Kobe · Kobe Harbor
Meriken Park
Meriken Park is a lawn park on the water in the port of Kobe, between the red Port Tower and the sea. In its eastern corner about 60 meters of the Meriken Wharf have been kept exactly as they were left after the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995. This is the Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial. The outdoor display is free, and it was renewed in 2025 to mark 30 years since the earthquake.
The BE KOBE sign was put up in 2017 to mark 150 years since the port opened. The slogan itself was born on the 20th anniversary of the earthquake, and says that what is beautiful about Kobe is its people. In the evening the sign is lit.
Good to know
- From Motomachi Station, JR and Hanshin, it is about 10 minutes' walk, and you can pass through Nankinmachi on the way.
- On 14 November 2026 entry to the Maritime Museum is free, as part of Kansai Culture Day.
- From the park you can continue on foot along the water to Harborland, about 10 minutes.
What is nearby
Approximate walking minutes from the entrance of Meriken Park.
- HereMeriken Park
- ~2 min
Starbucks Kobe Meriken Park Cafe
A branch inside the park, designed to look like a cruise ship at its mooring, with a view of the port.
- ~3 min
Kobe Maritime Museum and Kawasaki World More to see
The white building with the sail-shaped roof in Meriken Park, opened in 1987. The ticket, ¥900, includes Kawasaki World, the company's exhibition, which reopened on 25 September 2026. Closed on Monday.
- ~8 min
Roushouki Food
Steamed pork buns since 1915, ¥120 each. Until the rebuild of the shop is finished, planned for around November 2026, they sell at the sister shop facing the Nankinmachi square. On weekends a line of half an hour to an hour.
- ~9 min
Kobe Motomachi Shopping Street Street
A covered arcade of about 1.2 km with about 300 shops, which got its name in 1874. It runs parallel to Nankinmachi, just north of it, and reaches JR Kobe Station.
- ~10 min
Kobe Fugetsudo Motomachi Main Store Shopping
The main store of the gaufre maker, thin wafers filled with cream, on Motomachi street. The store also has a cafe with pancakes and seasonal parfaits.
- ~11 min
Salon15 TOOTH TOOTH, Former Kobe Foreign Settlement No.15 Cafe
A tea room and patisserie in Building No. 15 of the foreign settlement, from 1880 or 1881, the only building left from the settlement era (1868 to 1899) and an Important Cultural Property. It collapsed in the 1995 earthquake and was restored. On the first floor there are cakes and tea, and on the second a salon with seasonal afternoon tea.
- ~12 min
Kobe City Museum More to see
In the former Yokohama Specie Bank building from 1935, with Doric columns. From 10 October to 13 December 2026 it shows an exhibition on Tove Jansson and the Moomins, ¥2,200. Closed on Monday.
More in Kobe Harbor
Appears in: Kobe: the herb garden by ropeway, the foreigners' houses of Kitano, Chinatown and Kobe beef