Introduction - Kobe

Kobe By Wally Barker.  Kobe is a wonderfully urban city of 1.5 million people.  However because the city is very large, (213 square miles), the overall density is actually quite low.  There are the developed areas, but most of the city is quite wild and rural, with  more than 1/2 of the city's land area is protected within a national park.   In Mikage where we live, the wild boars ("inoshishi") come down from the mountains at night and make havoc with the gardens and the trash.  See above picture of Mt Rokkō. The developed area of Kobe is long and narrow - flanked on one side by mountains and the other by beautiful ocean.  I joking say that Kobe is sort of like what Malibu California will look like in 200 years, but with one of the busiest ports in the world.  Like Malibu's quick access to Los Angeles, Kobe has fast 20 minute access by train to Osaka - Japan's second largest city and important trade and cultural center.   Kobe is the capital of Hyogo prefecture (sort of a like a USA "state" or French prefecture), a prominent port, and a great place to live.  From my perspective, our city has the following attributes which make is a super cool place to live.

• Great people and history.  Kobe is part of historic Kansai!  Cultural and historical heart of Japan.

• 213 square miles of cool stuff and access to other great areas.

  • Rock Climbing up on Mt Rokkō, the birthplace of modern rock climbing in Japan.

  • the Kobe Zoo, a public aquarium, a fish hatchery, the Rokkou-san Bokujō (a working farm for visitor), the Kobe Fish Market (wild commercial fish auction from 3:30 AM to 6 AM),  nice bathing beaches, ferry to the airport,  the world's largest suspension bridge leading over to rural Awaji Island. (another great place), small winter ski area on Mt. Rokkō (great for kids)

  • Numerous intercity weekend "secret" getaways like Arima Hot Springs (up on the Mt Rokkō plateau) - this tranquil "onsen" (hot springs) resort area in set in the beautiful natural surroundings and has more than 20 hotels and Inns.

• International Corporate Base.  Kobe is Asia or Japan headquarters to over 100 international corporations, including Nestle and Proctor and Gamble.  Easy access to Osaka with many more.

• Diverse Group of Foreign Ex-Pats & Families.  Kobe has perhaps the largest percentage of ex-patriot families of any city in Japan.  There are concentrations of them, like on "Rokkō Island" where there are many "foreign schools" but most are spread throughout the various communities within Kobe.

• Good University System.  I attend Japanese language classes at one of them.  There are many and most are very scenic and beautiful.  There is also a good "International Schools" for children such as the Canadian Academy.

• Finally, wonderful local history.  Kansai lays claim to 5 of Japan's 13 World Heritage Sites.   Kansai is the eastern terminus of the "silk road" and was the center of political activity in Japan from the 6th century BC until 1603, when the first of the Tokugawa Shoguns moved the government to Edo (later renamed Tokyo). 

• On more sad notes,

  • Kobe is one of four civilian targets within Japan that were targeted and destroyed by the allied forces during WWII.  An important note is that Kobe is the setting for Isao Takahata's revered anime "Hotaru no Haka" which depicts this tragic but true tale of the US bombing of Kobe in 1945.  Personally, I think this is the most profoundly sad movie I have ever seen and among one of the most powerful anti-war movies ever made.   Seeing this amime is one of the first stop for those interests in understanding the magnitude of the suffering experience within Japan as a result of US war strategy.  This anime (a national treasury) is shown on TV every year in early august, on dates that interestingly coincide with anniversaries of the two atomic bombing of Japan.  In my opinion, the annual showing of this anime movie Japan's understated way of drawing attention to the horrors of what was done to civilian by US and allied forces.  It would not be Japanese to complain openly, so they show it in a animated story and abstract it even more.  Personally, I wish more attention were brought to theses issue.  There are many valuable lessons here.   

  • Kobe the site of much of the damage and death caused by the of the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake (7.2 Richter Scale) that killed 6,433.  My wife went to sleep on the second floor of the house and woke up on the first floor (Amazingly, no one in the house was injured.)   To to commemorate the dead and celebrate Kobe's recovery from the 1995 quake, the city holds an annual event called the Luminarie.  It is held every December and "the streets of downtown" decorated with illuminated metal archways.  Thousands turn out for this event every year and it really a powerful thing to see. 

• Anyway, welcome to the Kobe Journal - it is a portal to discovering Kobe.

Other Mainstream Stuff to Do.

• For spectator sports minded people, Kobe has a professional baseball team - the Orix Buffaloes - with a super cool stadium set up at the base of the mountains in a large park area. For those who like supporting a more winning team, the Hashin Tigers play in the historic Koshien Stadium, in nearby Nishinomiya, the site of the Annual National High School Baseball Tournament, an invitational event that dominates most of August and is very exciting to watch.

• For history minded folk, Japan has a rich (and long) history of tradition.   There are numerous annual festivals that can be attended, that provide a structure framework for ones foray into Japan's History.  Below are some of my favorites.

  • 47 Ako Samurai or Rōnin.    This Annual Festival, on or about December 14 of every year, is held in Ako - a modern city and former castle town of the Ako Daimyo.  Anyway, "something" happened in the early 1700's that was so interesting that it has become folklore, fictionalized in Japanese Kabuki and television, and the stories (both real and imagined) are national treasures. What actually happened and how it happened is sometimes debated by historians.  However, what is not generally not debated is as follows:  There was a feudal daimyo from Ako (a coastal town 80 kilometers west from Kobe) who was in Edo (modern day Tokyo) doing something for the Shogun.   He got into a fight with one of the Shogun's officials there and was force by the Shogun to commit seppuku.  The Shogun also ordered that Daimyo's 50,000-koku fief at Akô be confiscated and that the Daimyo's brother be placed under house arrest.  Anyway, upon the written request of the Daimyo's brother, the 60 of the Daimyo's samurai guards "gave up the castle" to the Shogun's general.  Thereafter, 269 of the Daimyo's warriors were at that moment "Ronin" - masterless samurai, essentially unemployed.  However, being samurais and following the Bushido code, they plotted their revenge, waited for over a year;  went to Edo; killed the official who had originally dishonored their Daimyo  and a few days later all committed seppuku.  This really did happen as 46 them are buried along with their Daimyo at Sengaku-ji, a famous Sōtō Zen Temple in Tokyo (Shinagowa area).  There is also an historical marker on the grounds of the imperial palace at the location where the Ako Daimyo attacked the Shogun official.  Here are some great block prints of them - 47 Samurai.  See link to for visiting Ako.  Also, see <link> For a brief introduction to religion in Japan

8th Century Map of Japan - Showing Kansai

Other

Translator

http://hikoma.lb.nagasaki-u.ac.jp/en/area.html