Port of Kōbe Earthquake Memorial Park

At 5.46am on 17 January 1995 the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck this region. It was Japan's strongest since the Great Kantō Quake of 1923 devastated Tokyo. Kōbe bore the brunt of the damage – 6000 killed, over 30,000 injured, toppled expressways and nearly 300,000 lost buildings. This simple, open-air, harbour-side museum tells the story through artefacts and a video presentation in English. Most striking is a section of the dock that was left as it was after that devastating day.