Kobe - Orientation

34°40N 135°12E, pop (2000e) 1 500 000. Port capital of Hyogo prefecture, C Honshu, Japan, W of Osaka; Japan's leading international commercial port; continuing land reclamation on seaward side of the city; railway; 15 universities; badly damaged by earthquake, January 1995; food industry, machinery, electronics, shipbuilding, iron and steel, chemicals, saké; harbour and naval museum, Museum of Namban Art, Minatogawa Shrine; Port Island; Kobe Wing Stadium (2001); Nankosai Festival of Minatogawa Shrine (May).

Coordinates: 34°41′59″N, 135°8′36″E

For the NBA basketball player, see Kobe Bryant. For the Iron Chef Italian, see Masahiko Kobe.

Kobe (神戸市, Kōbe-shi) is a city in Japan located on the island of Honshū.

Kobe is also the point of origin of the world-famous Kobe beef;

Port of Kobe at the time of twilight

Orientation

Wedged in between the coast and the mountains (Rokko Mountain), the city of Kobe is long and narrow.

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.

Kobe Port Tower

Nakatottei

Port of Kobe

Harbor land

Port of Kobe

Hyōgo Prefectural Museum of Art

Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge

Kobe bridge

from Venus bridge.

Sunset over Kobe.

Downtown Kobe from a harbour cruise boat

Harborland

Chinatown in Kobe.

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

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

JR-West (Sanyō Shinkansen/Tōkaidō Main Line/Sanyō Main Line/Kobe Line) Hankyu Railway (Kobe Line) Hanshin Electric Railway (Main Line) Sanyō Electric Railway Kobe Electric Railway Kobe Rapid Railway Kobe Municipal Subway Kobe New Transit

The new Kobe Airport was opened on a newly-built reclaimed land on February 16, 2006.

Universities in Kobe

Public universities

Kobe University University of Hyōgo (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 Kitano-cho, near Sannomiya and Motomachi stations Deutsche Schule Kobe - European School, located in Nada-ku

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. Gamble

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
Vissel Kobe	Football	J.League	Kobe Wing Stadium	1995
Nikkō Kobe IceBucks (shared with Nikkō, 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