A luxury Conrad Hotel is to open in one of Kobe City Hall’s main buildings in 2029. Kobe City Hall Building No. 2, which is currently being rebuilt, occupies a prime location in Kobe’s city center, being close by the main JR, Hankyu and Hanshin railway stations of Sannomiya and having easy access to the waterfront attractions of the Kobe Port area.
An exterior design image of the new Kobe City Hall Building No. 2
The old Kobe City Hall Building No. 2, after being in use for over 60 years, was demolished in 2022. Currently it is being rebuilt as a mixed-use building, which will be 140 meters high and have 28 floors when complete. There will be shops and restaurants on the lower floors, City Hall offices on the 5th to 8th floors, and general office space for rent from the 9th to 18th floors. The new Conrad Hotel will be at the top of the building on floors 20 to 28, which will give it fine views over Kobe Port and Mount Rokko.
A ground-level exterior design image of the new building
Conrad is the high-end luxury brand of the American hotel chain Hilton and can be found in many major cities and resort destinations around the world. Kobe’s hotel is expected to be the fifth Conrad hotel in Japan, following those in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, which are scheduled to open in 2026; and one in Yokohama, which is scheduled to open in 2027. Kobe’s Conrad Hotel will be the first foreign-owned five-star hotel in Hyogo Prefecture.
A design image of the new building’s interior
The city hopes that the new hotel will attract wealthy foreign tourists and help revitalize the local economy. International charter flights began operating at Kobe Airport in April of this year, with scheduled international flights scheduled to begin around 2030. According to the Kobe Tourism Bureau, approximately 600,000 foreign tourists stayed overnight in Kobe city in the first half of this year (January to June), and the city is expected to surpass its target for this year of 1 million foreign tourists.
The new Kobe City Hall Building No. 2 is scheduled for completion in 2029 and is expected to be a new hub of activity in the city.
Article by Michael Lambe. Images courtesy of Kobe City. All rights reserved.
