KOBE Rokko Meets Art is a contemporary art festival held every year on Mt. Rokko in Kobe.
Over 580 artists have taken part since 2010.
For the 16th year, our goal is to create an art festival where you can enjoy nature and art on Mt. Rokko, the symbolic mountain of Kobe, more than ever before while having a truly enriching experience.
【Theme】
Environmental Perspectives and Thought
Overuse of lumber and other natural resources once devastated Mt. Rokko.
Later efforts of foreign residents who visited during the Meiji period and many of our predecessors restored the lush green environment of the mountain, where new ecosystems have begun to emerge.
With this history in mind, the theme of this year’s art festival on Mt. Rokko will be “Environmental Perspectives and Thought.”
Here, the environment here is a concept that includes not only the nature, history, and culture of Mt. Rokko, but also our society and the way the world should be.
We hope that opportunities to observe and consider the environment from a broader, more diverse perspective will emerge through viewing this art.
Event Overview
- Date
August 23 (Saturday) – November 30 (Sunday), 2025
*Rokkosan Silence Resort will be closed every Monday from August to October (if Monday falls on a national holiday, then the following Tuesday) and on Tuesday, November 4.
- Hours
10:00-17:00
*Varies in part depending on the venue.
- Exhibition Venues
- Museum Area (Rokko Musical Box Museum & Gardens MORINONE, Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden, Shinike Pond)
- Rokko Cable (Rokko Cable Shita Station, Rokko Sanjo Station)
- Tenran Observatory
- Hyogo Prefectural Mt. Rokko Visitor Center (Memorial Monument)
- Rokkosan Silence Resort (Former Rokkosan Hotel)
- Trail Area
- Miyoshi Kannon Area
- Rokko Garden Terrace Area
- Chapel of the Wind Area
- Executive Producer
HAYASHI Naoki/Executive Managing Director, KOBE Mt.Rokko ART & TOURISM Co., Ltd.
- Executive Director
TAKAMIZAWA Kiyotaka/Independent Curator
- Secretary General
MORIWAKE Yasuaki/Director, KOBE Mt.Rokko ART & TOURISM Co., Ltd.
- Advisor
SERIZAWA Takashi/General Director, P3 art and environment
- Call for Entries Plan Judges
AMENOMORI Nobu/Independent Curator
KOYAMADA Tohru/Artist, President of the Kyoto City University of Arts
SAMBUICHI Hiroshi/Architect (designer of Rokko-Shidare Observatory)
NAKANO Hitoshi/Curator, Kanagawa Arts Foundation/Visiting Professor, Tohoku University of Art & Design/Associate Professor, Kyoto University of the Arts Graduate School
HAYASHI Sumi/Independent Curator
MORI Tsukasa/Manager of the Project Coordination Division, Arts Council Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture
NAITO Shizu/Section Chief of the Sales Promotion Department, KOBE Mt.Rokko ART & TOURISM Co., Ltd./Curator, KOBE Rokko Meets Art 2025 beyond
- Producer
Curation Director
Curator YAMAKAWA Yoshino/General Manager of the Sales Promotion Department, KOBE Mt.Rokko ART & TOURISM Co., Ltd.
- Assistant Secretary General
PR Director MORISHITA Eri/Assistant Manager of the Sales Promotion Department, KOBE Mt.Rokko ART & TOURISM Co., Ltd.
- Curator
IWATA Tomoya/Director of The 5th Floor
OGUNI Yosuke/NPO Geiho
P3 art and environment
HORIE Noriko/Independent Curator
NAITO Shizu/KOBE Mt.Rokko ART & TOURISM Co., Ltd.
WASHIO Elena/KOBE Mt.Rokko ART & TOURISM Co., Ltd.
WATANABE Kentaro/Independent Curator
- Technical Director
USUI Taketo/KOBE Mt.Rokko ART & TOURISM Co., Ltd.
GODA Masahiro/r3 LLC
- Program Director
GOTO Miyuki
- Project Manager
MATSUDA Masayo
- Coordinator
OHZONE Tomomi/P3 art and environment
- Organizers
KOBE Mt.Rokko ART & TOURISM Co., Ltd., Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
- Co-organizer
Rokko & Maya Tourism Promotion Council
- Special Cooperation and Sponsorships
Kobe City, Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.
