On Friday afternoon, 30 May, the workshop participants were taken on a tour of some of Kobe’s gardens. The tour was designed to sample the various types of parks and park facilities provided by the city.

After seeing the activities to green the streets of the city center, the participants took a trip to the middle levels of the Rokko Mountain Forests. Here, at Venus Bridge, one finds beautiful vistas of the city, the port, and the great Osaka Bay. Scenes rise out of lunch green tree tops and are framed by more trees. 

Next, the group visited Kobe’s new Home’s Stadium. Seating 34,000, this arena was built in 2002 for the World Cup Soccer tournament, which Kobe co-hosted with other Japanese and South Korean cities. This ultra modern complex has a sliding roof that opens or closes in 20 minutes. Seats are color coded, providing both beauty and efficient function. Participants could be photographed, as was Dr. Haryono Suyono, sitting where soccer great David Beckham sat, a plaque on the seat commemorating the event. 

The next visit was to the re-developed Shin-Nagata area, which was all but destroyed in the fires following the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake of 1995. Here, participants saw a park which is especially equipped to serve as a disaster emergency shelter, should the need arise.

A visit to a park in Shin-Nagata equipped with disaster emergency shelter

Farther to the west, was the spectacular Suma Rikyu Park. Once a villa for the emperor, the park is planted with thousands of roses and great hedges of azaleas. Its great beauty is enhanced by its historic importance. It is here in the early 11th century that Murasaki Shikibu, a noble woman of the Heian period wrote “The Tale of Genji.” This is perhaps the greatest masterpiece of Japanese literature, and is considered by some to be the first novel, the first romantic novel or the first novel to become a classic. Madam Shikibu came here to find peace and solitude, and to assuage her loneliness by gazing at the moon. The moon-gazing area was pointed out to the participants. The great beauty of this park recommends itself to young couples for wedding ceremonies.

Suma Rikyu Park

Finally the participants were taken to the foot of the famous Awaji Bridge. With a span between towers of 1.991 km, this is one of the world’s longest suspension bridges. The park is built with sand trucked in to provide a pleasant beach for swimming. In the summer it is crowded with swimmers and modern sun worshipers. 

On the outgoing and return trips, participants were able to see Kobe’s green and flowered streets in many locations. Especially attractive is Flower Road, running from the port to Sanomiya Station, passing in front of the City Hall and Higashi Yuenchi, Kobe’s first formal urban public park.

AUICK workshop participants witness Kobe's roadside greening