Kobe is the sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture. It is located on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, on the north shore of Osaka Bay and about 30 km (19 mi) west of Osaka. With a population of around 1.5 million, the city is part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto.
The earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201. For most of its history, the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa shogunate. Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Kobe became one of Japan's 17 designated cities in 1956.
Kobe was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the 1853 end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan and nuclear-free zone port city. While the 1995 Great Hanshin earthquake diminished much of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth-busiest container port.
There is no schedule or ticket right now.
日本、〒657-0101 兵庫県神戸市灘区六甲山町北六甲４５１２−９８ Map
Rokko Snow Park is a ski hill located about 15km to the north-east of central Kobe - was the first artificial snow hill in Japan when it first opened in 1964 and was known as Rokko Jinko Ski-jo (basically meaning artificial). To celebrate the 50th anniversary it was re-named 'Rokko-san Snow Park' in 2014. There are three short pair lifts (the longest is 200m in length) and a 'moving belt' at this ski hill. Opening in mid-November, it boasts of being the first opening ski hill in the Kansai region.
We also find it one of the most confusing to understand! The opening times/dates and charges are somewhat complicated. Please check before you go!
Hyogo Prefecture is located in the Kansai region of western Japan. It stretches the width of the country and has a coastline both on the Sea of Japan to the north and on the Seto Inland Sea to the south. Most of the ski and snowboard resorts in Hyogo Prefecture are located in the northern region of the Prefecture. Rokko Snow Park is obviously one exception to that!