The is a landmark in the port city of

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whi ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

. The sightseeing tower was completed in 1963 and was temporarily closed from late 2009 to 28 April 2010 for renovation. It is located in the Central District,

, Hyogo Prefecture,

History

The Kobe Port Tower was designed by the Nikken Sekkei Company and it was completed in 1963. The maintenance of the whole facility began since November 2009 and The Kobe Port Tower was closed to the public since 12 January 2010 for refurbishment. It was renovated and re-opened to public for the sightseeing deck on 19 March 2010 but Kobe Port Tower completes the installation of 7000 light-emitting diodes (LED) lighting equipment with 40 lighting effects starting from the re-opening day by the date of 28 April 2010.

Architectural features

The Kobe Port Tower is high with total of 8 layers that is designed as the outlook of Tsuzumi which is a Japanese drum, and it is the first tower built using a pipe lattice. The Tower is surrounded by 32 red steel staves as symbolize welcome vessels return to the shore.

Usage

Kobe Port Tower has two sections; the ground floors sections and the sightseeing sections are separated and have three and five floors respectively. At the base of the tower, the first floor is mainly to sell souvenirs and restaurants. Souvenir shops and ticket office to the sightseeing level is locating on the second floor, and third floor is the elevator exit and display floor. For the sightseeing layers, the first floor has aerial view from the viewing area as above the ground. Moreover, it is observatory floor with the second floor and the rest floors are sightseeing decks. The third floor is a 360 rotate cafe with 20 minutes for a round. Fourth floor can see Awajishima and

Osaka Bay Osaka Bay (大阪湾 ''Ōsaka-wan'' ) is a bay in western Japan. As an eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, it is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Kii Channel and from the neighbor western part of the Inland Sea by the Akashi Strait. ...

and the fifth floor can see Mount Rokkō and

Kansai International Airport Kansai International Airport ( ja, 関西国際空港, Kansai Kokusai Kūkō) commonly known as is the primary international airport in the Greater Osaka Area of Japan and the closest international airport to the cities of Osaka, Kyoto, and ...

In popular culture

* Gamera vs. Barugon *

Ultra Seven is a Japanese ''tokusatsu'' science fiction television series created by Eiji Tsuburaya. It is the third installment in the Ultra Series and was produced by Tsuburaya Productions. The series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System from October 1, 19 ...

* Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla *

Ultraman Mebius & Ultraman Brothers is a superhero and kaiju film released in Japan on September 16, 2006, serving as a threatical tie-in to the Ultraman Mebius series. It is the 10th original film in the Ultraman franchise, and celebrates the 40th anniversary of the franchise. The ...

References

* ''

Architects' Journal ''Architects' Journal'' is an architectural magazine published in London by Metropolis International. History The first edition was produced in 1895. Originally named ''The Builder's Journal and Architectural Record'', from 1906 to 1910 it was ...

'',
Shuttleworth stunned by Vortex's 'clear similarity' to Kobe Tower
, 8 July 2004

External links