Japan has gone from being a closed country to a hub of international relations and globalization the past 150 years. The history of Kobe's globalization began with Hyogo port that orginally opened in the eight century, but did not become significant until the ban on trade was lifted in 1886. It is around this time that the city of Kobe was born and foreigners settled into Kobe in the Kitano area. The Hyogo port was the largest port in Japan until the Hashin earthquake. Kobe has a feel of a international city. Foreign goods ornate shop windows, international restaurants line the streets, and signs around Kobe are in many different languages. Kobe Chinatown is a example of globalization in the Kobe area. Though only being a few streets, it is a hub of Chinese culture and smells. Kobe is thriving now more then ten years after the earthquake into a even greater international city.
Information Provided by Kobe City History
Yes, Kobe is a great example of globalization in Japan. Did you follow us on our Globalization fieldtrip?
ReplyDeletehttp://visualanthropologyofjapan.blogspot.com/2008/11/fall-2008-globalization-kobe-fieldtrip.html