The Sannomiya area in Kobe is just as complex as Osaka’s Umeda and Namba. However, the cost of living in Kobe seems to be relatively cheaper. There are plenty of delicious food options and many beautiful scenic spots. Additionally, the Sannomiya area serves as an important hub. Therefore, this article is one of the basic transportation articles that people who are planning to travel to Kobe should read.
(The image above is obtained from Wikipedia)
Because just here, there are six different stations, as follows:
1. JR’s Sannomiya Station
2. Hankyu’s Kobe Sannomiya Station
3. Hanshin’s Kobe Sannomiya Station
4. Kobe New Transit’s Sannomiya Station
5. Kobe Municipal Subway – Seishin-Yamate Line’s Sannomiya Station
6. Kobe Municipal Subway – Kaigan Line’s Sannomiya Hanadokeimae Station
In the image below, the dashed line represents the underground station.
1. Unlike other stations, JR’s Sannomiya Station is called “Sannomiya” instead of “Sanomiya”. JR Sannomiya Station is a elevated station on the JR Kobe Line. As shown in the picture, JR Sannomiya Station is located adjacent to Hankyu, Hanshin, Shin-Kobe New Transit Line, and Kobe Municipal Subway – Seishin-Yamate Line’s Sannomiya Station. However, it is also connected to Kobe Municipal Subway – Kaigan Line’s Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Station through an underground passage.
(The image above is obtained from Wikipedia)
2. Kobe Sannomiya Station of Hanshin Railway
Kobe Sannomiya Station, belonging to the Hanshin Main Line, is an underground station located on the second basement floor. Due to the proximity of various stations, they are connected through underground passages or surface streets.
(The image above is obtained from Wikipedia)
3. Hankyu’s Kobe Sannomiya Station is one of the stations on the Hankyu Kobe Line. It is an elevated station. Additionally, Hankyu Sannomiya Station is the final station managed by Hankyu Railway. The area west of Sannomiya Station belongs to the Kobe High-Speed Railway.
(The image above is obtained from Wikipedia)
4. Sannomiya Station on the Kobe New Transit – Airport Line The Kobe New Transit’s Airport Line, similar to Taipei’s Wenhu Line, is an elevated tram route. Sannomiya Station on the Airport Line is also an elevated station. As the Airport Line is the main transportation option to Kobe Airport, it is less commonly used by foreign tourists.
(The image above is obtained from Wikipedia)
5. Kobe City Subway: Sannomiya Station on the Seishin-Yamate Line and Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Station on the Kaigan Line Kobe City Subway has two underground stations in the Sannomiya area. One is Sannomiya Station on the Seishin-Yamate Line, and the other is Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Station on the Kaigan Line. These two stations are distinguished by the Hankyu and JR train routes. Sannomiya Station on the Seishin-Yamate Line is located on the north side, while Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Station on the Kaigan Line is located on the south side. Sannomiya Station on the north side is closer to Ikuta Shrine and Kitano area. However, it is not the terminal station, as it continues north to Shin-Kobe Station. Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Station on the south side is a bit more remote, with more office buildings in the area, making it a commercial district. It is the terminal station of the Kobe City Subway Kaigan Line.
The following image shows the origin of the station name, the Flower Clock.
(The image above is obtained from Wikipedia)
Above is a brief introduction to the stations in the San Gong area. As for the bus stations, I haven’t figured out how to introduce them yet, so let’s skip that for now! I will also briefly mention other nearby attractions that should be introduced.
【IKUTA ROAD】
Commonly known as Ikuta Road, this street doesn’t have anything particularly special. The key point is that it is home to the famous Kobe beef steakhouse, Moriya (モ－リヤ), and the Ikuta Shrine.
(Image above obtained from Google Maps Street View)
Shoda Shrine gained great fame when popular Japanese celebrities Jinnochi Tomonori and Fujiwara Norika held their wedding here. If you’re interested, you can refer to the travelogue of Shoda Shrine.
【Where to take the bus?】
The bus stops are not inside the Hankyu Sannomiya Station or the Subway Sannomiya Station, but on the ground. The image below shows the bus stops in the Sannomiya area. The ones with blue background and white text are the names of the bus stops. From this, we can see that there are four locations in front of Sannomiya Station. There are two in Sannomiya-cho 1-chome, three in Hankyu-mae Sannomiya, one in Sannomiya Bus Terminal, and one in front of Sannomiya Station.
So, what are the commonly used buses? In this area, there are 4 bus stops for the City Loop. In the map, they are represented by ★ and are respectively 6 Hankyu Sanbangai, 7 ． 13 Subway Sannomiya Station, and 14 Sannomiya Bus Terminal.
The following image is the City Loop 7 subway station in front of Sannomiya (now relocated under the elevated bridge).
Same as before, it’s still in front of Sannomiya Station (now moved under the viaduct), but now there are buses from Kobe City Bus systems like 2, 18, 64, etc. If you want to take the bus to Mount Maya Ropeway, take bus number 18 from here.
Across the street is Sannomiya Station on the subway (facing JR Sannomiya Station, City Loop 13 is also across the street).
The following image is taken from the area around the Kobe Traffic Center Building (神戸交通センタービル). To catch a high-speed bus to Shikoku or other regions, you need to go to the Sannomiya Bus Terminal (the green building on the right) as shown in the photo.
In the Sannomiya area, if you want to take the Limousine Bus to the airport, you can catch it at this location (marked with an orange star ★ on the map).
Limu Bus Ticket Office, located between the Kobe Transportation Center Building and the Limu Bus Boarding Area.
(Image above obtained from Google Maps Street View)
【Additional Information】To take a bus to Sannomiya Outlet, please refer to this link for information at Shin-Kobe Bus Station.
Above is a brief introduction to the Sannomiya area in Kobe. Because I’m not very familiar with this area, I really don’t know how to introduce it… XD So, I’ll try my best to write about it. If there’s anything else that needs to be introduced, please let me know. Thank you.
『Original Source：https://nicklee.tw/1025/』
