Kobe

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Kobe

is the fifth-largest city

List of Japanese cities by population

Japan has many major Cities of Japan. Many of these cities are crowded into a relatively small area of land along the Pacific Ocean coast of Honshu, between Tokyo and Kobe....
in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
and as the capital city of Hyogo Prefecture

Hyogo Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Kinki region on Honshu island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo....
and a prominent port city in Japan with a population of about 1.5 million. The city is located in the Kansai region of Japan and is part of the metropolitan area. Kobe is classified as one of Japan's seventeen designated cities.

Originally known by the name , earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki

Nihon Shoki

The , sometimes translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second oldest book of classical Japanese history of Japan. It is more elaborate and detailed than the Kojiki, the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeologists as it includes the most complete extant historical record of ancient Japan....
, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine

Ikuta Shrine

is a Shinto Jinja in the Chuo Ward of Kobe, Japan, and is possibly among the oldest shrines in the country.According to Nihon Shoki, it was founded by the Empress Jingu at the beginning of the 3rd century CE to enshrine the kami Wakahirume, and was used as the base for a festival welcoming warriors back from the latest attempt to inva...
by Empress Jingu

Jingu of Japan

, also known as , was a legendary empress of Emperor Chuai who also served as Regent and de facto leader from the time of her husband's death in 209 until her son Emperor Ojin acceded to the throne in 269....
in 201 A.D.

201

Events...
For most of its history the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa Period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the , and the , was a feudalism regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family....
.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Kobe'

Start a new discussion about 'Kobe'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

is the fifth-largest city

List of Japanese cities by population

Japan has many major Cities of Japan. Many of these cities are crowded into a relatively small area of land along the Pacific Ocean coast of Honshu, between Tokyo and Kobe....
in Japan

Japan

Hyogo Prefecture

Nihon Shoki

Ikuta Shrine

Jingu of Japan

201

Events...
For most of its history the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa Period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa Shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the , and the , was a feudalism regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family....
. Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from , an archaic title for supporters of the city's Ikuta Shrine. Kobe became one of Japan's designated cities in 1956.

Kobe was one of the first cities to open for trade with the West

Western world

The term Western world, the West or the Occident can have multiple meanings dependent on its context . Accordingly, the basic definition of what constitutes "the West" varies, expanding and contracting over time, in relation to various historical circumstances....
following the end of the policy of seclusion

Sakoku

was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter or Japanese could leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633-1639 and remained in effect until 1853 with the arrival of Matthew C....
and has since been known as a cosmopolitan port city. While the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake

Great Hanshin earthquake

The Great Hanshin Earthquake, or Kobe earthquake as it is more commonly known outside Japan, was an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 Japan Standard Time in the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan....
diminished much of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth busiest container port. Companies headquartered in Kobe include ASICS

ASICS

is a Japanese athletic equipment company that started in 1949. Its founder, Kihachiro Onitsuka, began manufacturing basketball shoes in his home town in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan....
, Kawasaki Heavy Industries

Kawasaki Heavy Industries

is an international corporation based in Japan. It has headquarters in both Chuo-ku, Kobe, Kobe and Minato, Tokyo.The company is named after its founder Shozo Kawasaki and has no connection with the city of Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kanagawa....
, and Kobe Steel

Kobe Steel

, operating worldwide under the brand Kobelco, is a major Japanese Steel producers headquartered in Kobe.It was formed in 1905. Its location in a major city port was useful for importing and exporting iron ore and coal....
, as well as over 100 international corporations with Asia or Japan headquarters in the city such as Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co. is a Fortune 500, United States multinational corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, that manufactures a wide range of Fast moving consumer goods....
and Nestlé

Nestlé

Nestl? is a Multinational corporation packaged food company founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, and listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange with a turnover of over 87 billion Swiss francs....
.

The city is the point of origin and namesake of Kobe beef

Kobe beef

refers to beef from the black Tajima cattle breed of Wagyu cattle, raised according to strict tradition in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. Kobe beef is renowned for its flavour, tenderness, and fatty well-marbled meat....
as well as the site of one of Japan's most famous hot spring

Onsen

An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs....
resorts, Arima Onsen

Arima Onsen

is an onsen, or hot springs in Kita-ku, Kobe, Japan. This Onsen is still a hidden treasure of modern Kobe, behind Mount Rokko. It attracts many Japanese who want tranquility with beautiful natural surroundings and yet easy access from the busy cities in Kansai metropolitan area including Osaka....
.

History

Origins–Meiji Era

Stone artifacts and tools found in western Kobe demonstrate that the area was populated at least from the Jomon period

Jomon period

The is the time in history of Japan from about 14th millennium BC to 5th century BC.The term "Jomon" means "cord-patterned" in Japanese. This refers to the markings made on clay vessels and figures using sticks with cords wrapped around them which are characteristic of the Jomon people....
. The natural geography of the area, particularly of Wada Cape in Hyogo-ku

Hyogo-ku, Kobe

Hyogo-ku is one of 9 wards of Japans of Kobe in Japan. It has an area of 14.54 km?, and a population of 107,553 .External links...
, led to the development of a port, which would remain the economic center of the city. Some of the earliest written documents mentioning the region include the Nihon Shoki

Nihon Shoki

Ikuta Shrine

Jingu of Japan

201

Events...

During the Nara

Nara period

The of the history of Japan covers the years from AD 710 to 794. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijo-kyo . Except for 5 years , when the capital was briefly moved again, it remained the capital of Japanese civilization until Emperor Kammu established a new capital, Nagaoka-kyo, in 784 before moving to Heian-kyo , or Kyoto, a decade lat...
and Heian period

Heian period

The is the last division of classical History of Japan, running from 794 to 1185. It is the period in Japanese history when Confucianism and other Chinese culture were at their height....
s, the port was known by the name and was one of the ports from which imperial embassies to China

Imperial embassies to China

Imperial embassies to China were Foreign relations of Japan missions intermittently sent to China between the year of 600 and 894. The missionaries were chosen from low-class aristocracy or Buddhism priests....
were dispatched. The city was briefly the capital of Japan

Capital of Japan

Tokyo, the seat of the Government of Japan and home of the Emperor of Japan, is de-facto Capital of Japan. This is generally not in dispute, but it is not legally defined....
in 1180 when Taira no Kiyomori

