The Kobe Maritime Museum charts the history of one of Japan's great port cities through ship models, navigational charts, historical photographs, and maritime instruments. The collection covers the port's development from its opening to foreign trade in 1868 through to the modern container terminal era. Particularly strong on the Meiji-era shipping companies and the foreign influence on Japanese maritime culture.
The museum shares its location in Meriken Park with the Kobe Port Tower and the earthquake memorial. The combination makes for a good half-day on the waterfront. The museum is not large — you can see it thoroughly in 90 minutes — but the quality of the exhibits is high, and the building itself, with its sail-like tensile roof, is architecturally interesting.