Learn about the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake

What comes to mind when you think of the city of Kobe? Many people probably think of the sophisticated modern city with western influences that it is today. When you look at this beautiful city, it’s hard to imagine what it looked like 18 years ago when a huge earthquake devastated Kobe and the surrounding areas at dawn on January 17, 1995 and more than 6,000 people lost their lives.

I would like to introduce the best places to learn about that event.

 

The Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution (The Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Memorial), located in Chuo ward in Kobe, provides real insight into the tragedy and how the city managed to recover from the effects of the earthquake to come back as one of the most beautiful cities in Japan. It also has plenty of resources on disaster management and an earthquake simulation theater, both of which have contributed a lot to national and international disaster risk reduction.

 

Disaster Reduction and Human Renovation Institution

 

Recreation of the earthquake’s aftermath