Kobe is perhaps Japan’s most cosmopolitan city. It’s been an important port- in fact, one of the most well-known in the country- for more than a century now, when it was opened to international trade in 1868.

Even in the nineteenth century, Kobe was flooded with sailors, traders and merchants from the world over, and many of them settled in the city- you can still see a number of European-style buildings in the older parts of Kobe. Till today, Kobe has a sizeable foreign population- mainly Chinese and Koreans, but a number of Europeans too. The result is a society which is, in many ways different from the rest of Japan- more cosmopolitan, more global, and often much more comfortable for a tourist to fit into.

Some of Kobe’s tourist attractions- especially some sake breweries- were destroyed in the earthquake which hit the city in 1995, but a number of interesting sights still dot the city. Among these are museums- Kobe Kokusai Kaiyo Hakubutsu-kan (the Kobe Maritime Museum- with models of sailing vessels, including a bejeweled one of a Japanese ship called the Oshoru Maru), and the Kobe Shiritsu Hakubutsu-kan, the Kobe City Museum- it has some very good antiques from the period of the European settlements in Kobe. There are some excellent prints, paintings and screens here, and three entire rooms reproduced from the European houses of the early 20th century.

Kobe has its temples- the best known is Ikuta Jinja, supposedly one of the oldest shrines in Japan; and it has historical buildings- the Choueke Mansion, with lots of antiques (the house is still inhabited) and the `English House’. And then there are areas like Kitano where Western traders lived, and still live and Chinatown- both with lots of atmosphere, and most un-Japanese.

One last word: if you are fond of beef, Kobe is the place for you. Kobe beef is undoubtedly the best in Japan (it also ranks high in the world- in fact, a lot of it is exported), and beefsteaks rarely come better than in Kobe.

Getting There: The quickest and convenient way to travel to Kobe is to catch one of the shinkansen (bullet) trains that connect all the major cities. Long distance overnight buses are inexpensive but not very comfortable. The Kansai International Airport outside Osaka is the nearest to Kobe for overseas flights.

Accommodation: An industrial city, Kobe has a wide range of hotels to suit all travellers be they businessmen or tourists. Accommodation choices include luxury hotels, youth hostels, traditional Japanese inns called ryokans and home stays with local families.

For detailed country and visitor information, see Japan.