TRANSPORTATION
1. AIRPORT
From the Kansai International Airport, the first 24-hours-opening airport in Japan, there are direct flights to 60 international cities. Domestic airports in Tajima and Osaka offer easy access to cities in Japan. Moreover two airports are now being planned, one in Kobe and another in Harima.
2. PORT
Surrounded by the sea on its northern and southern stretches, Hyogo is equipped with many natural harbors and 31 ports of various sizes. The four most important are: Kobe, Himeji, Amagasaki-Nishinomiya-Ashia, and Higashi-Harima. In particular, the Port of Kobe is one of the largest ports in Japan and serves as hub port for Asia. There are 35 container berths, several with a depth of 15 meters, and plans have also been drawn up for the construction of 16-meter berths.
3. RAILWAY
As for railroads, the Shinkansen passes east and west in the southern part of the Prefecture. It takes 3.0 hours from Shin Kobe station to Tokyo, and 1.0 hour, 30 minutes, and 15 minutes to Nagoya, Kyoto, and Osaka respectively. And every Nozomi line stops at Shin Kobe Station. It takes only 2 hours and 40 minutes from Shin Kobe to Tokyo.
4. ROAD
Expressways run east and west providing smooth access to the big metropolises of Tokyo, Nagoya, and Hiroshima, as well as to other regions of the country. Also, the largest suspension bridge in the world was completed in 1998, connecting Honsho and Shikoku (two of the major island in the Japanese Archipelago) via Awaji Island.
