City view and harbourside expressway, Kobe, Japan 1999

The city of Kobe has very little flat land, being situated on a narrow coastal plain between the Rokko mountains (seen here in the background) and Osaka Bay. The expressway, in the foreground of this image, runs along the harbour waterfront and has since been upgraded into a 2-storey highway. This part of Kobe was severely damaged in the 1995 earthquake, but has since been rebuilt. This image is a view of the passenger terminal, harbourside 2-storey expressway and one of the new high-rise residential towers with helipad on roof built since the 1995 earthquake.