Kobe

Ranking #6 in the largest Japanese cities, Kobe Japan has a population of   1,536,395
Kobe is located on Japans major island, Honshu.

photo source: photobucket.com user wincuse97

Kobe Japan Manufacturing Industry and City Information

Kobe Shipping
Kobe is a major shipping center with one of the largest container ports in the entire ocean faring nation of Japan as well as being the largest shipping center in the country.  The Kobe shipping infrastructure is what helped the city grow into one of the major economic centers in the pacific rim.     

Kobe Japan Manufacturers
Befitting a great city, Kobe Japan manufacturers form a significant part of Japans trade backbone.   Kobe operates as a major manufacturing and industrial center as well as a trade center.  Kobe boasts the regional and Japanese headquarters of over 100 international conglomerates, primarily operating from Japan, China and the United States.

Kobe Industrial Production
Major Sectors
Rank in terms of production
1. General Machinery
2.  Food
3. Transportation Equipment
4. Communications Equipment
5. Steel
6. Electrical Equipment
7. Chemicals

Transportation Infrastructure

Transportation networks are well designed and have extensive reach.  Rail companies operating in Kobe include:

Kobe Electric Railway
Kobe New Transit
Kobe Rapid Railway

This makes it easy to get from place to place, whether you are a resident or a visitor.

The railways are linked to Tokyo by the high speed express maglev JR Tokaido Shinkansen.  Transport time is typically about three hours.  If you wish to take the non-express trains, you are looking at about a ten hour journey.  Sannomiya Station caters to the local traffic, the Shinkasen (translated: bullet trains) operate from nearby Shin Kobe Station.

Local travel is also available by subway, bus and taxi services.

photo source: photobucket user Mandar_Shirgurkar
Air Travel
Kobe offers a half dozen flights a day from Kobe airport to Haneda airport in Tokyo.  Routes are covered by Skymark and Japanese Airlines (JAL) and All Nipon Airways (ANA).  Other destinations include Sapporo, Kumamoto, Okinawa, Ishigaki,

photo source flinx333 at photobucket.com
International Corporations
Some of the international corporations that are based out of Kobe include:


Kobe Heavy Industries

Kawasaki Heavy Industries,
Kawasaki Shipbuilding Co.,
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (ship manufacturer),

Mitsubishi maintains international headquarters for both
Mitsubishi Electric and their automotive division Mitsubishi Motors.

Major Industry
Kobe Steel
Sumitomo Rubber Industries

Other Major companies with regional, national or international headquarters in Kobe
ASICS – athletic shoes and other footwear
World Co. Ltd – fashion and apparel
Daiei – department stores
Proctor and Gamble
Tempur Pedic – mattress company
Toys R Us – Toys and Games
Food and Beverage, Kobe Japan
Konigs Krone – candy and confectionaries
Morozoff Ltd – confectionaries
Ueshima Coffee Co., Ltd. (UCC)
Nestle Foods

Pharmaceuticals
Eli Lilly
Boehringer-Ingelheim

Kobe Electronics
TOA Corporation – professional sound equipment and acoustics

Kobe Japan Media
Sun Television Japan (sun-tv) – television and radio
Kobe Shimbun – news papers

Kobe Beef
The most famous agricultural export is Kobe beef. 

Cattle that are raised as Kobe beef are massaged daily which creates an excellent and expensive very tender steak.   Other agricultural products include grains, tobacco and other products to a lesser degree.

Kobe beef restaurants are definitely worth checking out if you want to get the full experience of the city

Travel Tourism and Culture
Sister Cities - Kobe Japan

Seattle - USA
Philadelphia - Usa
Barcelona Spain
Riga - Latvia
Marseille - France
Tianjin - China
Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Brisbane - Australia

Kobe Tourist Attractions

Arima Onson -- hot springs

Port Attractions
Kobe Port Tower
Kobe Maritime Museum
Kobe Harborland area

Memorials
Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution
Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park


Kobe Cruises
Holland America offers a cruise line trip from Vancouver Canada to Kobe Japan.

More Resources
To learn more about what the city of Kobe Japan has to offer please take a look around our site and learn more about this major city and interesting destination.