View of Kobe and Kobe harbor, c. 1910. The large building left of center is the Hyogo Prefectural Office, designed by Yamaguchi Hanroku in a French Renaissance style and completed in 1902.

See also:
Ikariyama, “Anchor Mountain”, Kobe, c. 1910
Oriental Hotel, Kobe, c. 1910

“Kobe is the favourite port in Japan, owing to the purity and dryness of its air, and its nearness to many places of beauty and interest, such as Kyoto, Lake Biwa, Nara, and the Inland Sea. The port of Kobe, whose exports and imports now exceed those of any other place in the Empire, was founded as a foreign settlement in 1868.

“Previous to that time, the native trade had been carried on at the neighboring port of Hyogo. Owing to the increase in population and prosperity of the port, Kobe is rapidly extending up the hill at the back.”

– A Handbook for Travellers in Japan: Including the Whole Empire from Yezo to Formosa, Basil Hall Chamberlain, 1901

Bird’s eye view of Kobe, c. 1910.