Directory_and_Chronicle_1932 — Page 367

KYOTO-KOBE

ASAHI TRADING CO., LTD., Exporters-

Inokuma, Matsubara-agara

CLAPES

EN OTA-Schichijo, Omiya; Cable Ad: Clapes

JAPAN MISSION PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN THE U.S.A., THE-Ichijo, Muro- machi, Nishi

Rev. Harvey Brokaw, D.D., secre-

tary

JAPAN TOURIST BUREAU-c/o Kyoto

Station; Teleph. Shimo 8480

315

SAGUES, BUSQUETS, F., Exporters-1, Schichijo Omiya Wake-cho: P.O. Box 8 (Gojo); Cable Ad: Sagnes

SINGER SEWING MACHINE Co.-Yana-

ginobaba, Shijo

TOGNACCA & GIGLIO-27, Bukkoji Ta-

kakura; Cable Ad: Toshio

VENDRELL, MUSTAROS & Co., Exporters

-32, Hon-machi, 5-chome

VORIES & Co., W. M.-Cable Ad:

Vories

KOBE

Kobe was until 1892 the foreign port of the adjoining town of Hyogo and was opened to foreign trade in 1868, but in 1889 the two towns were incor- porated under the title of Kobe City, when the City Municipal Law was put into force. The reclamation of the bed of the Minatogawa River in 1910 and the extension of the tramway service have resulted in the disappearance of the old boundary line between Kobe and Hyogo. Hyogo, therefore, is now merely one of the administrative sections of Kobe. The port is finely situated on the Idzumi-nada, at the gate of the farfamed Inland Sea. Water supply, electric lighting and urban tramways are all municipal undertakings, while the reconstruction of the harbour is a state undertaking to which the city has been obliged to contribute about Y.3,000,000. The harbour is good and affords safe anchorage for vessels of almost any size, but to extend the facilities for loading and discharging an extensive scheme of harbour improvement was begun in 1907. The harbour now has four large piers, with quays on each side, plus several smaller but quite important privately owned quays or wharves, connected by rail with the main line Tokyo-Shimonoseki. An ambitious scheme to reclaim a big stretch of water front is now in progress and upor its completion the harbour will have capacity for 15 more steamers of large size. The Kawasaki Shipbuilding Yard situated at Hyogo is one of the largest in Japan. The Mitsubishi Co., also, have a dockyard at the Western extremity of the port. The town faces the land-locked water covered with white sails, while behind, at a distance of about a mile, rises a range of pic- turesque and lofty hills, some of which attain an altitude of about 3,000 feet, and the steep sides of which are partly covered with pines. On one of these hills, Rokkosan, are a number of foreign and Japanese residences, the place having become a favourite summer resort. Two motor roads have been built to Rokkosan, and two cable tramways are in course of construction also. A modern hotel, owned by the Hanshin Electric Rail Co. (Kobe-Osaka Inter- urban line), offers good accommodation. The summit of this hill has been well-prepared for the purpose, several miles of excellent paths making walk- ing on the hills easy and enjoyable. Among the attractions of Rokkosan are excellent golf links. Kobe stretches for some five miles along the strip of land between the hills and the water, and is rapidly extending westward along the coast and eastward in the direction of Osaka, which is connected with Kobe by rail and three electric tramways. Within the last few years the Japanese have bought many of the lots in the former Foreign Settlement and erected large offices of five or six stories, which have greatly improved the city. Kobe has three stations-(Sannomiya-Kobe, Hyogo), of which Kobe is the most important for Japanese and Sannomiya for foreigners-but all