Places of interest · Former Foreign Settlement
Former Kobe Foreign Settlement No. 15 旧居留地十五番館
The last building left from Kobe's foreign settlement, a c.1880 US consulate rebuilt after the 1995 earthquake.
About
Under the treaties of the 1850s, Kobe opened as a port on 1 January 1868, and foreigners were given a planned settlement of about 26 hectares by the sea, with a street grid, drains and its own municipal council. It was praised as the best-planned settlement in East Asia until it returned to Japanese control in 1899. Building No. 15 went up around 1880 as the United States consulate and later became a trading office. It is the only building of the settlement era still standing. It collapsed in the 1995 earthquake and was rebuilt with its original materials plus seismic isolation. Beside it lies a section of brick sewer from 1868–72, Japan's oldest modern sewer.
Highlights
- Two-storey colonial building with veranda
- Brick settlement-era sewer on the pavement
- Lit up from sunset to 23:00
Tips
- View the exterior at any time; it is lit up in the evening.
- Kobe City Museum is just across the road.
Open in Google Maps · Info checked 2026-10-19
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Open in the appNearby
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