Rokko Meets Art is an annual contemporary art festival held on Mt. Rokko in Kobe.
Over 520 artists have taken part since 2010.
We have changed the name to Rokko Meets Art 2024 beyond for this 15th year, and 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.
【Theme】
Find new perspectives.
In today's world of dizzying information exchange, we seem to have a tendency to judge things from existing perspectives and rush to conclusions.
Just as you can have a heightened view after walking up the mountain and through the forest, a landscape of contemporary art created with various expressive techniques unfolds beneath you, expanding your field of view.
Our hope is to create an art festival with artists, where you can leave your daily life behind and encounter a variety of values on a journey through the attractions of Mt. Rokko.
Event Overview
- Date
August 24 (Saturday) – November 24 (Sunday), 2024
Note: Only the Rokkosan Silence Resort will be closed on Mondays between August and October (except when Monday falls on a national holiday, in which case the museum is closed the following day).
- Hours
10:00-17:00
*Varies in part depending on the venue.
- Exhibition Venues
- Rokko Musical Box Museum & Gardens MORINONE
- Rokko Alpine Botanical Garden
- Rokko Garden Terrace Area
- Rokko Cable Car & Bus
(Rokko Cable Shita Station, Sanjo Station, and Tenran Observatory) - Trail Area
- Chapel of the Wind Area
- Sancho Station, Rokko-Arima Ropeway
- Hyogo Prefectural Mt. Rokko Visitor Center （Memorial Monument）
- Rokkosan Silence Resort (foremerly, the Mt. Rokko Hotel)
- General Director
／Curator Kiyotaka TAKAMIZAWA
- Sponsored by
the Rokko Cable Car & Tourism Company and Hanshin Electric Railway Co., Ltd.
- Co-sponsored by
the Rokko & Maya Tourism Promotion Council
- Special Cooperation and Sponsorships
Kobe City, Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, Inc.
*As of March 15, 2024
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
2024 Initiatives
Rokko Meets Art 2024 beyond will continue focusing on the following initiatives from last year.
1Enhancing the lineup of exhibiting artists
More than 60 artists, both invited and publicly recruited, are scheduled to participate—the highest number ever. The festival will feature works by Japanese and international artists representing a diverse range of perspectives. We will also raise the bar for public submissions, resulting in more impressive entries and exhibitions.
2Enhancing the symbolic site
of the art festival
The Outdoor Art Zone established in 2023 at the Rokko Musical Box Museum & Gardens MORINONE will be further enhanced to allow visitors to view artworks all year, not just during the exhibition period.
3Expansion of the Trail Area
The Trail Area, where artworks are displayed along mountain walking paths, will be further expanded, allowing visitors to enjoy art while discovering the charms of Mt. Rokko.
4Creating opportunities
for children to engage with art
We will increase opportunities for children to interact with contemporary art in nature through workshops and other activities to nurture the next generation of leaders and supporters of art and culture.
About the Outdoor Art Zone
Starting in 2023, a new initiative will showcase the following works at the SIKI Garden of the Rokko Musical Box Museum & Gardens MORINONE for an extended period until the end of the 2025 art festival, where you can also enjoy the artworks outside of festival periods. Our goal is to increase opportunities for you to encounter contemporary art by having artworks in places where you can stop while sightseeing.
Misa Funai 《Peeking into the Forest, the Mountain Hole.》
photo: Kiyotoshi Takashima
Nobuo Mitsunashi 《Princess Dorian standing on the stone stage》
photo: Junpei Iwamoto
WA!moto.”Motoka Watanabe”《Exploring with the Yellow Binoculars》
photo: Junpei Iwamoto
Taro Kitagawa 《Paths in life》
photo: Kiyotoshi Takashima
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.