Taira no Kiyomori

was a general of the late Heian Period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the History of Japan.After the death of his father Taira no Tadamori in 1153, Kiyomori assumed control of the Taira clan and ambitiously entered the political realm in which he had previously only held a minor post....
moved his grandson Emperor Antoku

Emperor Antoku

Emperor Antoku was the 81st Emperor of Japan of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. His reign spanned the years from 1180 through 1185....
to Fukuhara in present-day Hyogo-ku. The Emperor returned to Kyoto

Kyoto

Sorry, no overview for this topic
after about five months. Shortly thereafter in 1184, the Taira fortress in Hyogo-ku and the nearby Ikuta Shrine

Ikuta Shrine

Genpei War

The was a conflict between the Taira and Minamoto clan clans and in late-Heian period Japan. It resulted in the fall of the Taira clan and establishment of the Kamakura shogunate under Minamoto Yoritomo in 1192....
battle of Ichi-no-Tani

Battle of Ichi-no-Tani

was a Taira fortress at Suma-ku, Kobe, to the west of present-day Kobe. It sat on a very narrow strip of shore, between mountains on the north, and the sea to the south....
between the Taira and Minamoto

Minamoto clan

was one of the honorary surnames bestowed by the Emperors of Japan of the Heian Period on those of their sons and grandsons who were not considered eligible for the throne....
clans. The Minamoto prevailed, pushing the Taira further west.

As the port grew during the Kamakura period

Kamakura period

The is a period of History of Japan that marks the governance by the Kamakura shogunate, officially established in 1192 in Kamakura, Kanagawa by the first shogun Minamoto no Yoritomo....
, it became an important hub for trade with China and other countries. In the 13th century, the city came to be known by the name . During this time, Hyogo Port along with northern Osaka composed the province of Settsu

Settsu Province

was a Provinces of Japan of Japan, which today comprises the eastern part of Hyogo Prefecture and the northern part of Osaka Prefecture. It was also referred to as Tsu province , or Sesshu ....
. Later, during the Edo period

Edo period

The , or , is a division of History of Japan running from 1603 to 1868. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu....
, the eastern parts of present-day Kobe came under the jurisdiction of the Amagasaki Domain

Amagasaki Domain

The was a Han of Japan during the Edo period. It had its administrative headquarters at Amagasaki Castle. The domain extended over parts of Settsu Province that correspond to portions of the cities of Amagasaki, Hyogo, Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Ashiya, Hyogo, Kobe, Itami, Hyogo, and Takarazuka, Hyogo....
and the western parts under that of the Akashi Domain

Akashi Domain

The was a Han of Japan. It occupied Akashi District and surroundings in Harima Province. Fudai and Shinpan daimyo were assigned, and frequently reassigned, to Akashi....
, while the center was controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate

Tokugawa shogunate

The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the , and the , was a feudalism regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family....
. It was not until the abolition of the han system

Abolition of the han system

The was an act, in 1871, of the new Meiji government of the Empire of Japan to replace the traditional feudal domain system and to introduce centralized government authority ....
in 1871 and the establishment of the current prefecture system

Prefectures of Japan

The prefectures of Japan are the country's 47 sub-national jurisdictions: one "metropolis" , Tokyo; one "Circuit #Japan" , Hokkaido; two urban prefectures , Osaka Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture; and 43 other prefectures ....
that the area became politically distinct.

Hyogo Port was one of the first ports to open for trade with Western countries following the Meiji Restoration

Meiji Restoration

The , also known as the Meiji Ishin, Revolution, or Renewal, was a chain of events that led to enormous changes in Japan's political and social structure....
and the end of the policy of seclusion

Sakoku

was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter or Japanese could leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633-1639 and remained in effect until 1853 with the arrival of Matthew C....
in 1868. The region has since been identified with the West, and many foreign residences from the period remain in Kobe's Kitano area

Kitano-cho

or is a historical district in Kobe, Japan, which contains a number of foreign residences from the late Meiji period and early Taisho period eras of History of Japan....
.

Modern era

Kobe was founded on June 9, 1869, and was designated on September 1, 1956 by government ordinance. The history of the city is closely tied to that of the Ikuta Shrine

Ikuta Shrine

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a Participants in World War II, including all of the great powers, organised into two opposing military alliances: the Allies of World War II and the Axis powers....
, Kobe was bombed with incendiary bombs by B-29

B-29 Superfortress

The Boeing B-29 Superfortress was a four-engine Fixed-wing aircraft#Propeller aircraft heavy bomber that was flown by the United States Military in World War II and the Korean War, and by other nations afterwards....
bombers on March 17, 1945, causing the death of 8,841 residents and destroying 21% of Kobe's urban area (see Bombing of Kobe in World War II
Bombing of Kobe in World War II

On March 17, 1945, 331 United States B-29 Superfortress launched a firebombing attack against the city of Kobe, Japan. Of the city's residents, 8,841 were confirmed to have been killed in the resulting firestorms, which destroyed an area of three square miles and included 21% of Kobe's urban area....
). It is this incident that inspired the well-known Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli

is a Japanese animation film studio, and previously was a subsidiary of Tokuma Shoten.The company's logo features the character Totoro from the film My Neighbor Totoro....
film Grave of the Fireflies

Grave of the Fireflies

is a 1988 animated film written and film director by Isao Takahata . This is the first film produced by Shinchosha, who hired Studio Ghibli to do the animation production work....
and the book

Grave of the Fireflies (book)

is a 1967 autobiography novel by Japanese people novelist Akiyuki Nosaka. It is based on his experiences before, during, and after the Bombing of Kobe in World War II in 1945....
by Akiyuki Nosaka

Akiyuki Nosaka

Akiyuki Nosaka is a Japanese people novelist, singer, lyricist, and former member of the House of Councillors. As a broadcasting writer he uses the name Yukio Aki and his alias as a chanson singer is Claude Nosaka....
on which it was based.

Following continuous pressure from citizens, on March 18, 1975, the Kobe City Council passed an ordinance banning vessels carrying nuclear weapon

Nuclear weapon

A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion....
s from Kobe Port. This effectively prevented any U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
warships from entering the port, policy being not to disclose whether any warship is carrying nuclear weapons. This nonproliferation policy has been termed the "Kobe Formula

Japan's non-nuclear policy

Japan exhibits a firm non-nuclear weapons policy, most popularly articulated as the Three Non-Nuclear Principles of nonpossession, nonproduction, and nonintroduction of nuclear weapons....
".

