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Kobe has 1.5 million inhabitants and lies near Osaka in the Kansai region of central Japan. Apart from the two municipal subway lines, Kobe boasts two transit systems serving the man-made islands in the port area. Kobe is connected to Osaka by JR West as well as Hankyu and Hanshin local railways.

Kobe's first subway line, the Seishin-Yamate Line (Seishinchuo - Shin-Kobe), used to be operated jointly with the Hokushin-Kyuko Railway (Shin-Kobe - Tanigami) until this stretch was fully integrated with the subway line in June 2020 and is now known as the Kitakami Line. The Seishin-Yamate Line opened between 1977 and 1987 and has a total length of 22.7 km with 16 stations (with the Kitakami Line 30.2 km and 17 stations). It runs on the surface between Myohoji and Seishinchuo. A trip on the subway from Seishinchuo to Shin-Kobe takes 32 minutes and a further 8 minutes to Tanigami.

13 March 1977: Shin-Nagata - Myodani (5.7 km)
17 June 1983: Shin-Nagata - Okurayama (4.3 km)
18 June 1985: Myodani - Gakuen-toshi (3.5 km) and Okurayama - Shin-Kobe (3.3 km)
18 March 1987: Gakuen-toshi - Seishinchuo (5.9 km)
02 April 1988: Shin-Kobe - Tanigami (Hokushin-Kyuko Railway) - 7.5 km

A second subway line, the 7.9 km Kaigan Line (Coast Line) opened on 7 July 2001. It intersects at both ends with the Seishin-Yamate Line and JR services at Shin-Nagata and at Sannomiya.

7 July 2001: Shin-Nagata - Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae (7.9 km - Kaigan Line)

opened on 05 Feb 1981 (6.4 km, 9 stops), extended south to the new Kobe Airport on 02 Feb 2006 (4.3 km, 3 stops).

opened on 21 Feb 1990 (4.5 km)

Kobe Subway (Official site)

Kobe New Transit (Official site)

Kobe Municipal Subway Kaigan Line incl. construction pictures, at Kobe Railway Stadium

Osamu Abe's Kobe page with some photos

Photos of all stations

Kobe Subway at Wikipedia

BLOG: Read your webmaster's impressions of Kobe's Subway system (May 2016)