Kobe City

The people it lost came back in five years.

The 1995 earthquake

Photo by 加茂川の民 (CC0)

01 ／ Earthquake

67,421 homes destroyed.The city filled up again.

In the earthquake of 17 January 1995, 4,571 people in the city died and 14,678 were injured. 67,421 houses were destroyed outright and 55,145 half destroyed. The census counted about 1.47 million people in 1990 and about 1.42 million in 1995; by 2000 it was about 1.49 million, above the pre-earthquake figure.

4,571 deaths (as of 22 December 2005)
67,421 houses destroyed, 55,145 half destroyed
Above the pre-quake count by the 2000 census

02 ／ Port

29,350 ships a yearcome into this port.

In 2024 the Port of Kobe took 29,350 ship calls and handled 92.97 million tonnes of cargo, including 2,771,879 TEU of containers. 1.73 million passengers boarded or landed, 1.3 times the year before. The city's port bureau publishes these figures every year.

29,350 ship calls (2024)
2,771,879 TEU of containers
1.73 million passengers, 131.9% of 2023

03 ／ Mount Rokko

A bare mountain,planted back to green.

Mount Rokko (六甲山) runs about 30 km from Suma in the west to Takarazuka in the east, its highest point 931.3 metres. The city's forest strategy puts it plainly: Rokko, where bare hillsides once spread, is now covered in green across the whole range thanks to large-scale planting from the Meiji era on.

About 30 km east to west
Highest point 931.3 m
Large-scale planting from the Meiji era

Living here

Osaka in 21 minutes, Kyoto in 52.

about 1,530,000 people
30 min to a city centre

Sannomiya (三宮), the centre, gathers JR, private railway and subway stations, and city hall is six minutes' walk south of them. Shinkansen trains stop at Shin-Kobe Station in the city. Kobe is a government-designated city, divided into nine wards.

People living here: 1,525,152people
Area: 556.93km²
Households: 734,920households
Rent (average for rentals): 58,633yen
Healthcare: 109 hospitals ／ 1643 clinics