Kobe Photo Gallery

Kobe is located just 30km west of Osaka with a population of 1.5 million. Opened as an international port in the 19th century, the city was devastated in the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995 and has since been rebuilt. Today, it is hard to see signs of the earthquake's damage. Kobe is well-connected to Osaka by commuter rail, which takes less than half hour, or the Shinkansen in 15 minutes.
Japanese cities tend to keep its buildings fairly short, and not so densely-packed.
The Shinkansen station is just 1 subway stop away from the main railway station at Sannomiya.
The Port Liner monrail connects the city with the port terminal and airport just offshore.
The driver-less system winds its way on bridges to the airport, offering good views along the way.
This part of town is even less dense, and appears to be a fairly serene place to live or work.
The crowds thinned out as we neared the airport, which is only a 20-minute ride from the city.
The airport only has domestic flights. Similar to Kansai nearby, it was built on reclaimed land offshore to mitigate noise pollution to residents.
From here, you get the skyline view.
I couldn't resist but head upwards at a nearby hotel for another perspective.
Back in the city centre, the streets were not so interesting at night. It wasn't so late yet.
In other Japanese cities, I found municipal buildings had free observation decks. Kobe City Hall seems to be little-known to tourists.
Language barrier is not an issue when ordering dinner in Japan. Menus are vividly displayed outside restaurants so you can photograph what you want to show the waitress. I ended up getting this.
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