Kobe Trip Part 3: Bay Area (Meriken Park and Harborland)

[Introduction]

I traveled to Kobe in early March. In Kobe, major tourist spots such as bay area, Kitano Ijinkan-gai and Chinatown were concentrated, which was convenient for tourists. In this article, I will write about Meriken Park and Harborland as part of Day 1.

[Visit Places (series of articles)]
* Day 1: Fly to Kobe with Skymark
* Day 1: Chinatown and Former Foreign Settlement etc.
* Day 1: Meriken Park and Harborland [This article]
* Day 1: Meriken Park and Harborland (Light-up)
* Day 2: Kitano Ijinkan-gai
* Day 2: Ikuta Shrine, Nunobiki Herb Gardens etc.
* Day 2: Kobe Great Bridge (Light-up)
* Day 3: Kobe Oji Zoo
* Day 3: Kobe Animal Kingdom
* Day 3: Chinatown and Old Foreign Settlement (Light-up)
* Day 4: Himeji Castle
* Day 4: Akashi Kaikyo Bridge
* Day 4: Sannomiya

[Travel Date]
2018.03.08 – 11

[Main Part]

Following the previous post, I will go around Bay Area, the main destination for the first day of my trip.

Meriken Park (メリケンパーク)

Bay Area is divided into “Meriken Park (メリケンパーク)” on the east side and “Harborland (ハーバーランド)” on the west side. I will walk around Meriken Park first.

Meriken Park is a waterfront park opened in 1987 as part of Kobe Port development. In addition to Kobe Port Tower, which had been located for years, Kobe Maritime Museum and Hotel Okura etc. have been built since the opening of Meriken Park and now the park represents one of the famous tourist spots in Kobe.

As it was around noon, I will have lunch. I visited “FISH IN THE FOREST ~TOOTH TOOTH x Sora Botanical Garden~”.

I ordered Kobe beef hamburg steak.

After lunch at “FISH IN THE FOREST ~TOOTH TOOTH x Sora Botanical Garden~”, I will walk around Meriken Park.

This is “Fish Dance”, an object to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the opening of Kobe Port.

Meriken Park had lots of photogenic spots and there was a wall art like this.

Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park, a memorial to victims of the Great Hanshin earthquake.

“Fountain Squre” was developed in April 2018. You can see Kobe Maritime Museum and Kobe Port Tower over there, which I am going to visit later.

This “PORT OF KOBE” signboard was very impressive.

The “BE KOBE” monument was created when there was a large reconstruction work in Meriken Park in 2017.

Since then, the “BE KOBE” monument has become one of the most popular photo spots in Meriken Park.

A “Starbucks Coffee” shop matched with its background.

“Bell of Hortensia (オルタンシアの鐘)”, an object established in 1989 celebrating the first Kobe Fashion Festival.

There was also such a funny object. The building behind it was “Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel”.

I walked around Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel.

You can see Harborland, which I will visit later, across the water.

A cruise ship “Kobe Sea Bus Fantasy” just passed.

A pier called “Nakatottei (中突堤)” between Meriken Park and Harborland.

Harborland (ハーバーランド)

From here, I will stroll around “Harborland (ハーバーランド)” on the west side of Bay Area.

The landmark of Harborland was “Kobe Harborland umie”, a commercial complex.

I walked around “Kobe Harborland umie”.

In front of “Kobe Harborland umie”, I saw a pleasure cruiser “Concerto”.

You can see a ferris wheel “Mosaic” on the left and the green architecture on the light was the former signal station.

Kobe Brick Warehouse.

“Hanekko Bridge (はねっこ橋)”.

A statue of Elvis Presley.

There was “Nakatottei Chuo Cruise Terminal (Kamomeria)” between Meriken Park and Harborland.

I stopped by a cafe for a rest.

View from the cafe.

Kobe Maritime Museum & Kawasaki Good Times World (神戸海洋博物館＆カワサキワールド)

I returned to Meriken Park. I will visit “Kobe Maritime Museum (神戸海洋博物館)”.

Kobe Maritime Museum was opened in 1987 to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the opening of Kobe Port. The main exhibition was a huge model of the British warship Rodney.

Kobe Maritime Museum displayed a variety of exhibitions, but taking pictures was prohibited except for the model of the British warship Rodney, so the photo above was the only picture in Kobe Maritime Museum.

There was another museum “Kawasaki Good Times World” adjacent to Kobe Maritime Museum. Taking photos was allowed in Kawasaki Good Times World, so I took several photos.

Kawasaki Good Times World showcased technology of the Kawasaki Heavy Industries, a Japanese transport equipment manufacturer.

The founder and the first president of the company.

The Kawasaki Heavy Industries is famous for its motorcycle.

The first shinkansen bullet train (0系新幹線), which was built in 1964.

In the train.

Kobe Port Tower (神戸ポートタワー)

I will climb up Kobe Port Tower (神戸ポートタワー).

Kobe Port Tower is a sightseeing tower built in 1963.

Here are snap photos of the observation deck.

A revolving floor on the 3rd floor.

Then, I will continue to go around Meriken Park and Harborland to take evening photos there.

[Closing]

That’s it for the article about Meriken Park and Harborland as part of Day 1.

As one of the representative tourist areas in Kobe, I found there were lots of impressive spots in Bay Area. Meriken Park on the east side featured major tourist spots including Kobe Port Tower while visitors were able to enjoy shopping in Harborland on the west side. I spent just a half day in Bay Area due to my itinerary, but I think it’s a good idea to spend a whole day in Bay Area 🙂

In the next article, I will write about evening scene of Meriken Park and Harborland as part of Day 1

[Map]

1 FISH IN THE FOREST
2 Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park
3 Fountain Square
4 BE KOBE
5 Kobe Maritime Museum
6 Kobe Port Tower
7 Nakatottei Chuo Cruise Terminal (Kamomeria)
8 Kobe Harborland umie
9 Kobe Brick Warehouse