The Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake struck Kobe city and surrounding areas on 17th January 1995 killing 6434 people, injuring tens of thousands and destroying homes, buildings and towns.
This disaster has left a resounding impact of the lives of those it affected. It changed the face of Kobe and brought in new architectural designs and building regulations across Japan.
I came to Kobe in 2004, nine years after the disaster and at that time there were still large areas of Sannomiya / Motomachi that were vacant, empty blocks in prime locations. It didn’t occur to me until a few years later that this was still the aftermath of the earthquake.
Today, Kobe is a thriving cosmopolitan city and at a glance you won’t notice any signs that the city collapsed in 1995. However, if you want to learn more about the Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake, there are monuments around the city and museums dedicated to the disaster and recovery, plus a couple of excellent online resources that show the devastation caused.
Kobe Newspaper Digital Map
The Kobe Shimbun has an excellent online resource; a digital map with photos showing the devastation just after the earthquake and a comparison roughly 20 years later. You can browse through the map and click on the many locations around the city to see the before/after shots.
Kobe City Photo Archive
Kobe city have their own Great Hanshin-Awaji earthquake photo collection which you can browse. All photos are under the Creative Commons licence so you can use them freely but you have to give attribution with links back to the site.
Visit the KOBE 1.17 SHINSAI website to browse their photo archive. The photos below are just a handful from the collection.
Both online resources are in Japanese but mostly photo based and are easy to navigate.
Kobe Earthquake Memorial Museum
Visit the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial – Disaster Reduction Museum in HAT Kobe to learn more about this tragic event. Discover more about the Earthquake Museum.
Hokudan Earthquake Memorial Park
Nojima Fault Preservation Museum. The Nojima Faul,t which runs through Awaji Island, shifted and caused the tragic earthquake that struck Kobe. You can view the fault line, experience an earthquake simulation and view some photographs.
Access information for Hokudan Earthquake Memorial Park can be found here.
Meriken Park
The east side of Meriken Park has part of the the old pier remaining to show the power of the quake and a small memorial. Discover more about Meriken Park.
Higashi Yuenchi Park
Higashi Yuenchi has a few earthquake memorial statues and symbols around the park including the the eternal flame and water fountain memorial with the names of all who lost their lives. There is also the “Marina” clock which was damaged during the quake. The time of the quake at 5:46am is now permanently displayed. Discover more about Higashi Yuenchi.