On January 17, 1995 an earthquake measuring at 7.3 on the Richter magnitude scale

Richter magnitude scale

The Richter magnitude scale, or more correctly local magnitude ML scale, assigns a single number to quantify the amount of moment magnitude scale#Radiated seismic energy released by an earthquake....
occurred at 5:46 am JST

Japan Standard Time

Japan Standard Time or JST is the standard timezone of Japan, and is UTC+9 of Coordinated Universal Time. For example, when it is midnight in UTC, it is 9 am in Japan Standard Time....
near the city. Nearly 4,600 people in the city were killed, 212,443 were made homeless, and large parts of the port facilities and other parts of the city were destroyed. The earthquake destroyed portions of the Hanshin Expressway

Hanshin Expressway

The is a network of expressways surrounding Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, Japan. Operated by , it opened in 1962.Portions of the Hanshin Expressway collapsed during the Great Hanshin earthquake on January 17, 1995....
, an elevated freeway that dramatically toppled over. In Japan, the earthquake is known as the Great Hanshin Earthquake

Great Hanshin earthquake

The Great Hanshin Earthquake, or Kobe earthquake as it is more commonly known outside Japan, was an earthquake that occurred on Tuesday, January 17, 1995, at 05:46 Japan Standard Time in the southern part of Hyogo Prefecture, Japan....
(or the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake). To commemorate Kobe's recovery from the 1995 quake, the city holds an event every December called the Luminarie

Kobe Luminarie

is a light festival held in Kobe, Japan every December. It began in 1995 and commemorates the Great Hanshin earthquake of that year. They were donated by the Italian Government....
, where the city center is decorated with illuminated metal archways.

Kobe was Japan's busiest port and one of Asia's top ports until the Great Hanshin Earthquake. Kobe has since dropped to the fourth in Japan and thirty-eighth busiest container port worldwide

List of world's busiest container ports

This is a list of the World's busiest port Containerization seaports, total mass of actual Twenty-foot equivalent unit transported through the port....
(as of 2005).

Geography

Wedged in between the coast and the mountains, the city of Kobe is long and narrow. To the east is the city of Ashiya

Ashiya, Hyogo

is a cities of Japan founded on November 10, 1940 located in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, between the cities of Osaka and Kobe. It is known as the Beverly Hills, California of Japan....
, while the city of Akashi

Akashi, Hyogo

is a cities of Japan located in southern Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, on the Inland Sea west of Kobe.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 292,659 and the population density of 5,929.89 persons per km?....
lies to its west. Other adjacent cities include Takarazuka

Takarazuka, Hyogo

is a cities of Japan located in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan....
and Nishinomiya

Nishinomiya, Hyogo

is a cities of Japan located in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, between the cities of Osaka and Kobe. On April 1, 2005, the city of Nishinomiya celebrated its 80th anniversary....
to the east and Sanda

Sanda, Hyogo

is a cities of Japan located in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 113,585 and the population density of 540 persons per km?....
and Miki

Miki, Hyogo

is a cities of Japan located in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.As of March 31, 2008, the city has an estimated population of 83,795 and a population density of 482 persons per km?....
to the north.

The landmark of the port area is the red steel Port Tower

Kobe Port Tower

, a hyperboloid structure, is a 108 metre high lattice tower in Kobe, Japan. Kobe Port Tower has an observation deck at a height of 90.28 metres.Kobe the port city of Japan has as its landmark the famous Kobe Port Tower....
. A giant ferris wheel sits in nearby Harborland

Harborland

is a shopping district in Chuo-ku, Kobe, Kobe, Japan.This shopping district was made on the site of the former freight yard, Minatogawa Kamotsu Station of the Japanese National Railways....
, a notable tourist promenade

Esplanade

An esplanade is a long, open, level area, usually next to a river or large body of water, where people may walk. This allows people to promenade along the sea front, usually for recreational purposes, whatever the state of the tide, without having to walk on the beach....
. Two artificial islands, Port Island

Port Island

is an artificial island in Chuo-ku, Kobe, Kobe, Japan. It was constructed between 1966 and 1981 at Port of Kobe, and officially opened with an exposition called "Port Pier '81." It now houses a heliport, numerous hotels, a large convention center, the UCC Ueshima Coffee Co., Japan's 3rd and latest IKEA store, and several parks....
and Rokko Island

Rokko Island

is the second major artificial island in Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Kobe, Japan located in the southeast region at Port of Kobe. The island was constructed from Land reclamation between 1973 and 1992....
, have been constructed to give the city room to expand.

Away from the seaside at the heart of Kobe lie the Motomachi

Motomachi (Hyogo)

is a district of Chuo-ku, Kobe in Kobe, Japan. It is located between Mount Rokko and the port of Kobe.It is located adjacent to Nankinmachi and Kyu-kyoryuchi ....
and Sannomiya

Sannomiya

is a district of Kobe, Japan. Today, it is the biggest downtown area in the city.Before the 1920s, Sannomiya was just an edge of the city. The major downtowns were Motomachi and Shinkaichi, which are west of Sannomiya....
districts as well as Kobe's Chinatown

Chinatown

A Chinatown is a section of an urban area with a large number of overseas Chinese residents, usually outside of Greater China. Chinatowns are present throughout the world, including those in East Asia, Southeast Asia, North America, South America, Australasia, and Europe....
, Nankinmachi

Kobe Chinatown

Kobe Chinatown is located in Kobe, Japan. There are over 100 restaurants, shops and a Chinese temple .Kobe's Chinatown developed as the residential area of Chinese merchants, who settled in Kobe after the city's port had been opened to foreign trade in 1868....
, all well-known retail areas. A multitude of train lines cross the city from east to west. The main transport hub is Sannomiya Station

Sannomiya Station

is located in the heart of Kobe, Japan. This station is the main railway terminal of Kobe....
, with the eponymous Kobe Station located to the west and the Shinkansen

Shinkansen

File:JR East Shinkansen lineup 200 E2 E4 E1 Niigata Depot 20071100.JPGThe is a network of high-speed railway lines in Japan operated by four Japan Railways Group companies....
Shin-Kobe Station

Shin-Kobe Station

is a train station located on the Sanyo Shinkansen line serving the city of Kobe, Japan and the surrounding area. It is located to the north of Kobe city centre, at the foot of Mount Rokko....
to the north.

