Kobe Features the Best Glass Garden House Ever, and a lot more!

Meriken Park

Before — The structures before the lights were on.

We settled to visit the Meriken Park towards the end of the day because this attraction does not have any closing times. It turned out to be a good decision because of its vast playground and especially the bright colorful lights that the buildings emit at night. Wunderbar (Wonderful)!

The name of the park evolved from the word “American“, which then was translated to “Meriken.” Interesting.

Kobe Tower — The Kobe Port Tower before sunset, standing at 108 meters.

In our 7 days in Japan, Kobe Port Tower is our 5th placer as it is the smallest one. Honestly, I cannot really tell the difference because they all look extremely tall to me from the bottom. Anyway, we entered into the park from behind the tower.

Below — The Umeda Sky Building at 173 meters.

Kyoto Tower3 — The Kyoto Tower at 131 meters.

After getting past the Kobe Port Tower, while facing the bay, there was a ship docked at the port, series of restaurants and the Ferris wheel from a distance, and some hotels on the right side. I would call it the commercial side. And on the left side is the actual park with really spacious grounds, museums, and monuments. Where do you think did we go?

Monuments — And on the other side are the museums and the park.

Wider — A wider view of the commercial side of the port.

Bus — A loop bus that brings people from point to point around the area.

Modern — The unique architectures spread across the park.

Steel — Kobe Port Tower is a unique, red-painted steel structure that has become a symbol of the port and the city.

Events — All the happenings in the port are on this side.

We chose the quiet side of the port, which is also where the views are. And when there are spacious grounds, jump shots are written on our foreheads, for as long as our knees allow them. The only challenge for this was the lighting as the sun was already setting.

This is the Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel.

The Marine Hall beside the Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel.

End — This is towards the end of the port getting closer to the Oriental Hotel.

Past — Walking past the Marine Hall, the Oriental Hotel is on the left.

Book — Yeah, well, I had no bookings so maybe next time.

Unique — One after the other, I was just seeing unique designs and my eyes were just feasting.

Surrender — Does it say surrender? Or Help!? Or just plain Hi?

What is in store for me? But thank you for this opportunity. ☺️

Shore — The perfect location of Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel.

Point — I wish I could understand what was written. So what is up there?

We were busy looking at and taking photos of the bay and the magnificent Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel when the lights of the Kobe Port Tower and Kobe Maritime Museum were turned on. So when we turned back, we saw various colors in the sky and that made us stay more while witnessing the change in contrast in the skies, making the colors pop out even more.

Contrast — The buildings provide a good contrast against the dark skies.

After — The structures now with lights on.

Lighted — The Oriental Hotel came to life as well as the sun continued to set.

(Over) Kicking the Kobe Port Tower. Courtesy of Mikee.

Group — At the center of the Meriken Park. Courtesy of Mikee.

7PM — At 19:02, the park became a colorful sight.

Inviting — And Oriental Hotel became very inviting. Shall I book? Ahm, no thanks.

Closer — A closer look at the colorful curves and lines somehow etched in the sky.

Tree — A protected tree to maintain balance and green in the park.

Display — A display of a modern boat outside the Kobe Maritime Museum.

Side — The ship on display with its tree friend as its guard all the time.

This is the Kobe Maritime Museum. The design is to evoke the image of sails.

Elements — The front part of the sleek ship in between the tower and the museum.

Base — What a curvaceous tower when looking from the base. This was completed in 1963.

Night — The brightly lit hotel by the port.

Personal — The lighted Kobe Port Tower up close and personal.

The minimalist park was able to make us stay for almost 1.5 hours just enjoying the breeze, space, colors, and contemporary structures. As usual, we did not get into any of the museums. We were just into the exterior and landscapes.

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Nankinmachi (Chinatown)

Bright — Nankinmachi is also a popular dining district near to the port.

There was a bus from Meriken Park to Nankinmachi but the last bus departed at 7 PM. And we left the park around 7:30 PM. Thus, we had to walk slowly for 20 minutes to reach the place. We did a slow walk because of those jump shots we did earlier.

The streets were alive with lights and big menus displayed since it is popular for dining and shopping, although some shops were already closed. Was it already late?, I asked. Perhaps 8 PM was already late. We went around for a while to check the menus because we were super hungry we can eat a whole chicken. I think we went into the 2nd or 3rd restaurant we saw, which required us to climb several flights of stairs. Hungrier! ? The dishes here were kind of “Japanized” but still good. The important thing was that we gained the energy back.

One — This is one of the 2 main streets of the compact Chinatown of Kobe.

Gate — The gate in Nankinmachi where we exited.

And that concluded our Kobe wet day, in fact, it was our wettest tour so far but it is not obvious in this page because we had more fun than anything else.

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You can also check some of my tips and notes here.

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