Most viewed - Kobe 神戸市 |
Since Jan. 2010 is the 15th anniversary of the Kobe earthquake that struck on Jan. 17, 1995, I decided to upload these photos for the first time. I visited Kobe 10 days after the killer quake struck. Had to take a hydrofoil from Osaka to reach Kobe.429 views
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I was amazed to see Mos Burger back in business so soon. It was another sign of a very progressive recovery.385 views
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Kitanozaka slope goes to the Kitano-cho area of Western homes built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Many are very well-preserved and open to the public. This one has Starbucks. 北野坂(奥に北野物語館)357 views
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Fukae Shopping Center334 views
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Santica building near Sannomiya Station had a middle floor crushed. As I walked around the devastation, I could see common ways in which the buildings collapsed. High rise buildings commonly collapsed on a middle floor.305 views
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Earthquake tourists getting their picture taken.305 views
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Kobe manhole287 views
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Weathercock House, built in 1909, is one of the main Western homes open to the public in Kobe's Kitano-cho. 旧トーマス住宅224 views
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Inside Weathercock House.201 views
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Moegi no Yakata or Sharp residence 萌黄の館(シャープ住宅)195 views
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Another major house is Uroko no Ie which has an art museum as well. 旧ハリヤー邸(うろこの家)189 views
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British House 英国館189 views
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Kobe City Hall buckled at the middle floor.181 views
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Nihon Seimei Bldg. collapsed at the middle, near Sannomiya Station. It's hard to imagine what would've happened if the quake struck during working hours with people working in this building.175 views
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Inside Moegi no Yakata174 views
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Ben's House173 views
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The Japanese tile roof makes the home top-heavy, making it more vulnerable to horizontal swaying and eventual toppling.172 views
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Animal rights activists will love this house.164 views
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Hammack which Ben slept on.164 views
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Tilted buildings near Sannomiya Station. It took only 15 sec. to wreak all this damage.164 views
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Kobe Shimbun newspaper offices near Sannomiya Station was in shambles.159 views
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No, my camera lens is not distorting this picture. That building is actually tilting a lot, but they still allowed traffic on the road below.155 views
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The expressway that supposed withstand such quakes collapsed. It was a major scandal. The shinkansen bullet train tracks also had broken concrete columns which revealed pieces of scrap wood mixed in. 152 views
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Near Kobe City Hall along Flower Road was this office building which had also collapsed at a middle floor.151 views
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Sogo Dept. Store cracked vertically in the middle. This building was later torn down and replaced with a new dept. store building.149 views
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Interesting contrast between buildings which fell and didn't fall.145 views
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The main square in Kitano-cho. Most of the homes charge admission. It's cheaper to buy a set of tickets to see multiple homes. Most of the major homes have a ticket booth selling these ticket sets.141 views
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In front of Sannomiya Station is Sogo Dept. Store.141 views
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The engineers said this would be strong enough, but they were dead wrong.140 views
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Damage to Sannomiya Station building.136 views
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Expressway pylon broken.132 views
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Sherlock Holmes room in British House, Kobe Ijinkan130 views
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Shop shutters along Ikuta Road are tilted due to the crushing weight.129 views
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The building next to Washington Hotel scraped against the hotel as it fell.128 views
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Crushed car126 views
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Another common way in which buildings collapsed was the 1st floor giving way like this small hotel.122 views
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Sannomiya Station121 views
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Cracked Sogo Dept. Store in Sannomiya.119 views
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So named because of a weathercock (rooster) on the spire.117 views
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Kobe Port. Most of the people entering Kobe during this time were relatives and friends of Kobe residents, bringing relief goods.116 views
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Distribution place for relief goods. Ten days after the earthquake, the initial fires, confusion, and pandemonium had subsided. It was pretty calm by then, but the damage was still visible.115 views
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Hankyu Railways' Sannomiya Station being torn down.111 views
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Crushed car111 views
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Fallen clock which stopped at the time of the earthquake.110 views
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Rhine House (free admission) 旧ドレウェル邸(ラインの館)109 views
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Jazz sculptures accent the Kitano-cho area.108 views
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Crushed Audi.108 views
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Employees are removing merchandise from Sogo Dept. Store.107 views
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Amid the rubble of a collapsed building, a yakisoba stall sold yakisoba noodles.105 views
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The next day, I again visited Kobe, this time by train to Ashiya Station. See gravestones overturned.105 views
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Collapsed shopping center near Ashiya Station. That's the 2nd floor which now looks like the 1st floor.104 views
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The 1st floor is totally flattened.103 views
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Ashiya Station103 views
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This Kitano area is also a National Important Traditional Townscape Preservation District (重要伝統的建造物群保存地区).101 views
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People eating yakisoba amid the rubble.101 views
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Nihon Seimei Bldg. collapsed at the middle.100 views
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Store in shambles.100 views
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I really felt sorry for the people who had just bought a house or condo with a 35-year mortgage and the house or condo was destroyed by the quake. They are stuck paying off the housing loan and also have to pay monthly rent at a new place.100 views
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Study's bay window99 views
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A mess inside a restaurant.99 views
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Backstreet destruction.99 views
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View from Kitano Tenman Shrine97 views
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Kitano Foreigners Club 北野外国人倶楽部97 views
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Sherlock Holmes cloak and hat97 views
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When you look at these toppled homes, you cannot help but think that they do look flimsy with thin walls. The problem is, such cheaply-made homes are very common in Japan.97 views
