqua | ||
| Flower: | hydrangea | |||
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| Kobe Hall | ||||
| Address | 〒650-8570 | |||
| Kobe-shi,Chuo-ku Kana-machi 6-5-1 |
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| Phone | 078-331-8181 | |||
| Latitude & longitude |
34°41' N 135°11' E |
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Image:Kobe Hyogo inPrefecture.png |
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| Notes | ||||
- For the NBA basketball star, see Kobe Bryant.
Kobe (Japanese: 神戸市; kōbe-shi) is a city in Japan, located on the island of Honshu. Kobe is the capital of Hyogo Prefecture and is one of Japan's major ports along with the ports of Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Hakata, and Tokyo. It is in the Kansai region of Japan, in Hyogo Prefecture to the south-west of Osaka. It was one of the first cities to open for trade with the West, as of 1868. The cosmopolitan port city has a population of 45,500 foreign residents from more than 100 countries.
The city is a part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan sprawl.
Kobe is also the home of world famous Kobe beef.
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Orientation
Downtown Kobe from a harbour cruise boatWedged in between the coast and the mountains (Rokko Mountain), the city of Kobe is long and narrow. The landmark of the port area is the red steel Port Tower. A giant ferris wheel sits in nearby Harbor Land, a notable tourist promenade, and offers spectacular views of the surroundings including the bay area, especially at night. Two artificial islands, Port Island and Rokko Island, have been constructed to give the city room to grow.
Away from the seaside at the heart of Kobe lie the Motomachi and Kokashita arcades as well as Kobe's Chinatown Nankinmachi, all well-known retail areas. A multitude of train lines cross the city from east to west. The main transport hub is Sannomiya Station, with the eponymous Kobe Station located towards the west and the Shinkansen Shin-Kobe Station to the north. Nankinmachi is Kobe's Chinatown, and is particularly lively at night.
Mount Rokko overlooks Kobe with an elevation of 931 metres: during the autumn season, it is famous for the rich change in colours of its forests. Mt. Rokko is also the site of Japan's first golf course, established by the Englishman Arthur Groom in 1903.
Kobe serves as one of the most important seaports in Japan. It is famous for its Kobe beef, the Arima Onsen (hot springs), nightview of the city both from the coast and the mountain, and the exotic atmosphere which mainly came from its history as a port city. Kobe is also home to Kobe University, which traces its roots back to 1902. To the east is the expensive and elite city of Ashiya.
Most of the movie Sayonara takes place in Kobe.
Buildings
History
Sunset over Kobe.
Port Tower at nightKobe was briefly the capital of Japan in 1180 A.D. at the end of the Heian period. Taira no Kiyomori moved his grandson Emperor Antoku to Fukuhara. The exact location is uncertain, but is probably the neighborhood of the same name in Hyogo-ku. The Emperor returned to Kyoto after about five months.
The city was founded on April 1, 1889 and was designated on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance.
During the course of World War II, Kobe was bombed by 331 B-29 bombers on March 17th, 1945, killing over 8,000 residents and burning the city into black ashes.
On January 17, 1995 an earthquake measured at 7.2 on the Richter Scale occurred at 05:46am JST near the city killing 6,433, making 300,000 homeless and destroying large parts of the port facilities and other parts of the city. It was one of the most costly natural disasters in modern history. The earthquake notably destroyed the Hanshin Expressway, an elevated freeway which dramatically toppled over: within Japan, the earthquake is known as the Great Hanshin Earthquake (or the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake).
Kobe was the second busiest port in the world and Asia's busiest port until the Great Hanshin Earthquake occurred. Since then, the port of Yokohama became Japan's busiest port. Kobe's world ranking has dropped down to the twenty-ninth busiest port (as of 2002). Kobe has, however, recovered to become Japan's third busiest port.
To commemorate Kobe's recovery from the 1995 quake, the city holds an annual event called the Luminarie, where every December the city hall is decorated with illuminated metal archways.
Wards
Kobe has 9 wards (ku):
- Chuo-ku
- Higashinada-ku
- Hyogo-ku
- Kita-ku
- Nada-ku
- Nagata-ku
- Nishi-ku
- Suma-ku
- Tarumi-ku
Transportation
- JR-West (Sanyo Shinkansen/Tokaido Main Line/Kobe Line)
- Hankyu Railway (Kobe Line)
- Hanshin Electric Railway (Main Line)
- Sanyo Electric Railway
- Kobe Electric Railway
- Kobe Rapid Railway
- Kobe Municipal Subway
- Kobe New Transit
Kobe Airport will be opened in 2006.
Universities in Kobe city
Public Universities
- Kobe University
- University of Hyogo (Prefectural university) 1
- Kobe City University of Foreign Studies 2
- Kobe City College of Nursing 3
Private Universities
- Konan University 4
- Konan Women's University 5
- Kobe Kaisei College (Women's university) 6
- Kobe Gakuin University 7
- Kobe Design University 8
- Kobe International University 9
- Kobe Shoin Women's University 10
- Kobe Women's University 11
- Kobe Shinwa Women's University 12
- Kobe Pharmaceutical University 13
- Kobe Yamate University 14
- University of Marketing and Distribution Science 15
International Schools
- Marist Brothers International School (Montessori-12), located in Suma-ku 16
- Canadian Academy (K-12), located on the man-made island of Rokko Island 17
- St. Michael's International School (PreK-6), a small British elementary school located in Sannomiya 18
- Deutsche Schule Kobe - European School, located in Nada-ku 19
Major Company Headquarters in Kobe
World Headquarters
- ASICS
- Daiei
- Kawasaki Heavy Industries
- Kiss-FM KOBE
- Kobe Electric Railway
- Kobe New Transit
- Kobe Rapid Railway
- Kobe Shimbun
- Kobe Steel, Ltd.
- Konigs Krone
- Morozoff
- SUN-TV
- UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd.
- World Co. Ltd
Japanese Headquarters
Sport Teams
- Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers - rugby team
- Orix Buffaloes - Pacific League baseball team
- Hanshin Tigers - Central League baseball team
- Vissel Kobe - J1 soccer team
- Nikko Kobe IceBucks - Asia League Ice Hockey team (shared with Nikko)
Sister cities
- Seattle, United States - 1957 20
- Marseille, France - 1961 21
- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 1969 22
- Tianjin, People's Republic of China - 1973 23
- Riga, Latvia - 1974 24
- Brisbane, Australia - 1985 25
- Philadelphia, United States (friendship city) - 1986 26
- Barcelona, Spain - 1993 27
See also
External links
- Official Kobe homepage
- Information on the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
- Japan Red Cross Hyogo Branch
- Japan International Cooperation Agency Hyogo Office
- WHO Kobe Centre
- Kobe City Info
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| Cities | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Aioi | Akashi | Ako | Amagasaki | Asago | Ashiya | Awaji | Himeji | Itami | Kakogawa | Kasai | Kawanishi | Kobe (capital) | Miki | Minamiawaji | Nishinomiya | Nishiwaki | Ono | Sanda | Sasayama | Shiso | Sumoto | Takarazuka | Takasago | Tamba | Tatsuno | Toyooka | Yabu | |||
| Districts | |||
| Ako | Ibo | Kako | Kanzaki | Kato | Kawabe | Mikata | Mino | Sayo | Shikama | Shiso | Taka | Tsuna | |||
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