Kobe's Chinatown came into being when the port opened to foreign trade in 1868. Nankin-machi is one of Japan's 3 official Chinatowns, along with Yokohama and Nagasaki. Typical of overseas Chinatowns, you will find the typical gate as well as many restaurants. However, this community of Chinese fled when the Japanese invaded China and US bombers leveled the area.