Kobe Parks & Gardens

Kobe, the Japanese city flanked by the sea and the mountain is blessed with natural beauty. Since ages Garden designs have been a significant Japanese art. The shoreline in the western part of Kobe encloses many public parks and scenic gardens. Some popular Kobe Parks and Gardens are-

- The Kobe Municipal Fruit & Flower Park is another such amusing place that flaunts the style of a medieval European castle containing a hotel, a public bathhouse- Badehause with natural hot springs, a swimming pool and an ice-skating rink. A plethora of seasonal fruits and beautiful flowers are found in this garden.

- The Meriken Park, Kobe is a picturesque sea front park that was opened in 1987.This park in Kobe houses a small memorial that commemorates the people who died in the earthquake of 1995, the represents the Kobe city, the Kobe Maritime Museum and the Kobe Meriken Park Oriental Hotel.

- The Sumaura Park, Kobe houses the grave of the body of Lord Atsumori and a memorial of Ichinotani Battle. This Kobe park provides the panorama of the battlefield from the summit.

- Sorakuen Garden, Kobe, the traditional Japanese landscape garden lies at the heart of Kobe. It was the former residence of the ex-mayor of Kobe- Kodera Kenkichi and was opened to the public in 1941.

- The Kobe City Rokkosan Pasture set atop the Mt. Rokko, is a highland pasture encompassing 120-hectares of verdant grass fields. You can find donkeys, sheep and ponies grazing in this scenic setting. The place also houses the Kobe Cheese House where you can see the procedure of cheese production.

- The Kobe Municipal Arboretum is a lush green garden that is home to about 1,200 species of plants and trees from various parts of the world. These plant species are classed according to their origin and also includes plants endemic to Mt. Rokko.