Kobe Earthquake Museum

photo by iloverjoa · CC BY 3.0

photo by Daniel Gerhard · CC BY-SA 3.0

On the 17th of every month, the day of the earthquake, admission is free: on other days it costs 650 yen.

The Kobe earthquake of 17 January 1995 killed 6,434 people in a few seconds, at 5:46 in the morning; the film that opens the visit, projected on screens that surround the viewer, reconstructs that moment with archive footage of the city collapsing: it is so raw that the museum warns anyone who lived through the earthquake, or who is with small children, that they can skip it. The floors that follow tell the story of the reconstruction through objects donated by survivors, not just explanatory panels. On the 17th of every month, the day of the earthquake, admission is free.

A museum and research centre on disaster prevention, opened on 27 April 2002 in the HAT Kobe district to tell the story of the earthquake and the reconstruction that followed.

ℹ️ Open 9:30–17:30 (last entry 16:30), closed on Mondays (the following day if Monday is a public holiday) and over the year end and New Year. Combined ticket (west + east building) 650 yen adults, 450 yen university students, free up to high school; east building only 300 yen adults.

🚉 Kasuganomichi · 16 min walk

Sources: dri.ne.jp · dri.ne.jp · feel-kobe.jp

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