Harbour park with the Port Tower (110 m) and the Maritime Museum facing the bay; tower 1.000 ¥ with a 360° viewpoint.
Meriken Park is the heart of Kobe's waterfront, a 29.000 m² park built on reclaimed land in the bay that combines panoramic harbour views, monuments and the city's two emblems: the Kobe Maritime Museum and the Kobe Port Tower. The Port Tower, bright red and shaped like a Japanese lantern, rises 108 metres above the bay and offers a 360-degree viewpoint from which you can see the islands of Osaka Bay, Mount Rokko behind the city and, on clear days, Mount Fuji. Admission to the viewpoint costs 1.000 ¥ for adults. The park itself is free and has a very photogenic area by the water, including the Great Hanshin Earthquake Memorial, with the wharf area left as it was after the 1995 quake, preserved as a reminder. The liveliest park is Harborland, a ten-minute walk to the west, with shopping centres, a Ferris wheel and waterfront restaurants. It is reached on the Kaigan Line subway to the Meriken-Park stop.