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Inside Uroko no Ie art museum96 views
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One hotel guest escaped by using bed sheets as a rope.96 views
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A building owner stands by her destroyed building.96 views
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Bus for Ashiya Station, the furthest that trains could go at the time. Trains weren't running within Kobe.96 views
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Houses along the train tracks in Ashiya. Basically, Japanese-style homes with heavy tile roofs collapsed easily, while concrete homes withstood the quake better.96 views
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The emergency stairway got torn off this building whose first floor got crushed.96 views
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View from Weathercock House95 views
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Dutch House95 views
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Vending machine95 views
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The famous scene of the expressway collapsed on its side was completely gone 10 days after the quake. They had cleared the collapsed section (about 600 meters) of the road.95 views
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French House94 views
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Water station94 views
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Line for the bus headed for Ashiya Station.94 views
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This house stood firm, while its neighbor collapsed.94 views
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Rolls Royce93 views
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Weathercock House, built in 1909, withstood the quake.93 views
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Ashiya Station platform.93 views
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Austria92 views
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Inside Yamate Hachibankan 山手八番館92 views
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Former Chinese Consulate 旧中国領事館(旧チン邸)92 views
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Garden outside British House92 views
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Kitano Tenman Shrine91 views
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Sign saying they are okay.91 views
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Inside Uroko no Ie 90 views
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Yamate Hachibankan 山手八番館90 views
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Bed90 views
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Inside British House90 views
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Truck carrying relief goods.90 views
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Study89 views
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Inside Uroko no Ie 89 views
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Kitano Foreigners Club 北野外国人倶楽部(旧ブリューガー邸)89 views
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Kobe Kitano Art Museum89 views
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Inside Rhine House89 views
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The collapsed expressway was so embarrassing that they made it a priority to clear it ASAP.89 views
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Top floor gives a good view of Kobe.88 views
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Inside former Chinese Consulate88 views
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Kitano-dori road 北野通り88 views
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Something they needed the most was torn off the building. If you live in a high-rise building in Japan, have ropes ready in your veranda in case your stairway is destroyed like this.88 views
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Largest head in the house, buffalo87 views
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Not a good idea to live in a house standing right next to another building.87 views
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A makeshift altar placed on the collapsed home. Someone died here. By the time I visited, most of the trapped people had been rescued.87 views
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85 views北野外国人倶楽部(旧ブリューガー邸)
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Bathroom85 views
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Full of big game animals.85 views
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Kobe Port Emigrant Ship Boarding Monument. 神戸港移民船乗船記念碑85 views
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Another distinct pattern was buildings on stilts easily collapsing.84 views
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Another Kobe manhole84 views
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Glassware by Rene Lalique83 views
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Only the chimney broke off atop the Weathercock House. The inside is a different story.82 views
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Japanese emigrant family going to South America. "From Kobe to the World"82 views
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Kobe manhole82 views
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Collapsed 1st floor of an apt. building. I don't recommend living on the 1st floor of any building in Japan.81 views
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Sifting through the rubble.81 views
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Kobe Luminarie's Galleria Coperta (ガレリアコペルタ). This road is lined with luxury brand shops. 80 views
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In the Kitano area where there are many Western-style homes, the damage was not so apparent. But the interior sustained damage. None of the buildings collapsed though.79 views
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House covered by a blue tarp to protect against rain.79 views
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Flanked by twin Pisa-like towers, the center had the Cassa Armonica (カッサ・アルモニカ), a bandstand used as a place where people could toss money.79 views
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Kobe Luminarie's Frontone (フロントーネ) in Dec. 2018.78 views
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Boxes of food (biscuits).76 views
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At least they recovered some things.75 views
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Sign says, "Keep our town beautiful."73 views
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A symbol of Kobe, Kobe Port Tower is 108 meters high, designed like the tsuzumi taiko shoulder drum. 58 views
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Bottom of Kobe Port Tower.54 views
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Kobe Port Tower52 views
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Phone booth at Nankinmachi, Kobe's Chinatown.52 views
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Meriken Park also has this impressive monument of Japanese emigrants to South America. Built in April 2001 by local Brazilian organizations.44 views
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Monument for the "Birthplace of Japan's Emigration to Brazil" (ブラジル移民発祥の地)43 views
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Artist studio42 views
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Kobe Center for Overseas Migration and Cultural Interaction was originally the National Emigration Center (国立移民収容所) where Japanese immigrants stayed for orientation before traveling mainly to South America (especially Brazil) by boat.40 viewsThe Emigration Center was used from 1928 to 1971 and it's Japan's only surviving building used for sending Japanese immigrants. Later renamed Kobe Emigrant Education Center and then Kobe Emigrant Assistance Center and Kobe Emigration Center (神戸移住センター).
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Entrance.40 viewsOpen 10:00 am -5:00 pm (enter by 4:30 pm), closed Mon. (open if a national holiday and closed on Tue. instead) and December 29 to January 3. Admission: Free
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Exhibition room40 views
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History of the emigrant center: 1940s39 views
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History of the emigrant center: 1950s-60s39 views
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Statue of emigrants to Brazil. This same statue also stands at Meriken Park in Kobe.39 views
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