kobe

View of Kobe from a shrine in the foothills of the Kitano district where the Europeans built their large homes.
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Kobe (1,148,000 people) is my new favorite city.  A great place to visit or live.  I was lucky to have a walking tour with a Japanese friend so I learned a lot about the history

Kobe was one of the first ports reopened to western trade in 1868, resulting in a large expat community of Europeans, Chinese, Koreans and Americans.  Which means there are a lot of different restaurants to choose from (Chinese, French, Italian, German) and great shopping--L.L. Bean, Banana Republic, Tommy, plus European name brand stores  and interesting buildings, both new skyscrapers and old European merchant houses.

One of four gates to Chinatown. More than 40,000 Chinese live in Kobe.
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In 1995 the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck.  Over 100,000 buildings were destroyed and 5.000 people killed, so there is a lot of new areas with wide streets and trees.