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About KICC

Welcome to
Our community
About KICC

The Kobe International Community Center was established with the aim of making Kobe more international, “an easier place for foreigners to live”, as well as “promoting international exchange”. The KICC provides a one-stop multilingual information portal on city administration and living in Kobe, counseling services on everyday issues, and various other services for promoting international exchange. We look forward to serving you!

KICC services

1 Information on city administration and living in Kobe

Consultation services on everyday matters, introducing specialized agencies for expatriates.

Information on city administration and living in Kobe

  • Content

    A variety of information related to Kobe City administration and living in Kobe

  • Availability

    English
    Mon - Fri
    Chinese
    Mon - Fri
    Korean
    Fri
    Spanish
    Tue・Thu
    Portuguese
    Thu
    Vietnamese
    Mon・Wed
    Filipino
    Wed

  • Times

    10:00〜12:00
    13:00〜17:00

    *We also accept telephone inquiries
    between 9am and 10am.

Counseling on issues related to daily living

  • Content

    Counseling on everyday matters

  • Availability

    English
    Mon - Fri
    Chinese
    Mon - Fri
    Korean
    Fri
    Spanish
    Tue・Thu
    Portuguese
    Thu
    Vietnamese
    Mon・Wed
    Filipino
    Wed

  • Times

    10:00〜12:00
    13:00〜17:00

    *We also accept telephone inquiries
    between 9am and 10am.

Translation service at ward office help desk

  • Content

    There is a translation service available at all ward offices, which allows foreign residents to communicate with officers by a three way cellular phone communication system.

  • Availability

    English
    Mon - Fri
    Chinese
    Mon - Fri
    Korean
    Fri
    Spanish
    Tue・Thu
    Portuguese
    Thu
    Vietnamese
    Mon・Wed
    Filipino
    Wed

  • Times

    10:00〜12:00
    13:00〜17:00

    *We also accept telephone inquiries
    between 9am and 10am.

Counseling on immigration and residential status, administrative procedure for foreigners *requires reservation

Immigration and Visa consultation(Consultant: Immigration Lawyer)

  • Content

    Counseling on application procedures related to immigration and residential status
    Counseling on application procedures for naturalization and other administrative procedures

  • Availability

    1st and 3rd Wednesday of the month

  • Times

    13:00〜16:00

Immigration and Visa consultation(Consultant: Official from the Kobe Branch of Osaka Immigration Services)

  • Content

    Immigration and visa procedures, general information consultation

  • Availability

    2nd Friday of the month

  • Times

    13:30〜16:30

Specialist Consultation *requires reservation in case of interpreting service (English, Chinese, please inquire about others)

Labor issues

  • Location

    Kobe City Hall the No2 building 1F

  • Availability

    1st and 3rd Thursday of the month

  • Times

    13:00〜16:00

Insurance / Pensions

  • Location

    Kobe City Hall the No2 building 1F

  • Availability

    2nd and 4th Thursday of the month

  • Times

    13:00〜16:00

Tax

  • Location

    Kobe City Hall the No2 building 1F

  • Availability

    1st and 3rd Friday of the month

  • Times

    13:00〜16:00

2 Japanese culture and study support

Purpose of the Program

The Kobe International Community Center (KICC) was established with the aim of making Kobe more international and an easier place for foreigners to live. The main purpose of the program is to provide the chance to learn basic level Japanese language and culture, while also promoting mutual understanding between foreign and Japanese residents through the Japanese volunteer programs (Japanese language, calligraphy and flower arrangement). The KICC is not a Japanese language school. Your Japanese supporter is a volunteer to help you with your learning.

Courses

You can choose one of the following courses: Japanese Language, Calligraphy or Flower Arrangement.

For more information, click here.（147.81 KB）

3 Interpretation and translation volunteers in disaster situations

Interpretation and translation volunteers in disaster situations

In the occurrence of a large-scale disaster, interpretation and translation volunteers will be dispatched to evacuation centers.

4 Events

Kobe International Fair

The annual Kobe International Fair (held in March) is intended to (i) make citizens aware of, and encourage them to participate in, the activities of international cooperation and communications organizations (primarily in Kobe) that strive to promote the internationalization of Kobe, (ii) facilitate collaboration and communications among organizations, and (iii) help citizens learn more about different cultures and traditions.

KOBE COMMUNITY FORUM

The event aimed to enable people with different views and backgrounds to exchange opinions in order to strengthen the ties between them and their communities, and deepen the understanding of what it means to live in a multicultural environment among all citizens of Kobe, including foreigners.

Other services

Accompanied Interpretation*requires reservation

For more information, click here.（99.50 KB）

International exchange message board

Please feel free to use the message board provided in the Center for sharing nonprofit information or language exchange programs between Japanese and foreign residents, freecycling (items to give away and items wanted for free), and volunteer activities.

Meeting rooms (fees charged)

Meeting rooms are available for KICC-registered nonprofit international exchange organizations whose aim is to promote international exchange amongst citizens.
Applications for conference rooms will begin on the 10th of the month before the month in which you wish to use the service (or the next business day on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays)
Example) Hope to use the conference room on September 20th → Apply on July 10th.

Meeting Room A

  • MAX people

    30

  • Rental Fees

    2hours
    1,800 yen
    4hours
    3,200 yen
    6hours
    4,800 yen
    8hours
    6,100 yen
    10hours
    7,100 yen
    1hour extention
    900 yen

Meeting Room B

  • MAX people

    30

  • Rental Fees

    2hours
    1,800 yen
    4hours
    3,200 yen
    6hours
    4,800 yen
    8hours
    6,100 yen
    10hours
    7,100 yen
    1hour extention
    900 yen

Meeting Room AB（A&B together）

  • MAX people

    60

  • Rental Fees

    2hours
    3,400 yen
    4hours
    6,100 yen
    6hours
    9,100 yen
    8hours
    11,500 yen
    10hours
    13,400 yen
    1hour extention
    1,700 yen

Books to lend

It is permitted to borrow some Japanese textbooks for one week.

KOBE Free Wi-Fi

Free Wi-Fi service is available inside the center.

Contact

Address
Kobe International Center for Cooperation and Communication Kobe Commerce, Industry, and Trade Center Building 2nd Floor 5-1-14 Hamabe-dori, Chuo-ku, Kobe
TEL

078-291-8441 (Office Hours: Weekdays 9:00am to 5:30pm, closed on Sundays, public holidays)

078-291-8442 (Counter Hours: Weekdays 9:00am to 8:00pm, Saturdays 10:00am to 5:00pm, closed on Sundays, public holidays)

FAX
078-291-0691
E-mail

kic03@kicc.jp

Open hours
Mon. to Fri. 10:00`20:00 Sat. 10:00`17:00, closed on Sundays, Japanese National Holidays, and a number of days over the new year holiday season.

KICC’s Mascot, Kokko-chan!

KICCマスコットキャラクター カモメの「コッコ」

Hi there! I'm Kokko, the KICCs seagull mascot. My name comes from the "Ko" in "Kobe", "kokusai" (meaning "international") and "Kouryu" (meaning "exchange" or "networking"). My head is based on an image of the Earth, and my necktie is inspired by Kobe City's Port Tower. I'm very glad to meet you. Yoroshiku, ne!

Birthday
May 29th (The same day that KICC was founded)
Personality
A happy and cheerful girl who loves adventure
Hobbies
Viewing Kobe from Port Tower Occasionally going fishing Traveling
Special Talent
She can draw all the flags of the world
Her Dream
To become an expert (?) in languages (In fact, she is studying now!)
The truth is...
If she tries really, really hard, she can fly!