Subway Stations in Sannomiya – Orientation

There are two subway stations in Kobe’s central Sannomiya district.

Sannomiya Subway Station serves the Seishin-Yamate Subway Line. This line is useful for passengers who wish to go to Shin-Kobe Station, which is the high-speed shinkansen terminal for Kobe. This line is also useful for passengers who wish to go to the hot spring resort town of Arima Onsen.

Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Subway Station serves the Kaigan Subway Line. This line is useful for passengers who wish to go to Kobe Harborland.

This article will explain how to find and use these two stations.

Sannomiya Subway Station

Sannomiya Subway Station is an underground station on the north side of JR Sannomiya Station with three basement levels. The entrance to this subway station can be found directly outside JR Sannomiya Station’s north side. Here is a map showing this station’s location.

Sannomiya Subway Station can be accessed by stairs, an escalator or an elevator.

When you reach the station’s 1st basement level you will see ticket machines, an information corner, and ticket gates.

Buying Tickets at Sannomiya Subway Station

Above the ticket machines there is a fare chart that shows destinations and fares on the Seishin-Yamate Subway Line and on other railway lines.

Ticket machines are operated by a touch screen and have English and Japanese language options. Press the “English” button on the left of the screen to change the language.

You can then choose your destination on the screen and pay your fare to get your ticket.

If you want to go to a destination on one of the other lines that connects with the Seishin-Yamate Line, then choose one of the transfer buttons.

Transfer tickets can be made to the Kaigan Subway Line at Shinnagata Station, to the Hokushin Line that runs between Shin-Kobe Station and Tanigami Station, and to Kobe Dentetsu Railway (also called Shintetsu) at Minatogawa-Koen Station.

Other Facilities at Sannomiya Subway Station

Near the ticket machines there is an information corner for Kobe City Transportation Bureau. This bureau runs both the city subway and city bus networks so you can make enquiries here about both bus and subway services.

Just past the information corner are the ticket gates.

If you keep walking past the ticket gates and then turn right you can find an office that sells commuter passes for the city’s subway and bus networks. This is also the location of the station’s lost and found office.

Sannomiya Subway Station Platforms

There are two platforms at Sannomiya Subway Station. Platform 1 is on the 2nd basement level and Platform 2 is on the 3rd basement level. After you have gone through the ticket gates you can take an escalator or an elevator to reach these platforms.

Trains running from Platfrom 1 are bound for Shin-Kobe and Tanigami.

Trains running from Platform 2 are bound for Myodani and Seishin-Chuo.

Digital departure signs at both platforms give information in English as well as Japanese.

You can also find subway route maps on the platform walls that show all the stops on the Seishin-Yamate and Kaigan subway lines.

Sannomiya-Hanadoekimae Subway Station

Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Subway Station is an underground station located near Kobe International House (also called Kobe Kokusai Kaikan). This station is a 5-minute walk to the south of JR Sannomiya Station. Here is a map showing Sannomiya-Hanadokeimae Subway Station’s location.

This station has several entrances, but escalators and an elevator can be found in the basement of Kobe International House.

Buying Tickets at Sannomiya-Hanadoekimae Subway Station

Above the ticket machines there is a fare map showing all the destinations and fares on the Kaigan Subway Line.

Ticket machines are operated by touch screens and have English and Japanese language options. Press the “English” button to the left of the screen and then choose your destination on the screen. Transfers can be made to the Seishin-Yamate Subway Line at Shinnagata Station.

Sannomiya-Hanadoekimae Subway Station Platforms

There are two platforms at this station. However, as Sannomiya-Hanadoekimae Subway Station is the northern terminus of the Kaigan Line all trains are bound for the southern terminus, Shinnagata Station.

Departure information is shown in Japanese and English.

And there are route maps on the walls of the platforms showing all the stops on the Kaigan Line.

For more detailed information about Kobe’s subway network see the following articles:

The Seishin-Yamate Subway Line
The Kaigan Subway Line
The Hokushin Line

Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved.