Meriken Park

Meriken Park itself is not a very remarkable park, we much prefer Yamashita Park (山下公園, Yamashita Kōen) in Yokohama (横浜), but there are multiple attractions in the area that make it a popular visit. For starters, Kobe Port Tower and the Kawasaki Good Times Museum are in the area, and there's also a beautiful Starbucks located there.

For us though, what makes Meriken Park worth recommending is really the Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park. There are few places in Japan that you can really see the real-life aftermath of an earthquake. Looking at how the pathway was torn asunder, how the street lamps were warped, and how the infrastructure crumbled, you can really get a sense of how devastating the Great Hanshin Earthquake (17 Jan 1995, 兵庫県南部地震, Hyōgo-ken Nanbu Jishin) was to the area. There's just something different about seeing it in photos and videos, as opposed to seeing the real-life effects for yourself.