The Port of Kobe is a Japanese maritime port in

Kobe Kobe ( ; , ), officially , is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. With a population of around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's List of Japanese cities by population, seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Port of Toky ...

, Hyōgo in the

Keihanshin is a metropolitan region in the Kansai region of Japan encompassing the metropolitan areas of the cities of Kyoto in Kyoto Prefecture, Osaka in Osaka Prefecture and Kobe in Hyōgo Prefecture. The entire region has a population () of 19,302,746 ov ...

area, backgrounded by the

Hanshin Industrial Region The is one of the largest industrial regions in Japan. Its name comes from the ''on''-reading of the kanji used to abbreviate the names of Osaka (大阪) and Kobe (神戸), the two largest cities in the megalopolis. The GDP of this area (Osaka ...

. Located at a foothill of the range of

Mount Rokkō is the name of a range of mountains in southeastern Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Outline There is no single mountain or peak called "Rokkō," although the highest peak of the mountains is called , (literally, ''the highest peak of the Rokkō ...

, flat lands are limited and constructions of artificial islands have carried out, to make

Port Island is an artificial island in Chūō-ku, Kōbe, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan. It was constructed between 1966-1980 (Phase 1) and 1987-2009 (Phase 2) at the Port of Kobe, and officially opened with an trade fair, exposition called "Portopia '81." It now ho ...

Rokkō Island is a Artificial island, man-made island in Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan. Located in the southeast region of the Port of Kobe, the island has a rectangular shape and covers . The island's central region features a residential area, sepa ...

, island of

Kobe Airport is a primarily domestic airport on an artificial island just off the coast of Kobe, south of Sannomiya StationAIS Japan

to name some.

History

In the 12th century,

Taira no Kiyomori was a military leader and '' kugyō'' of the late Heian period of Japan. He established the first samurai-dominated administrative government in the history of Japan. Early life Kiyomori was born in Japan, in 1118 as the first son of Taira ...

renovated the then and moved to , the short-lived capital neighbouring the port. Throughout medieval era, the port was known as . In 1858 the Treaty of Amity and Commerce opened the Hyōgo Port to foreigners. In 1865, the Hyōgo Port Opening Demand Incident occurred, in which nine warships from Britain, France, the Netherlands, and the United States invaded the Hyōgo Port demanding its opening. In 1868, a new port of Kobe was built east of the Hyōgo Port and opened. After the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

pillars were occupied by the Allied Forces, later by

United States Forces Japan is a subordinate Unified combatant command, unified command of the United States Indo-Pacific Command. It was activated at Fuchū Air Base (Tokyo), Fuchū Air Station in Tokyo, Japan, on 1 July 1957 to replace the Far East Command (United State ...

. (Last one returned in 1973.) In the 1970s the port boasted it handled the most containers in the world. It was the world's busiest container port from 1973 to 1978. The 1995

Great Hanshin earthquake The Great Hanshin Earthquake (, ) occurred on January 17, 1995, at 05:46:53 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region of Hanshin. It measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum intensity of 7 o ...

diminished much of the port city's prominence when it destroyed and halted much of the facilities and services there, causing approximately ten trillion yen or $102.5 billion in damage, 2.5% of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

's GDP at the time. Most of the losses were uninsured, as only 3% of property in the Kobe area was covered by earthquake insurance, compared to 16% in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. Kobe was one of the world's busiest ports prior to the earthquake, but despite the repair and rebuilding, it has never regained its former status as Japan's principal shipping port. It remains Japan's fourth busiest container port.American Association of Port Authorities
- "World Port Rankings 2006", retrieved April 15, 2008

Facilities

*Container berths: 34 *Area: 3.89 km² *Max draft: 18 m

Amusement facility for public

Meriken Park is a waterfront park located in the port city of Kobe, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The park features the Kobe Port Tower, Kobe Maritime Museum, and a memorial to victims of the Great Hanshin earthquake. The name of the park comes from the word " ...

Kobe Port Tower The is a landmark in the port city of Kobe, Japan. The sightseeing tower was completed in 1963 and was temporarily closed from late 2009 to 28 April 2010 and again from 27 September 2021 to 26 April 2024 for renovation. It is located in Chuo-ku, ...

Harborland is a shopping district in Chūō-ku, Kobe, Chuo-ku, Kobe, Japan. Kobe Port Tower is located there. This shopping district was made on the site of the former freight yard, Minatogawa Kamotsu Station of the Japanese National Railways. The yard ...

Passenger services

Busan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

: twice a week *

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

: once a week *

Tianjin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in North China, northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the National Central City, nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the ...

, China: once a week

Cruise port

Kobe is also a home port for certain cruise ships. Cruise lines that call at the port are kinds like

Holland America Line Holland America Line N.V. (HAL) is an American cruise line operating as a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc. Founded in 1873 in Rotterdam, Netherlands as the Netherlands-America Steamship Company (NASM), the company operated regular trans ...

and

Princess Cruise Line Princess Cruises is an American cruise line owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. The company headquarters are in Santa Clarita, California and is incorporated in Bermuda. As of 2025, it is the sixth largest cruise line by net revenue. It was ...

. In the summer of 2014 Princess expanded the market in Kobe when their ship sailed eight-day roundtrip Asia cruises from the port. These cruises on the '' Sun Princess'' are a part of Princess Cruises $11 billion contributions to the entire country of Japan, where the ship will also sail from

Otaru, Hokkaido is a city and port in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces Ishikari Bay and the Sea of Japan, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tour ...

, as it is currently based in Yokohama, Tokyo.

Sister ports

* Rotterdam port,

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

- 1967 * Seattle port,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

- 1967 *

Tianjin port The Port of Tianjin (''Tianjin Gang'', zh, s=天津港, p=tiānjīn gǎng}), formerly known as the Port of Tanggu, is the largest port in Northern China and the main maritime gateway to Beijing. The name "Tianjin Xingang" ( zh, s=天津新港, ...

- 1980 *

Kolkata port The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port (SPMP or SMP, Kolkata), formerly the Kolkata Port, is the only riverine major port in India, in the city of Kolkata, West Bengal, around from the sea. It is the oldest operating port in India and was construc ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

-1951 * Vancouver port,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

-1991

References

External links

Kobe Ports and Harbors Office
{{Coord, 34, 40, 39, N, 135, 13, 37, E, region:JP_source:kolossus-jawiki, display=title

Buildings and structures in Kobe Keihanshin Transport buildings and structures in Hyōgo Prefecture