Photo Gallery
KIITO Design and Creative Center Kobe : Things to See & Do
The old wing was built in 1927 as the Kobe City Raw Silk Inspection Office, designed by Eiji Shimizu; the new wing followed in 1932 as the national inspection office, designed by Akira Oshio. It checked the quality of raw silk shipped from Kobe Port until closing in 1980. After Kobe was named a UNESCO City of Design, the city bought the buildings in 2009 and reopened them as KIITO in August 2012. The name comes from kiito, Japanese for raw silk.
Early-Showa inspection building
The old and new wings recall the port’s silk-export heyday; the façades and stairwells keep their original character after renovation
Weekend markets and festivals
Materials Expo, Tsukuru Hitotachi Haku, Kobe Calling, the Minato Shochu Fest and more return here every year
KIITO CAFE
A 35-seat café on the 1st floor with daily lunch plates and the original KIITO curry (¥1,100 each), plus a Sunday-only loco moco
Library
On the 2nd floor, with design and making books you can browse
Access
About 10 min on foot from Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Station (Kaigan Line) or Boeki Center Station (Port Liner); about 20 min south along Flower Road from the JR/Hankyu/Hanshin Sannomiya stations
