Kobe is an old port city located on the main island of Japan in the Kansai region. The Kansai region is the heart of Japan, known for its rich history, culture, and outgoing locals with big personalities.
With a population of roughly 1.5 million, Kobe is the 7th largest city in Japan.
The port of Kobe was one of three in Japan to open to the world in 1868 after hundreds of years of isolation policy in Japan. Through its port, Kobe has developed its own unique cultural identity, taking on various influences from abroad which to this day give the city a distinct international flavour. This uniqueness is best represented in the city’s multicultural population, and its architecture and cuisine, which is a unique blend of colonial European and traditional and modern Japanese elements.
However, what makes Kobe truly unique in Japan is the proximity between nature and the city. With the Rokko Mountain range one side and the Seto Inland Sea on the other, nature surrounds Kobe on all sides, providing spectacular views and perhaps more importantly, incredible cuisine made with fresh local ingredients including Kobe Beef and Sake from the Nada Gogo brewing district.
With the comforts and entertainment of the city on your doorstep and nature at your fingertips, Kobe is the ideal place to experience the sensation overload that modern Japanese cities are famous for right along side the traditional, historical, culturally rich and peaceful side of Japan.
Kobe is ideally positioned in the centre of the Kansai region. Japan’s second largest city Osaka is just 23 minutes down the road where you can experience the famous neon lights and night life of Japan. Kyoto is 50 minutes via regular train and a blink of an eye on the bullet train. Explore the temples, shrines and quaint streets of the cultural capital of Japan. Nara and Hiroshima are also close by and offer a more relaxed old Japan escape away from the major cities of Kansai.
The Venue:
The conference will take place across two venues, which are connected to each other by a covered walkway. The Kobe Portopia Hotel and Kobe International Conference Centre, the Portopia Hotel is the largest hotel in Kobe, the hotel connects to the train station via undercover walkway, from here, the city centre can be reached in 10 minutes and Kobe airport in 8 minutes.
Kobe Portopia Hotel – for registration, plenary lectures, exhibition and poster sessions
Address: 6 Chome-10-1 Minatojima Nakamachi, Chuo Ward, Kobe, Hyogo 650-0046, Japan
Kobe International Conference Centre – breakout rooms for parallel sessions
Address: 6-9-1, Minatojima-Nakamachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe-shi, Hyogo, 650-0046, Japan
International and Domestic:
Kobe is just 30 minutes by boat or 60 minutes by bus from Kansai International Airport making it closer than any other city in the Kansai area. Kansai International Airport is Japan’s 2nd largest airport after Narita, connecting to 73 cities. All directional signage is posted in four languages - Japanese, English, Chinese, and Korean making it easy for international delegates to navigate.
Kobe can be accessed from Kansai Int’l Airport (KIX) via the high-speed Bay Shuttle ferry or limousine bus. From KIX it takes 30 minutes to get to Kobe Airport.
