Kobe Harborland 神戸ハーバーランド

Opened in October 1992, the Kobe Harborland megacomplex has become one of Kobe's major tourist attractions and is home to some of the city's best waterfront sights during a night out.

With shopping and entertainment along a scenic seaside, Kobe Harborland is one of the many unofficial hearts of the city. Its well-connected network of transport options and lovely views draw crowds of locals and tourists to the area year-round.

Kobe Harborland is located in Kobe's main waterfront area.

Leave JR Kobe Station (serviced by the JR Kobe Line) or Harborland Subway Station (serviced by the Kaigan Line) and walk towards the water and you'll find yourself in Kobe Harborland. From Meriken Park, the area is an easy five-minute walk away.

Built on the site of the former JR Minatogawa Cargo Station, since first opening the site has gone through a number of transformations. One of its most distinct being the addition of the Kobe Gaslight Street in 1992: the shopping strip is illuminated every evening by old-fashioned gas street lamps and electric lights.

More recently in 2013, the Harborland added Kobe Harborland Umie, a major shopping destination and opened the Kobe Anpanman Children's Museum and Mall, a popular family destination dedicated to one of Japan's most longstanding TV characters.

Families and lovers of Japanese TV can't visit Kobe without making a trip to the adorable Anpanman museum and mall. Dive into the wonderful world of everyone's favorite bread-headed hero. You and the family can interact with the museum exhibits, meet the characters up close, and go shopping for all the limited edition and hard-to-find Anpanman-related goods you can imagine.

Not to be missed is the chance to get freshly baked versions of Anpanman and his friends at the museum's fully functioning bakery.

The biggest shopping complex in the area is Umie, which houses three main retail wings, each with their own unique purpose: Mosaic, South Mall, and North Mall. With many shops to peruse, the area is huge.

Mosaic's positioning along the waterfront makes it the ideal home for many of the area's main eateries and offers a vast selection of restaurants and cafes.Kobe Port Tower and the Kobe Maritime Museum are located in the Meriken Park area. This section of the complex is popular with couples enjoying dinner accompanied by a romantic view of the city.

The North and South Mall areas are dedicated to the retail world, lined with a huge selection of different outlets including international brands like H&M and Zara and uniquely Japanese offerings like Muji, Uniqlo, and Village Vanguard. If you want a few new fashionable pieces to take home, put aside some time to see what Umie has to offer.

As you continue down the main street toward the water, you'll come to one of the area's other main attractions: Renga Soko. This collection of 19th-century red brick warehouses is today filled with cafes, performance spaces and retail outlets, but was once part of the former dockyard that used to occupy the waterfront.

Lavish and spacious, these buildings are a unique Kobe-style mix of Japanese design aesthetic and international taste.