Mount Rokko

Mount Rokko

Wards

Kobe has 9 wards

Wards of Japan

A ku , conventionally translated as ward is a district in a large Japanese city. Wards are used to subdivide each City designated by government ordinance , as well as Tokyo ....
(ku): 1. Nishi-ku

Nishi-ku, Kobe

Nishi-ku is one of 9 wards of Japans of Kobe City in Japan. It has an area of 137.86 km?, and a population of 248,407 . Nishi in Japanese means west. Nishi-ku occupies the northwestern part of the city....
: The westernmost area of Kobe, Nishi-ku overlooks the city of Akashi

Akashi, Hyogo

Kobe Gakuin University

is a private, co-educational university located on the western edge of the city of Kobe, in Hyogo Prefecture in Japan. It was founded in 1966 and overlooks the city of Akashi, the Akashi Straits and the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge - the longest suspension bridge in the world....
. This ward has the largest population with 247,000 residents. 2. Kita-ku

Kita-ku, Kobe

Kita-ku is one of 9 wards of Japans of Kobe City in Japan. It has an area of 241.84 km?, and a population of 226,402 . Kita in Japanese means North....
: Kita-ku is the largest ward by area and contains the Rokko Mountain Range, including Mount Rokko

Mount Rokko

Onsen

An is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs....
resort town of Arima

Arima Onsen

Tarumi-ku, Kobe

Tarumi-ku is one of 9 wards of Japans of Kobe City in Japan. It has an area of 26.89 Square kilometer, and a population of 219,958 .Tarumi-ku is a western suburban area of Kobe, providing fine, quiet residential towns for commuters to downtown Kobe and even Osaka....
: Tarumi-ku is a mostly residential area. The longest suspension bridge in the world, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge

The , also known as the Pearl Bridge, is the world's longest suspension bridge . It is located in Japan and was completed in 1998. The bridge links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait....
, extends from Maiko in Tarumi-ku to Awaji Island

Awaji Island

is an island in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, in the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea between the islands of Honshu and Shikoku. As a transit between those two islands Awaji originally means "the road to Awa province ", the historic province bordering the Shikoku side of the Naruto strait now part of Tokushima Prefecture....
to the south. A relatively new addition to Kobe, Tarumi-ku was not a part of the city until 1946. 4. Suma-ku

Suma-ku, Kobe

Suma-ku is one of 9 wards of Japans of Kobe City in Japan. It has an area of 30.0 km?, and a population of 168,400 .There is a white sandy beach in this ward, which attracts tourists to the Kansai region for sun bathing and popular events during the summer season....
: Suma-ku is the site of Suma beach, attracting visitors during the summer months. 5. Nagata-ku

Nagata-ku, Kobe

Nagata-ku is one of 9 wards of Japans of Kobe City in Japan. It has an area of 11.46 km?, and a population of 102,387 .External links* ...
: Nagata-ku is the site of Nagata Shrine

Nagata Shrine

is a Shinto Jinja in Nagata Ward, Kobe, Japan.According to Nihon Shoki, Nagata Shrine was founded by the Empress Jingu at the beginning of the 3rd century CE along with Hirota Shrine, dedicated to Amaterasu, Sumiyoshi Taisha and Ikuta Shrine, dedicated to the kami Wakahirume....
, one of the three "Great Shrines" in Kobe. 6. Hyogo-ku

Hyogo-ku, Kobe

Hyogo-ku is one of 9 wards of Japans of Kobe in Japan. It has an area of 14.54 km?, and a population of 107,553 .External links...
: At various times known as Owada Anchorage or Hyogo Port, this area is the historical heart of the city. Shinkaichi

Shinkaichi

is a district of Kobe, Japan. It is one of the major downtown areas in the city.The name of Shinkaichi means 'newly opened area'. It was named so because the district was really newly developed area after moving the Minato-gawa River from this area to the west end of the city in the early 20th century....
in Hyogo-ku was once the commercial center of Kobe, but was heavily damaged during World War II

World War II

Chuo-ku, Kobe

Chuo-ku is one of 9 wards of Japans of Kobe City in Japan. It has an area of 28.37 km?, and a population of 119,768 .The Diplomatic missions of Panama is located on the eighth floor of the Moriyama Building in Chuo-ku....
: literally means "center", and as such Chuo-ku is the commercial and entertainment center of Kobe. Sannomiya

Sannomiya

Motomachi (Hyogo)

is a district of Chuo-ku, Kobe in Kobe, Japan. It is located between Mount Rokko and the port of Kobe.It is located adjacent to Nankinmachi and Kyu-kyoryuchi ....
and Harborland

Harborland

Hyogo Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Kinki region on Honshu island. The capital is Kobe.The prefecture's name was previously alternately spelled as Hiogo....
government offices. Port Island

Port Island

Kobe Airport

is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, Japan. It primarily handles domestic flights, but can also accommodate international charter flights....
lie in the southern part of this ward. 8. Nada-ku

Nada-ku, Kobe

Nada-ku is one of 9 wards of Japans of Kobe in Japan. It has an area of 31.4 km?, and a population of 129,095 .A leading national university in Japan, Kobe University, is located in this ward....
: Nada-ku is the site of Kobe's Oji Zoo and Kobe University

Kobe University

, also known in the Kansai region as ,is a leading national university located in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan.It was established in 1949, and comprises nine graduate schools and eleven faculties....
. Nada is also well-known for its sake

Nada-Gogo

are five groups of Sake breweries in the cities of Kobe and Nishinomiya, Hyogo, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. It is the largest sake producing region in Japan, with breweries in the area accounting for just over one quarter of the sake production in the entire country....
. Along with Fushimi

Fushimi-ku, Kyoto

is one of the eleven Wards of Kyoto in the Municipalities of Japan of Kyoto, in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Famous places in Fushimi include the Fushimi Inari Jinja , with thousands of torii lining the paths up and down a mountain; Fushimi Castle, originally built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, with its rebuilt towers and gold-lined tea-room; and Teradaya...
in Kyoto

Kyoto

Sorry, no overview for this topic
, it accounts for 45% of Japan's sake production. 9. Higashinada-ku

Higashinada-ku, Kobe

is one of 9 wards of Japans of Kobe in Japan. It has an area of 30.36 km?, and a population of 207,146 . South of the Hanshin line, it is also home to some notable sake brewing areas, including Uozaki and Mikage....
: The easternmost area of Kobe, Higashinada-ku borders the city of Ashiya

Ashiya, Hyogo

Rokko Island

Demographics

As of September 2007, Kobe has a population of 1,530,295 making up 658,876 households. This is an increase of 1,347 persons or approximately 0.1 percent over the previous year. The population density

Population density

Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans....
is approximately 2,768 persons per square kilometer, while there are about 90.2 males to every 100 females. About thirteen percent of the population are between the ages of 0 and 14, sixty-seven percent are between 15 and 64, and twenty percent are over the age of 65.

