Mission guide
Japan Kobe Mission
The Japan Kobe Mission serves western Japan from a city shaped by port trade, faith, and resilience.
- Japanese
Japan Kobe Mission shirts
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Japan Kobe Mission T-Shirt
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Japan Kobe Mission Heart Map Shirt
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Choose size & color →I Glory in My Jesus, in the language of this mission
2 Nephi 33:6 as it reads in the Book of Mormon for each language spoken here.
Weak Things Become Strong, in the language of this mission
"I make weak things become strong" (Ether 12:27) as it reads in the Book of Mormon for each language spoken here.
About the mission
Japanese is the mission language. Missionaries serve in Japan Standard Time, and Kobe has a humid subtropical climate with hot summers and cool to cold winters.
At a glance
- Country
- Japan
- Main city
- Kobe, 1,522,188 people (June 2021)
- Language
- Japanese
- Time zone
- Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
- Climate
- Humid subtropical, with hot summers and cool to cold winters
- Church in Japan
- 131,776 members, 22 stakes, 230 congregations
A short history of the area
Hyōgo Port opened to foreign trade on January 1, 1868, and Kobe was founded in its current form on April 1, 1889. Today, Kobe is a major port city about 35 kilometers west of Osaka, with Mount Rokkō overlooking the city.
The Church here
- 1901The Church first sent missionaries to Japan.
- 1924Political tension closed the Japan Mission.
- 1948The Japan Mission reopened after World War II, with headquarters in Tokyo.
- 1968On September 1, the Japan-Okinawa Mission was organized in Kobe from a division of the Northern Far East Mission. This was the first mission headquartered in Kobe and the beginning of the Kobe Mission.
- 1970The first stake in Japan was established in Tokyo on March 15.
- 1970sJapanese members' devotion led to the construction of a temple in Tokyo, the first temple in Asia.
- 1974The Japan-Okinawa Mission was renamed the Japan Kobe Mission.
- 2011Japanese members helped distribute relief supplies and repair damage after the East Japan earthquake and tsunami.
Temples nearby
Osaka Japan Temple
Announced · About 18 miles from Kobe
Tokyo Japan Temple
Dedicated October 27, 1980 · About 265 miles from Kobe
The Book of Mormon here
Missionaries in this mission share the Book of Mormon in these languages. Tap a cover to read it free.
Cover art is an illustration. Links open the free edition on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
Before you go
Phrases to learn
- こんにちは (Konnichiwa)Hello
- おはようございます (Ohayō gozaimasu)Good morning
- ありがとうございます (Arigatō gozaimasu)Thank you
- お願いします (Onegaishimasu)Please
Foods to try
- Kobe beef (highly regarded beef raised in surrounding Hyōgo Prefecture)
- Nada sake (sake associated with Kobe's Nada-ku)
Fun facts
- Kobe Golf Club, established by Arthur Hesketh Groom in 1903, was Japan's first golf course.
- Kobe Mosque, built in 1935, was Japan's first mosque.
- In 1975, Kobe adopted a policy banning vessels carrying nuclear weapons from Kobe Port. This policy is known as the Kobe formula.
Just got the call?
Turn the opening into a game: family and friends guess where the missionary is going before the reveal.