Kobe Maritime Museum & Kawasaki Good Time World

 

The most interesting piece of architecture in Kobe, to my mind at least, is the Kobe Maritime Museum located on the waterfront in Meriken Park.

It was opened in 1987 to mark the 120th anniversary of the opening of the port to foreign trade.

The vast majority of the displays are models, though some of them are quite large in scale.

However, I am guessing that the museum never made much money, so in 2007 a large part of the structure was turned into the Kawasaki Good Times World.

Outside Japan Kawasaki is probably best known for motorbikes, but it is a major industrial concern with its fingers in many pies.

Trains, helicopters, industrial robotics, and ships are among the many other products.

The museum has lots of simulators and other hands-on exhibits for kids of all ages....

This was the one and only time I went in, though I photograph the building whenever I pass through Kobe. I was here on Day 3 of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myoo Pilgrimage. The previous post was on Meriken Park.

Meriken Park Kobe

 

Meriken Park is a waterfront park in Kobe that is a major tourist attraction because of the many tourist sites in the vicinity. The BE KOBE logo is apparently what is known as an Instagrammable spot. This was taken quite a few years ago and when I was there last year people were lining up to have their photos taken there.

The harbour around Meriken ark is home to numerous cruises around the bay as well as a cruise ship terminal and a spot for various big visiting ships.

Meriken was the Japanese pronunciation for America back in the Meiji Era when Kobe was one of the main sites of foreign settlement. The Oriental Hotel with its distinctive curved architecture is one of the landmarks.

In front of the Oriental Hotel are a couple of wedding halls, one all glass and reflective pools of water, the other with an overhead lattice that is prime for the kind of photos I like to take.

Long term readers of this blog will have seen different pics of this piece of architecture before....

Perhaps the most iconic sight at Meriken Park is the Kobe Port Tower.

For some time it has been undergoing renovations, but I believe it is once again open to the public.

Another of the architectural marvels that intrigues me at Meriken Park is the Maritime Museum, but I will save that for the next post as I went inside and explored.

This visit was on the 4th day of my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage, and after reaching Kobe I spent the rest of the day exploring as a tourist...

The previous post was on Sorakuen Garden.

Sorakuen Garden Kobe

 

As far as I can tell, Kobe only really has one Japanese garden of note, the Sorakuen.

Constructed during the end of the 19th century and the begining of the 20th, it was originally the mansion and garden of a wealthy businessman, Kodera, but was given to the city.in 1941.

The mansion and its buildings were all destroyed in a bombing raid in 1945, except the brick stable building which was built in 1907.

In 1963 the Former Hassan House was moved here from its original site in the  Kitano area.

Designed by Alexander Hansell, who also designed several other Western style residences in the Kitano district, it was built in 1902.

Unfortunately, it is rarely open to the public. The gas lamps in front are among the oldest in Japan.

Another structure moved into the garden is the Funaykata, the two-storey superstructure of a river barge built at the end of the 17th century and used for parties by the Himeji lord.

The hull has long since been lost, but it is registered as an Important Cultural Property.

The garden covers almost 20,000 sq meters and is primarily a pond-stroll type garden.

One of the best times to visit is in late April and early May when the azaleas are in bloom.

An unusual feature is the grove of cycads, not palms, but looking very similar.  There is also a huge camphor tree that has been here since long before the mansion and garden were constructed.

There is a modern reconstruction of a traditional teahouse, and looking out over the garden is a large, modern wedding and banquet facility called the Sorakuen which features a pricey  restaurant and cafe

The previous post in this series on my walk along the Kinki Fudo Myo Pilgrimage was on Nishinomiya Ebisu Shrine.

Kobe Earthquake Museum

The Kobe Earthquake Museum is the short version of The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial Museum which is part of the Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institute.

It is near the Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art along the waterfront in Kobe.

It was designed by Showa Sekkei, who also designed the nearby Fashion Museum and opened in 2002.

Supposedly the unusual double-skinned glass structure is built to withstand an earthquake of any magnitude..

Ando's Spiral Staircase revisited

One of the features of Tadao Ando's Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art is the exterior spiral staircase.

I posted some other photos of it previously here

Spiral staircases are extremely easy to take good photos of...... its in their nature....

But I was also fortunate to catch it with some strong light and shadows....

Other posts on the museum here and here

Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art part 2

The Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art in Kobe is usually pictured from the sea front, but the entrance is at the back of ther building on the road and while it is less dramatic it is also interesting.

Photos of thye front can be found here

It was designed by tadao Ando and opened in 2002.

The museums collection is of modern art, both japanese and foreign, with special emphasis on sculpture and prints.