Approximately 44,000 registered foreign nationals live in Kobe. The four most common nationalities are Korea

Korea

Korea is a geographic area composed of two sovereign countries, a civilization, and a former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia....
n (22,237), Chinese

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
(12,516), Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east....
ese (1,301), and American

United States

Economy

Kobe is both an important port and manufacturing center within the Hanshin Industrial Region

Hanshin Industrial Region

The is one of the largest industrial regions in Japan. Its name comes from the kanji used to write the names of Osaka, Osaka and Kobe, Hyogo , the two largest cities in the megalopolis.The GDP in this area is $341 billion, one of the world's most productive region....
. Kobe is the busiest container port

List of world's busiest container ports

This is a list of the World's busiest port Containerization seaports, total mass of actual Twenty-foot equivalent unit transported through the port....
in the region, surpassing even Osaka

Osaka

is a Cities of Japan in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshu.Osaka is a City designated by government ordinance under the Local Autonomy Law and the capital city of Osaka Prefecture....
, and the fourth busiest in Japan

Japan

Gross domestic product

File:GDP nominal per capita world map IMF 2008.pngThe gross domestic product or gross domestic income is one of the measures of national income and output for a given country's economy....
was ¥6.3 trillion, which amounts to thirty-four percent of the GDP for Hyogo Prefecture

Hyogo Prefecture

Per capita income

Per capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone....
for the year was approximately ¥2.7 million. Broken down by sector

Three-sector hypothesis

File:2005gdpIndustrial.pngFile:2005gdpServices.pngThe three-sector hypothesis is an economics theory which divides economies into three sectors of activity: extraction of raw materials , manufacturing , and services ....
, about one percent of those employed work in the primary sector (agriculture, fishing and mining), twenty-one percent work in the secondary sector (manufacturing and industry), and seventy-eight percent work in the service sector.

The value of manufactured goods produced and exported from Kobe for 2004 was ¥2.5 trillion. The four largest sectors in terms of value of goods produced are small appliances, food products, transportation equipment, and communication equipment making up over fifty percent of Kobe's manufactured goods. In terms of numbers of employees, food products, small appliances, and transportation equipment make up the three largest sectors.

Major companies and institutes

Japanese companies which have their headquarters in Kobe include ASICS

ASICS

Daiei

, based in Kobe, Hyogo, is one of the largest supermarket chains in Japan. In 1957, Isao Nakauchi founded the chain in Osaka near Sembayashi Station on the Keihan train line....
, a department store chain; Kawasaki Heavy Industries

Kawasaki Heavy Industries

Mitsubishi Motors

is the fifth largest automaker in Japan and the fifteenth largest in the world by global unit sales. It is part of the Mitsubishi keiretsu, formerly the biggest industrial group in Japan, and was formed in 1970 from the automotive division of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries....
, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries

, or MHI, is a Japanese company. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi Group....
(ship manufacturer), Mitsubishi Electric

Mitsubishi Electric

is a Japanese company based in the Tokyo Building in Tokyo, manufacturing electric and architectural equipment, as well as a major worldwide producer of photovoltaics....
, Kobe Steel

Kobe Steel

Sumitomo Rubber Industries

is a tire and rubber company based in Japan. It is part of the Sumitomo Group.The company traces its origins to 1909, when the Sumitomo Group made an investment in Dunlop Japan, the newly formed Japanese subsidiary of the British company Dunlop Rubber....
and TOA Corporation. Other companies include the confectionery

Confectionery

Confectionery is the set of food items that are rich in sugar, any one or type of which is called a confection. Modern usage may include substances rich in artificial sweeteners as well....
manufacturers Konigs-Krone

Konigs-Krone

is a Western-style confectionery and cake company headquartered in Kobe, Japan. Founded in 1977, the company has since expanded and now owns restaurants at thirty-one locations in Japan, mostly in the Kansai region....
and Morozoff Ltd.

Morozoff Ltd.

is a confectionary and cake company headquartered in Kobe, Japan. Since its founding in 1931, Morozoff has grown and now has 767 restaurants and cafes across Japan....
, Sun Television Japan and UCC Ueshima Coffee Co.

UCC Ueshima Coffee Co.

is a manufacturer of coffee and tea products in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. "UCC" stands for "Ueshima Coffee Company".Note that the official English corporate name is fully capitalized: UCC UESHIMA COFFEE CO., LTD....

There are over 100 international corporations with East-Asia or Japan headquarters in Kobe. Of these, twenty-four are from China

China

China is a Culture of China, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
, eighteen from the United States

United States

Switzerland

Switzerland is a landlocked Swiss Alps country of roughly 7.7 million people in Western Europe with an area of 41,285 km?. Switzerland is a federal republic consisting of 26 states called Cantons of Switzerland....
. Some prominent corporations include Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company

Eli Lilly and Company is a global pharmaceutical company and one of the world's largest corporations. Eli Lilly's global headquarters is located in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States....
, Nestlé

Nestlé

Procter & Gamble

Procter & Gamble Co. is a Fortune 500, United States multinational corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, that manufactures a wide range of Fast moving consumer goods....
, Tempur-Pedic

Tempur-Pedic

Tempur-Pedic International, Inc. , is a manufacturer and distributor of mattresses and pillows made from TEMPUR material....
, and Toys "R" Us.

