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.432 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.391 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)361 views
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Fukae Shopping Center337 views
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Earthquake tourists getting their picture taken.310 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.308 views
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Kobe manhole295 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229 views
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Inside Weathercock House.202 views
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Moegi no Yakata or Sharp residence 萌黄の館(シャープ住宅)197 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)194 views
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British House 英国館192 views
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Kobe City Hall buckled at the middle floor.182 views
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Ben's House178 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.178 views
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The Japanese tile roof makes the home top-heavy, making it more vulnerable to horizontal swaying and eventual toppling.177 views
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Inside Moegi no Yakata176 views
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Animal rights activists will love this house.166 views
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Hammack which Ben slept on.166 views
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Tilted buildings near Sannomiya Station. It took only 15 sec. to wreak all this damage.166 views
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Kobe Shimbun newspaper offices near Sannomiya Station was in shambles.163 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.157 views
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Near Kobe City Hall along Flower Road was this office building which had also collapsed at a middle floor.153 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. 153 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.152 views
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Interesting contrast between buildings which fell and didn't fall.147 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.144 views
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In front of Sannomiya Station is Sogo Dept. Store.143 views
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The engineers said this would be strong enough, but they were dead wrong.141 views
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Damage to Sannomiya Station building.140 views
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Expressway pylon broken.134 views
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Shop shutters along Ikuta Road are tilted due to the crushing weight.134 views
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Sherlock Holmes room in British House, Kobe Ijinkan132 views
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The building next to Washington Hotel scraped against the hotel as it fell.130 views
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Crushed car128 views
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Another common way in which buildings collapsed was the 1st floor giving way like this small hotel.124 views
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Sannomiya Station123 views
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So named because of a weathercock (rooster) on the spire.121 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.120 views
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Cracked Sogo Dept. Store in Sannomiya.120 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.118 views
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Hankyu Railways' Sannomiya Station being torn down.115 views
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Crushed car113 views
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Rhine House (free admission) 旧ドレウェル邸(ラインの館)112 views
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Fallen clock which stopped at the time of the earthquake.112 views
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Employees are removing merchandise from Sogo Dept. Store.111 views
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Jazz sculptures accent the Kitano-cho area.110 views
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Amid the rubble of a collapsed building, a yakisoba stall sold yakisoba noodles.110 views
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Crushed Audi.110 views
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The next day, I again visited Kobe, this time by train to Ashiya Station. See gravestones overturned.108 views
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Collapsed shopping center near Ashiya Station. That's the 2nd floor which now looks like the 1st floor.108 views
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Ashiya Station106 views
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People eating yakisoba amid the rubble.105 views
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The 1st floor is totally flattened.105 views
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Store in shambles.104 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).103 views
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Study's bay window103 views
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Backstreet destruction.103 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.103 views
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Sherlock Holmes cloak and hat102 views
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Nihon Seimei Bldg. collapsed at the middle.102 views
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A mess inside a restaurant.101 views
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View from Kitano Tenman Shrine100 views
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The emergency stairway got torn off this building whose first floor got crushed.100 views
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Kitano Foreigners Club 北野外国人倶楽部99 views
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Water station99 views
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This house stood firm, while its neighbor collapsed.99 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.99 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.99 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.99 views
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Inside Uroko no Ie art museum98 views
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Rolls Royce98 views
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French House98 views
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A building owner stands by her destroyed building.98 views
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Dutch House97 views
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One hotel guest escaped by using bed sheets as a rope.97 views
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Line for the bus headed for Ashiya Station.97 views
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Bus for Ashiya Station, the furthest that trains could go at the time. Trains weren't running within Kobe.97 views
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Ashiya Station platform.97 views
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View from Weathercock House96 views
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Austria96 views
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Former Chinese Consulate 旧中国領事館(旧チン邸)96 views
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Weathercock House, built in 1909, withstood the quake.96 views
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Inside Uroko no Ie 95 views
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Garden outside British House95 views
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Sign saying they are okay.95 views
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Vending machine95 views
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Inside Yamate Hachibankan 山手八番館94 views
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Inside Uroko no Ie 93 views
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Yamate Hachibankan 山手八番館93 views
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Kitano Foreigners Club 北野外国人倶楽部(旧ブリューガー邸)93 views
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Bed93 views
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Inside Rhine House93 views
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Inside British House93 views
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Kitano Tenman Shrine92 views
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Kitano-dori road 北野通り92 views
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Truck carrying relief goods.92 views
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Kobe Port Emigrant Ship Boarding Monument. 神戸港移民船乗船記念碑92 views
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Study91 views
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Top floor gives a good view of Kobe.91 views
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91 views北野外国人倶楽部(旧ブリューガー邸)
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Inside former Chinese Consulate91 views
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Kobe Kitano Art Museum91 views
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Not a good idea to live in a house standing right next to another building.90 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.90 views
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The collapsed expressway was so embarrassing that they made it a priority to clear it ASAP.90 views
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Kobe manhole90 views
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Another Kobe manhole90 views
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Bathroom89 views
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Largest head in the house, buffalo89 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.89 views
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Japanese emigrant family going to South America. "From Kobe to the World"89 views
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Another distinct pattern was buildings on stilts easily collapsing.88 views
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Full of big game animals.87 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. 87 views
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Glassware by Rene Lalique86 views
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Sifting through the rubble.86 views
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Only the chimney broke off atop the Weathercock House. The inside is a different story.85 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.84 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.82 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.82 views
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Kobe Luminarie's Frontone (フロントーネ) in Dec. 2018.82 views
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House covered by a blue tarp to protect against rain.80 views
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At least they recovered some things.80 views
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Boxes of food (biscuits).79 views
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Sign says, "Keep our town beautiful."75 views
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A symbol of Kobe, Kobe Port Tower is 108 meters high, designed like the tsuzumi taiko shoulder drum. 62 views
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Bottom of Kobe Port Tower.58 views
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Phone booth at Nankinmachi, Kobe's Chinatown.58 views
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Kobe Port Tower57 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.50 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)48 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.45 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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History of the emigrant center: 1950s-60s45 views
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Japanese language textbooks.45 views
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Artist studio45 views
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View of Meriken Park, Kobe's waterfront park that includes Kobe Maritime Museum, South American emigration monument, outdoor sculptures, and the preserved dock that was damaged by the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995.45 views
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The pier that damaged by the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 has been retained as is.45 views
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Entrance.44 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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