As you stroll down Kobe’s Sannomiya Flower Road toward the sea, you’ll encounter the Design and Creative Center, a building you can freely enter and explore.
This historic structure was originally the Former Kobe City Raw Silk Examination Center, built in 1927 to inspect the quality of silk destined for export. It’s a fascinating building with a strong sense of history, and today it hosts various events and is utilized as a rental space.
The second floor exhibits equipment and devices used when the facility functioned as a raw silk inspection center, along with explanations detailing the kinds of tests that were performed.
There are also photographs from that era, and seeing the old photos of people at work was quite moving. While everything is certainly mechanized today and the past methods must have been less efficient, the displayed equipment looked meticulously crafted and complex—I couldn’t figure out how it all worked. It really makes you appreciate how people at the time applied their ingenuity to the manufacturing and quality control processes.
On the first floor, there is a lounge where quite a few people were working, seemingly studying or focused on tasks. Also, the Sannomiya Library is currently temporarily housed in this former raw silk examination center. For a temporary location, the space is remarkably well-designed. This area is definitely a nice spot to relax for a while.
There is also a café inside called KIITO Cafe. I had lunch here this time. They’ve preserved some of the old equipment, and as you can see in the photo below, some of the tables have been incorporated with a mysterious-looking device.
I ordered the Daily Set Meal (¥1,100) and the post-meal set of Banana Tart and Coffee (¥700). The Daily Set Meal consisted of a hamburger steak with tomato sauce, salad, and soup and a few other items. It looked appealing and tasted delicious. The banana tart was a bit dark in appearance, but I figured that might just be how it looks after baking. It tasted great, with just the right amount of sweetness. I’d love to come back and eat here again.
I think this is a great place to feel the calm atmosphere and the history of Kobe that connects directly to the present day. I had a sense that our current lives are built upon the efforts of the people who came before us. It’s likely that none of the people captured in the old photographs are still alive. Spending time here, reflecting on whether our own lives will be remembered by future generations in the same way, felt like time well spent. This visit was just a quick stop for lunch, but I’d definitely like to come back when I have more time to explore.
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