Kobe is the site of a number of research institutes, such as the RIKEN

RIKEN

is a large natural sciences research institute in Japan. Founded in 1917, it now has approximately 3000 scientists on seven campuses across Japan, the main one in Wako, Saitama, just outside Tokyo....
Kobe Institute Center for developmental biology

Developmental biology

Developmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, cellular differentiation and "morphogenesis," which is the process that gives rise to biological tissues, organ s and anatomy....
and medical imaging techniques, the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology Kobe Advanced ICT Research Center, the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention, and the Asian Disaster Reduction Center.

International organizations include the WHO Centre for Health Development

WHO Centre for Health Development

The WHO Centre for Health Development is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organisation of the United Nations.The main office is in Kobe, Japan....
, an intergovernmental

Intergovernmental

Intergovernmental can refer to:*Intergovernmentalism*Intergovernmental Risk Pool*Intergovernmental organization...
agency forming part of the World Health Organization

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health....
. The Consulate-General of Panama in Kobe

Diplomatic missions of Panama

Panama's status as major flag state for maritime vessels and owner of the Panama Canal has led to Panama opening missions in cities with significant harbour traffic, such as Rotterdam, Tampa and Kobe....
is located on the eighth floor of the Moriyama Building in Chuo-ku, Kobe

Chuo-ku, Kobe

Transportation

Rail

Sannomiya Station

is located in the heart of Kobe, Japan. This station is the main railway terminal of Kobe....
is the main commuter hub in Kobe, serving as the transfer point for the three major intercity rail lines. () The JR Kobe Line

JR Kobe Line

The is the nickname of portions of the Tokaido Main Line and the Sanyo Main Line, between Osaka Station in Osaka, Osaka Prefecture and Himeji Station in Himeji, Hyogo Prefecture....
connects Kobe to Osaka

Osaka

Himeji, Hyogo

is a cities of Japan located in Hyogo Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan. As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 535,571. The total area is 533 km?....
while both the Hankyu Kobe Line

Hankyu Kobe Line

The of Hankyu Railway is one of the three major commuter heavy rail line in the Keihanshin conurbation of Japan. It links the urban centres of Osaka and Kobe by connecting the major stations of Umeda Station in Osaka and Sannomiya Station in Kobe....
and the Hanshin Main Line

Hanshin Main Line

|}The is a railway line of a Japanese private railway company Hanshin Electric Railway, connecting two Japanese cities of Japan of Osaka and Kobe, between and stations respectively....
run from Kobe to Umeda Station

Umeda Station

Umeda Station is a train station located in Kita-ku, Osaka in the northern commercial center of Osaka, Japan. It is the busiest station in Western Japan, serving 2,343,727 passengers daily in 2005....
in Osaka. In addition, Kobe Municipal Subway

Kobe Municipal Subway

is the rapid transit of Kobe. It has two lines....
provides access to the Sanyo Shinkansen

Sanyo Shinkansen

The is a line of the Japan Shinkansen high-speed rail network, connecting Shin-Osaka Station in Osaka with Hakata Station in Fukuoka, Fukuoka, the two largest cities in western Japan....
at Shin-Kobe Station

Shin-Kobe Station

Sanyo Electric Railway

Sanyo Electric Railway Co., Ltd. is a Japanese private railway in western Hyogo Prefecture. It runs local and express rail service between Himeji and Kobe, and also connects directly with Hanshin Main Line to Osaka....
trains from Himeji reach Sannomiya via the Kobe Rapid Railway

Kobe Rapid Railway

Kobe Rapid Transit Railway Company, Limited is a special railway company in central Kobe, Japan....
.

Other rail lines in Kobe include Kobe Electric Railway

Kobe Electric Railway

, often called Shintetsu , is a Japanese private railway company in Kobe and surrounding cities....
which runs north to Sanda

Sanda, Hyogo

is a cities of Japan located in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 113,585 and the population density of 540 persons per km?....
and Arima Onsen

Arima Onsen

Tanigami Station

is a train station in northern Kobe, Japan, serving the Shintetsu Arima Line and the Hokushin Kyuko Electric Railway. The station consists of 5 tracks and 3 island platforms....
on the Kobe Electric Railway. Kobe New Transit

Kobe New Transit

is the third-sector semipublic company that runs Port Island Line and Rokko Island Line automated guideway transit systems in Kobe, Japan. When opened in 1981, the Port Liner was Japan's first urban transport AGT....
runs two lines, the Port Island Line from Sannomiya to Kobe Airport

Kobe Airport

is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, Japan. It primarily handles domestic flights, but can also accommodate international charter flights....
and the Rokko Island Line

Rokko Island Line

The , commonly known as is an automated guideway transit system in Kobe, Japan. Operated by Kobe New Transit, it connects the man-made Rokko Island to Sumiyoshi Station on the JR Kobe Line....
from JR Sumiyoshi Station

Sumiyoshi Station (JR West)

is a train station on the Tokaido Main Line of West Japan Railway Company, located in Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Kobe Japan and a transfer point to Rokko Liner, which connects mainland Kobe to the man-made Rokko Island....
to Rokko Island

Rokko Island

Mount Rokko

Funicular

A funicular, also known as a funicular railway, incline, inclined railway, inclined plane, or cliff railway, is a type of self-contained cable railway in which a wire rope attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on Rail tracks#Railway rail moves them up and down a very steep slope, the ascending and descending v...
lines and three aerial lift

Aerial lift

An aerial lift is a means of transport in which gondolas or Chair are hauled above the ground by means of a Wire rope.Types of aerial lifts include:...
s as well, namely Maya Cablecar, Rokko Cable Line

Rokko Cable Line

The is Japanese funicular line on Mount Rokko, Nada-ku, Kobe, Kobe, Hyogo, Hyogo Prefecture. This is the only railway line operates, while it also operates bus lines....
, Rokko Arima Ropeway

Rokko Arima Ropeway

The is Japanese aerial lift line in Kobe, Hyogo, Hyogo Prefecture, operated by Kobe City Urban Development. Opened in 1970, the line links Mount Rokko and Arima Onsen hot spring....
, Maya Ropeway, and Shin-Kobe Ropeway

Shin-Kobe Ropeway

The is Japanese aerial lift line in Kobe, Hyogo, Hyogo Prefecture, operated by Kobe City Urban Development. It has an official nickname . Opened in 1991, the line links Shin-Kobe Station and Nunobiki Herb Garden....
.

