Kobe at Night: Pure Magic!

Enjoy the illuminated Meriken Park & foreign settlement

Takako Sakamoto Sep 15, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>Wire-framed tower in red, Kobe Port Tower and Kobe Maritime Museum; three landmarks of Kobe Meriken Park</p>

<p>Lights and architecture unique to the former foreign settlement</p>

<p>The night-time view from Venus Bridge in Kobe Suwayama Park</p>

<p>'umie MOSAIC', the amusement park in Kobe Harborland</p>

<p>Colorful pleasure ship at Kobe Meriken Park attracts plenty of attention from visitors</p>

<p>Sign post at 'umie MOSAIC' looked to me like some kind of monument piece</p>

<p>Wedding chapel of Kobe Oriental Hotel: If you are lucky they may let you take photos of the wedding</p>

<p>Views seen from the observation lobby on the 24th floor of the Kobe City Office. FYI, there is no entrance fee here!</p>

<p>Kobe East Pleasure Park is located on the south side of Kobe City Office. The classic looking building is a restaurant</p>

<p>The famous 'Kobe Luminarie' will be held here in Kobe East Pleasure Park in winter</p>

<p>Spherical monument standing at the corner of the former foreign settlements!  I can't help getting drawn to anything shiny...Am I an insect or what?!</p>

<p>In front of Kobe Harborland and umie MOSAIC. On the left the short-distance cruise ship 'Concerto' is moored</p>

<p>Kobe Gaslight Street (aka: Anpanman Street)</p>

<p>Another night-time view from Venus Bridge in Kobe Suwayama Park. In the distance, you can see the lit-up Wakayama city, and on the left side is Osaka city</p>

<p>Mitsui O.S.K. Lines building inside the former foreign settlements. Whenever I visit here, I feel the urge to stand under this fascinating window</p>

<p>Along the walkway from the former foreign settlements to Kobe East Pleasure Park</p>

<p>Open-terrace cafeteria inside the department store in the former foreign settlements</p>

<p>'Ten million dollar night view' of Kobe seen from the Kikuseidai observation deck on Mt. Maya. This gorgeous view is one of the "Three major night views" in Japan</p>

Kobe is GREAT! There are many reasons I love this city: First, the sea is close to high mountains; there are many hills in Kobe. Kobe is sandwiched between the high mountains of Rokko, which tower over the back of the city, and the sea, which is so close to the front of the city. Therefore, you can enjoy mountains, sea, and the city at the same time! The neatly-landscaped city of Kobe has an exotic feel to it. When I visited here I started my exploration from the former foreign settlements located on the south side of Sannomiya Station. In time I reached Meriken Park. When the shades of night fell, I drove up the mountain behind the north side of the prefectural office. And I arrived at the observation deck in Kobe Suwayama Park.

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Takako Sakamoto @takako.sakamoto

I was born in and grew up in Tokushima prefecture, and have lived in many places since then: Nishinomiya, Kyoto, Nara, Mie, Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, Chiba, Fukuoka and Fukui. I am currently living in Yokohama City. All the places I lived, all the places I visited, I have loved dearly. The histor...