Kobe

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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 those of Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Hakata and Tokyo. It is in the Kansai region of Japan, in Hyogo Prefecture to the west of Osaka. It was one of the first cities to open for trade with the West, as of 1868. This 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. They raise and slaughter a special type of cattle for this.

Orientation

Wedged 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 expand.

Away from the seaside at the heart of Kobe lie the Motomachi and Kokashita districts 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 to the west and the Shinkansen Shin-Kobe Station to the north.

Mount Rokko overlooks Kobe with an elevation of 931 meters: during the autumn season, it is famous for the rich change in colors 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 city of Ashiya.

Most of the movie Sayonara takes place in Kobe.

Image:Venus bridge01 960.jpg|from Venus bridge. Image:Kobesunset.jpg|Sunset over Kobe. Image:X1pGg9EMswqL-8yP nKqH1BI6jlZahed2DP3MDGsRnjWXsacQm25xpQK3IWaXN11wIyrQzZuEuXUMW30uSkg6UAnrDxveb7hYhv qVVMywsNPb2hEItw2Btj9QZmiK-1vVhIZCrw2Jbgky6XJwiL.jpg|Chinatown in Kobe.

Buildings

Kobe Port Tower

History

Kobe 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 17, 1945, killing over 8,000 residents and burning the city to ashes.

Following continuous pressure from citizens, on March 18, 1975, the Kobe City Council passed an ordinance banning vessels carrying nuclear weapons from Kobe Port. This effectively prevented any U.S. 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".

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 Japan's busiest port and one of Asia's top ports until the Great Hanshin Earthquake occurred. ^* Since then, the port of Nagoya 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):

Chūō-ku（中央区）
Higashinada-ku (東灘区)
Hyōgo-ku (兵庫区)
Kita-ku（北区）
Nada-ku (灘区)
Nagata-ku (長田区)
Nishi-ku（西区）
Suma-ku (須磨区)
Tarumi-ku (垂水区)

Transportation

The new Kobe Airport was opened on an artificial island on February 16, 2006.

Universities in Kobe

Public Universities

Kobe University
University of Hyogo (Prefectural university) ^*
Kobe City University of Foreign Studies ^*
Kobe City College of Nursing ^*

Private Universities

Konan University ^*
Konan Women's University ^*
Kobe Kaisei College (Women's university) ^*
Kobe Gakuin University ^*
Kobe Design University ^*
Kobe International University ^*
Kobe Shoin Women's University ^*
Kobe Women's University ^*
Kobe Shinwa Women's University ^*
Kobe Pharmaceutical University ^*
Kobe Yamate University ^*
University of Marketing and Distribution Science ^*

International Schools

Marist Brothers International School (Montessori-12), located in Suma-ku ^*
Canadian Academy (K-12), located on the man-made island of Rokko Island ^*
St. Michael's International School (PreK-6), a small British elementary school located in Sannomiya ^*
Deutsche Schule Kobe - European School, located in Nada-ku ^*

Major Company Headquarters in Kobe

World Headquarters

Japanese Headquarters

Sport Teams

Club	Sport	League	Venue	Established
Kobe Steel Kobelco Steelers	Rugby	Top League	Kobe Wing Stadium	1928
Orix Buffaloes	Baseball	Pacific League	Skymark Stadium Osaka Dome	1938
Hanshin Tigers	Baseball	Central League	Koshien Stadium	1936
Vissel Kobe	Football	J.League	Kobe Wing Stadium	1995
Nikko Kobe IceBucks (shared with Nikko, Tochigi)	Ice Hockey	Asia League		1999

Sister cities

Seattle, United States - 1957 ^*
Marseille, France - 1961 ^*
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 1969 ^*
Tianjin, People's Republic of China - 1973 ^*
Riga, Latvia - 1974 ^*
Brisbane, Australia - 1985 ^*
Philadelphia, United States (friendship city) - 1986 ^*
Barcelona, Spain - 1993 ^*

External links

Kobe | Cities in Hyogo Prefecture | Coastal cities | Ports and harbours of Japan

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