Shinkaichi

Hand tint postcard of Shinkaichi

Shinkaichi (新開地, Shinkaichi) is a district of Kobe, Japan. It is one of the major downtown areas in the city.

The name of Shinkaichi means "newly opened area". It was named so because the district was really newly developed after moving the Minato-gawa (river) from this area to the west end of the city in the early 20th century. Before World War II and the air raid on Kobe by the Allied forces in 1945, this district was the largest section of downtown Kobe.

From the 1920s to the 1940s, this district was also famous as a "town of theaters". However, after such theaters lost their popularity during the 1960s, this district rapidly lost its status.

Transportation

Shinkaichi Station of Kobe Rapid Transit Railway is in Shinkaichi. It is the terminal of the trains of Kobe Electric Railway and is also served by Hankyu, Hanshin and Sanyo trains.

Shopping districts and streets in Japan

Tokyo	Akihabara Ameya-Yokochō Ginza Harajuku Ikebukuro (Otome Road) Omotesandō Shibuya

Osaka	Amerikamura Dōtonbori Midōsuji Namba Nipponbashi Shinsaibashi Umeda Rinku Town

Others	Harborland Isezakichō Kobe Chinatown Motomachi (Kobe) Motomachi (Yokohama) Sakae Sannomiya Shijō Street (Shijō Kawaramachi) Shinkaichi Tenjin

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 3/23/2013. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.