Road and air

Kobe is a hub in a number of expressways

Expressways of Japan

The expressways of Japan make up a large network of freeway-standard toll roads....
, including the Meishin Expressway

Meishin Expressway

The is a toll expressway in Japan. It runs from a junction with the Tomei Expressway in Nagakute, Aichi west to Nishinomiya, Hyogo . It is the main road link between Osaka and Nagoya, and, along with the Tomei Expressway, forms the main road link between Osaka and Tokyo....
(Nagoya - Kobe) and the Hanshin Expressway

Hanshin Expressway

The is a network of expressways surrounding Osaka, Kobe and Kyoto, Japan. Operated by , it opened in 1962.Portions of the Hanshin Expressway collapsed during the Great Hanshin earthquake on January 17, 1995....
(Osaka - Kobe). Other expressways include the Sanyo Expressway

Sanyo Expressway

The is an Expressways of Japan, running from Kobe through Hiroshima along the Inland Sea and terminating in Yamaguchi Prefecture. It was founded in 1997, and its main line has a total length of 405.6 kilometers....
(Kobe - Yamaguchi

Yamaguchi Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan located in the Chugoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, Yamaguchi located in the center of the Prefecture: The largest city, by contrast, is Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi....
) and the Chugoku Expressway

Chugoku Expressway

The is an Expressways of Japan from Suita, Osaka to Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi. It connects Kansai region and Chugoku regions in the western Honshu, Japan's largest island....
(Osaka - Yamaguchi). The Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway

Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project

The Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project is a system of bridges connecting the islands of Honshu and Shikoku across the Inland Sea of Japan, which were previously only connected by ferry....
runs from Kobe to Naruto

Naruto, Tokushima

is a cities of Japan located in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 62,453 and the population density of 461 persons per km?....
via Awaji Island

Awaji Island

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge

Osaka International Airport

is the primary domestic airport for the Kansai region of Japan, including the major cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It is classified as a first class airport....
in nearby Itami

Itami, Hyogo

For Itami Airport, see Osaka International Airport is a cities of Japan located in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.As of 2008, the city had an estimated population of 194,488 and a population density of 7,790 persons per km?....
and Kobe Airport

Kobe Airport

is an airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, Japan. It primarily handles domestic flights, but can also accommodate international charter flights....
, built on a reclaimed island south of Port Island

Port Island

Kansai International Airport

is an international airport located on an artificial island in the middle of Osaka Bay, off the shore of the cities of Sennan, Osaka and Izumisano, Osaka and the town of Tajiri, Osaka in Osaka Prefecture, Japan....
in Osaka

Osaka

Education

The city of Kobe directly administers 169 elementary and 83 middle schools, with enrollments of approximately 80,200 and 36,000 students, respectively. If the city's four private elementary schools and fourteen private middle schools are included, these figures jump to a total 82,000 elementary school students and 42,300 junior high students enrolled for the 2006 school year.

Kobe also directly controls seven of the city's twenty-eight full-time public high schools, while the remainder are administered by the Hyogo Prefectural Board of Education. In addition, twenty-five high schools are run privately within the city. The total enrollment for high schools in 2006 was 43,400.

Kobe is home to eighteen public and private universities, including Kobe University

Kobe University

Konan University

is a university located on the slopes of Mount_Rokko in the Higashinada-ku ward of the city of Kobe, Japan. A private university with approximately 10,000 students, the university offers a wide variety of programs to Japanese students, as well as an international exchange program through the Konan International Exchange Centre....
, and eight junior colleges. Students enrolled for 2006 reached 67,000 and 4,100, respectively.

Culture

Kobe is famous for its Kobe beef

Kobe beef

Arima Onsen

Ikuta Shrine

Kobe Port Tower

Mount Rokko

Mt. Rokko is a name of a group of mountains in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. This mountain is one of Hyogo 50 mountains, Kinki 100 mountains, and also one of the 300 famous mountains in Japan....
, Mount Maya and so on) as well as the coast. Kobe is also known for having a somewhat exotic atmosphere by Japanese standards, which is mainly a result of its history as a port city.

The city is also widely associated with cosmopolitanism and fashion, encapsulated in the Japanese phrase, "If you can't go to Paris, go to Kobe." The biannual fashion event Kobe Collection

Kobe Collection

The is a fashion event has been held in Kobe, Japan, Japan and other cities during spring and autumn every year since 2002; over 30 brands and some have participated....
is held in Kobe. The jazz festival "Kobe Jazz Street" has been held every October at jazz clubs and hotels since 1981.

Kobe is the site of Japan's first golf course, Kobe Golf Club

Kobe Golf Club

The is Japan's first golf course, built on Mount Rokko in 1903 by English expatriate Arthur Hasketh Groom. The club began as a nine-hole course on May 24, 1903, but quickly expanded to eighteen the following year....
, established by Arthur Hasketh Groom

Arthur Hasketh Groom

Arthur Hasketh Groom founded the Kobe Golf Club on May 24, 1903 which was Japan's first ever Country club. Groom came to Japan in 1868 and became a long-term resident of Kobe....
in 1903, and Japan's first mosque, Kobe Mosque

Kobe Mosque

, also known as , was founded in October, 1935 in Kobe and is Japan's first mosque. Its construction was funded by donations collected by the Islamic Committee of Kobe from 1928 until its opening in 1935.The mosque was confiscated by the Imperial Japanese Navy in 1943....
, built in 1935. The city also hosts the Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club

Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club

The Kobe Regatta & Athletic Club, founded in 1870 by Alexander Cameron Sim, is Kobe and the Kansai region's oldest sports club. The club moved to a newly manufactured building at the end of 1870 and held its first-ever regatta on December 24, 1870....
, founded in 1870 by Alexander Cameron Sim

Alexander Cameron Sim

Alexander Cameron Sim was born in Aberlour, Scotland on August 28, 1840. He died on November 28, 1900 having lived most of his adult life in Japan....
, a prominent foreign cemetery

Foreign cemeteries in Japan

The foreign cemeteries in Japan are chiefly located in Tokyo and at the former treaty ports of Nagasaki, Nagasaki, Kobe, Yokohama, and Hakodate. They contain the mortal remains of long-term Japan residents, and are separate from any of the military cemeteries....
, and a number of Western-style residences from the 19th century, in the Kitano area

Kitano-cho

or is a historical district in Kobe, Japan, which contains a number of foreign residences from the late Meiji period and early Taisho period eras of History of Japan....
.