*As of March 1, 2025
Introduction
Flourishing from protecting and embracing
Mt. Rokko, known for its stunning views, has seen a multitude of people and cultures come and go since the opening of the Port of Kobe. The mountain’s lush forests, which have been nurtured and protected, are steeped in the history that these people have brought. Kobe's diverse culture, represented by Hanshinkan Modernism, has constantly evolved by opening its doors to new ideas while remaining true to its core values. Mt. Rokko, blessed by abundant nature, must be passed down to Kobe residents and all people as a mountain of serenity, interaction, and discovery that embodies the spirit of the port city. Our art festival, launched in 2010, will continue to evolve as a place to share and nurture diverse and rich sensibilities through art, while bringing Mt. Rokko to the attention of a wider audience. We invite you to take your time and enjoy Mt. Rokko's various layers, which include nature, culture, and art.
Kiyotaka TAKAMIZAWA, Executive Director
2025 Initiatives
Rokko Meets Art 2025 beyond will continue focusing on the following initiatives from last year.
1Enhancing the lineup of exhibiting artists
More than 60 Japanese and international artists representing a diverse range of perspectives have been invited to present their artwork. This includes a call for entries section, where unprecedented new artwork by approximately 15 selected groups will be displayed.
2Enhancing the symbolic site
of the art festival
Rokko Musical Box Museum & Gardens MORINONE, which has been working since 2023 to enhance the Open air art area so that visitors can experience artwork throughout the year, will serve as the hub of the art festival, which, together with the adjacent Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden, will form an area where visitors can view all many works of art.
3Promoting the appeal of nature and culture
In the Trail Area, where art is displayed along walking paths, visitors will discover the appeal of Mt. Rokko’s abundant nature and culture along with the joy of art appreciation.
4Creating opportunities
for children to engage with art
Opportunities for children to experience contemporary art while in nature through workshops and other activities will be created to foster the next generation of cultural and artistic leaders as well as their supporters.
The Charms of the Rokko Sanjo Facilities
Board the Rokko Cable Car at Rokko Cable Shita Station, the gateway to Mt. Rokko, and sit back and relax as you take the ten-minute trip to the top of the mountain. The observatory facilities, scattered around the area at an altitude of between 730 to 880 meters above sea level, boast dynamic views that are wholly unique to Mt. Rokko, due to its proximity to the urban center of Kobe. By taking advantage of the fact that the temperature on the mountain is generally 5 or 6 degrees Celsius lower than it is in the city, the Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden cultivates alpine plants from around the world as well as those that are native to Mt. Rokko. A wide range of facilities accentuate the charms of Mt. Rokko, including the ROKKO Forest Sound Museum, where you can savor pleasant music not only in the concert room but also in the spacious garden, and the Rokko Garden Terrace, where you can enjoy dining and shopping as you take in the spectacular view.
PICK UP
Rokko Musical Box Museum & Gardens MORINONE
Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden
Rokko Garden Terrace Area
Rokko Cable Car & Bus
Information on Mt. Rokko and Kobe
Kobe, a city that looks out over the Seto Inland Sea, is located in southeastern Hyogo Prefecture.
Kobe’s modern urban culture began with the opening of Kobe Port in the late 19th century. The city continued to develop, driven by an environment that nurtured culture through, among other things, the construction of foreign settlements and the opening of a government-operated railroad running between Kobe and Osaka.
In addition to urban culture, Kobe is blessed with a scenic mountain range in close proximity to the city, making the area extremely popular with local residents since ancient times.
Mt. Rokko, the mountain that epitomizes Kobe, emerged as a destination for leisure activities in the early 20th century, due to the efforts of the British businessman A.H. Groom and others.
Vories Rokko Sanso, a masterpiece of mountain villa architecture, and the Kobe Golf Club, Japan’s oldest golf course, provide a glimpse of the area’s luxurious pastimes.
The creation of a cable-car line that provides easy access to the top of the mountain, and the opening of a botanical garden and other outdoor facilities that make the most of the expansive natural environment continue to make Mt. Rokko one of Japan’s most beloved resort areas.
