Rokkō Island

Rokkō Island

Native name: 六甲アイランド
Rokkō Island viewed from Mt. Rokko.
Rokkō Island Location within Hyōgo Prefecture.
Geography
Location	Osaka Bay
Coordinates	34°41′N 135°16′E
Total islands	1
Area	5.80 km2 (2.24 sq mi)
Length	3.4 km (2.11 mi)
Width	2.0 km (1.24 mi)
Highest elevation	2 m (7 ft)
Administration
Japan
Ward	Higashinada-ku
City	Kobe
Prefecture	Hyōgo
Demographics
Population	19,253 (30 April 2017)

Rokko Liner

Rokko Island port

Rokkō Island (六甲アイランド, Rokkō Airando) is a man-made island in Higashinada-ku, Kobe, Hyōgo, Japan. It is located in the southeast region of the Port of Kobe. The island has a 3.4 by 2 km (2.1 by 1.2 mi) rectangular shape and covers 5.80 km² (2.24 sq mi). The residential area of the island is located in the center of the island. A green belt separates the residential area from industrial and port activities. International schools located on the island cater to foreign residents who live in foreigner only condominiums set up on the island when the headquarters of P&G used to be located there.

Creation

Kobe is a long and narrow city wedged between the coast to the south and the Rokkō Mountains to the north. As Kobe's population grew, there was no more space to expand. This situation is similar to the rest of Japan, which has an abundance of dense forests and a shortage of livable land. Urban planners in Kobe created new land by using rock from nearby mountains.

Workers sliced the tops off some of the heavily wooded local mountains to the northwest of the city. A ten-mile-long underground conveyor belt was created to move the reclaimed land to the sea. A conveyor carried the rock and earth to barges, which dumped the contents two miles out into the bay. The project took almost twenty years, from 1973 until 1992, to complete. The 1,400 acres (570 ha) island is shaped like a rectangle.

Rokkō Island is not the first island that Kobe city planners built. Port Island was completed a decade before Rokkō Island. Historically, In 1173, Taira no Kiyomori, a military leader of the late Heian period of Japan, also built an island known as Kyogashima.

Access

There are two main forms of public transportation to the island. The Rokko Liner, an automated guideway transit system, runs on an elevated viaduct through the central axis of the island and connects to the mainland. The Rokkō Liner stops at three stations on the island: Marine Park, Island Center, and Island Kita-Guchi. It connects Rokkō Island to Minami Uozaki, Uozaki Station on the Hanshin Line and Sumiyoshi Station on the JR Kobe Line. The Kobe Minato Kanko Bus is another option.

The Harbor Highway is a toll road which links Sannomiya and Port Island with Rokko Island. The Hanshin Expressway Route 5 Wangan Route heads to Osaka. Limousine buses departing from the Kobe Bay Sheraton Hotel take passengers to Kansai Airport or to Universal Studios Japan. Ferry boats (Hankyu Ferry and Ferry Sunflower) leave the island every day for Kyushu and Shikoku.

Economy

The major business on the island is related to the Kobe-Osaka International Port Corporation which operates port container terminals, port liner berths and port ferry terminals. Several manufacturing companies also operate on the island including the chocolatier, Morozoff Ltd. The Asia One Center used to house the P&G Japan Head Office. Rokkō Island also features businesses catering to the local residents and tourists including two hotels, shopping, and restaurants.

Education

Universities

• Kobe International University

Public schools

Rokkō Island High School

All are operated by Kobe municipality:

• Rokkō Island High School
• Kōyō Junior High School (神戸市立向洋中学校) - Covers all chome in all three districts in Rokko Island
• Rokkō Island Elementary School (神戸市立六甲アイランド小学校)
  • Koyochohigashi and Koyochonaka 1-4 and 9-chome
• Kōyō Elementary School (神戸市立向洋小学校)
  • Koyochonishi and Koyochonaka 5-8-chome

• 
  Kōyō Junior High School
• 
  Rokkō Island Elementary School
• 
  Kōyō Elementary School

International schools

• Canadian Academy
• Deutsche Schule Kobe/European School

Culture and recreation

Sports and leisure

Residents can walk, run, or bike on the 5 km (3.1 mi) long green belt pathway that encircles the island. At Marine Park, provides views of palm trees and the Pacific Ocean. The River Mall is an artificial river about one kilometer long that flows through the center of the island. In the summer, many children play in the wading pool. There are also several playgrounds on the island.

There is a community fitness center with exercise equipment, classes, and an indoor lap pool. Residents can play tennis or take lessons. There is an indoor skateboarding park. There are also several places to play futsal. A waterpark opens during the summer.

Museums

Two museums are located on Rokkō Island. Kobe City Koiso Memorial Museum of Art is a small museum that commemorates the works of Kobe botanical artist Ryohei Koiso. The museum features a replica of his art studio, an art library, and three exhibition rooms.

The island is also home to the Kobe Fashion Museum, which features exhibits on the history of fashion, seasonal exhibitions, and a library.

Events on the island

Christmas caroling and a farmer's market are just two of the events held throughout the year The Rokkō Island Halloween and Harvest Festival is an annual event featuring a costume parade, costume contest, pumpkin carving, a haunted house, live shows, and trick-or-treating.