Most of the 1957 romantic drama Sayonara
Sayonara

Sayonara is a film which tells the story of an United States United States Air Force flier who was a fighter "Ace" during the Korean War. The film's screenplay was adapted by Paul Osborn from the novel by James Michener, and the film was produced by William Goetz and directed by Joshua Logan....
takes place in Kobe. Kobe is also the setting of the Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli

Grave of the Fireflies

is a 1988 animated film written and film director by Isao Takahata . This is the first film produced by Shinchosha, who hired Studio Ghibli to do the animation production work....
.

Sports

Club	Sport	League	Venue	Established
Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers For the American football team, see Pittsburgh Steelers. For other uses, see Steelers .Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers are a Japanese rugby union team owned by Kobe Steel, Ltd., and based in Kobe....	Rugby Rugby football Rugby football may refer to a number of sports through history descended from a common form of football developed in different areas of England....	Top League Top League In an effort to drive up the overall standard and popularity within Japan of Japanese rugby and improve the results of the Japan national rugby union team, the Japan Rugby Football Union created a new semi-professional 12-team league, called the Top League....	Kobe Wing Stadium Kobe Wing Stadium Home's Stadium Kobe, formerly is a football stadium in Misaki Park, Hyogo-ku, Kobe, Kobe, Japan. The stadium's capacity is 30,132. This stadium is the home ground of J....	1928
Orix Buffaloes Orix Buffaloes The are a Nippon Professional Baseball team based in Osaka and Kobe, Japan. They play in the Pacific League. The team is owned by the Orix Group, a leading diversified financial services company based in Tokyo....	Baseball Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport of nine players each. The goal of baseball is to score run by hitting a thrown Baseball with a baseball bat and touching a series of four markers called base arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot square, or diamond. Players on one team take turns hitting against...	Pacific League Pacific League The or is one of Japan's two major professional baseball leagues, the other being the Central League. It was founded as the Taiheiyo Baseball Union in 1949 with seven teams, the name changing to its current form in 1980....	Skymark Stadium Skymark Stadium is a sponsoring name of in Kobe Sports Park, Kobe, Japan. It is primarily used for baseball, and was the home field of the Orix Buffaloes. The stadium opened in 1988 and holds 35,000 people.... Osaka Dome Osaka Dome Osaka Dome is a baseball stadium located in Osaka, Japan. Beginning in 1997, the stadium was the home field of the Kintetsu Buffaloes. In 2005, the stadium became one of the homes of the Orix Buffaloes as a result of the merger of the Orix Blue Wave and Kintetsu Buffaloes....	1938
Vissel Kobe Vissel Kobe is a Japanese professional football club, currently playing in the J. League Division 1. The team is located in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture. The home stadium is Home's Stadium Kobe, in Hyogo-ku, Kobe, though some home matches are played at Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium in Suma-ku, Kobe....	Football Football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of eleven players, and is widely considered to be the most popular sport in the world....	J. League J. League The , or , is the top professional football league in Japan and one of the most successful leagues in Asian club football. Currently, J. League Division 1 and 2 are the first and second levels of the Japanese football league system....	Home's Stadium Kobe Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium Kobe Universiade Memorial Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Kobe Sports Park, Kobe, Japan. It is currently used mostly for Association football matches....	1995

Sister cities and sister ports

Kobe has six sister cities and a number of other affiliations. They are:

Seattle

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the most populous city in the US state of Washington and the Northwestern United States. The encompassing Seattle metropolitan area is the 15th largest in the United States, and the largest in the Pacific Northwest....
, United States

United States

Marseille

"Marseille" is the second-largest city of France and forms the third-largest aire urbaine, after those of Paris and Lyon, with a population recorded to be 1,516,340 at the 1999 census and estimated to be 1,605,000 in 2007....
, France

France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
(1961) Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro , is the second largest city of Brazil and South America, behind S?o Paulo, and the third largest metropolitan area in South America, behind S?o Paulo and Buenos Aires....
, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
(1969) Riga

Riga

Riga the Capital of Latvia, is situated on the Baltic Sea coast on the mouth of the river Daugava River. Riga is the largest city in the Baltic states....
, Latvia

Latvia

Latvia The Latvians are a Baltic peoples culturally related to the Estonians and Lithuanians, with the Latvian language having many similarities with Lithuanian language, but not with the Estonian language....
(1974) Brisbane

Brisbane City Council

Brisbane City Council is the governing City council for Brisbane, which is the capital of Queensland, Australia. Unlike councils in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth, where the local councils are generally responsible for relatively small areas of those cities, Brisbane City Council administers the larger part of the Brisbane metropolit...
, Australia

Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
(1985) Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the capital and most populous city of the Autonomous communities of Spain of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008, while the population of the Metropolitan Area was 3,161,081....
, Spain

Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
(1993) Bam

Bam, Iran

Bam is a city in Kerman Province of Iran. The city is the center of Bam County. The modern Iranian city of Bam surrounds the Arg-? Bam. Before the 2003 earthquake the official population count of the city was roughly 43,000....
, Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
(2008) Pisco

Pisco

'Pisco' is a South American Distilled beverage distilled from grapes. Developed by Spanish Empire settlers in the 16th century, it takes its name from the conical pottery in which it was originally aged, which was also the name of the city where it was produced: Pisco, Peru, in the Viceroyalty of Peru....
, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
(2007) Haifa

Haifa

Haifa is the largest city in North District Israel, and the List of Israeli cities in the country, with a population of over 264,900. Haifa has a mixed population of Jews and Arabs....
, Israel

Israel

Israel officially the State of Israel , is a country in the Middle East located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its relatively small area....
(2004)

Sister ports: Rotterdam

Rotterdam

Rotterdam ; city and municipality in the Netherlands province of South Holland, situated in the west of the Netherlands. The municipality is the List of cities in the Netherlands with over 100,000 people in the country, with a population of 584,046 on 1 January 2007 and comprises the southern part of the Randstad, the List of metropolitan are...
, Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in North-West Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east....
(1967) Seattle, United States

United States

Tianjin

is the third largest city of the People's Republic of China in terms of urban population. Administratively it is one of the four municipality that have Political divisions of China status, reporting directly to the central government....
, China (friendly city) (1973) Philadelphia, United States

United States

Gallery

External links

- late 19th century photographs of Kobe